The company went through a massive downsizing – from over 50 employees in their Roseville office to less than half that at present. This says a lot about how the company is managed. The turnover at this place is ridiculously high, even for an agency. Not only that, but the people that once made this a fun place to work and were culture leaders were punished for trying to create a positive, team-focused environment. Even people who had dedicated 15+ years of their lives and careers weren't safe.
A creative, team environment needs to have space for fun, laughter, heated/passionate discussions, blowing off steam, and collaboration. People were discouraged or even reprimanded for playing music and games, talking too loudly, taking walks, and going off-site to get coffee. This place is like a library, or more accurately a cemetery. The vibrant energy that one would expect from a creative environment is eerily absent.
Here are some more red flags if you need them:
The President comes from a real estate background and has absolutely no experience in Marketing or Advertising.
They are so desperate and hard-up for cash that they go after clients with tiny budgets, aren’t a good fit, or are in direct competition with other clients.
They encourage fraudulent billing. Employees are encouraged to bill time to jobs that have time available, even if they haven’t worked on them.
They don’t pay their vendors on time or at all. The President’s philosophy is: "since clients don't pay us on time, why should we pay our vendors on time?"
Employees are not trusted or able to take ownership of projects/clients.
The President would say sexist things in a public space with absolutely no shame, such as commenting on female employees' appearance.
The Founder lacks professionalism and respect for employees. She was constantly on the phone, texting, or on her laptop or iPad during meetings (including those with clients present). She has a bad habit of recycling ideas and creative from 15-20 years ago.
Founder makes promises to clients that are out of scope and budget and impossible to keep.
Founder will take the client's position or opinion as gospel, even though the company is supposed to be the "experts". Will dismiss the hard work of employees immediately and won't defend the work, even after hours of research and development.
Designers are not trusted or given the chance to present or explain or defend their work to clients. They are rarely even given the opportunity to speak or present to clients. It's bizarre that people present creative that they pretty much had no hand in creating.
Employees are told not to "gossip" but are kept in the dark about everything. There is no transparency.
Performance reviews are a joke. There is nothing constructive about them. They are supposed to be given yearly, but this rarely happens. Employees are valued and promoted by being "yes" men and women. If you aren't into butt-kissing, you won't get anywhere in this organization. They don't like people that ask questions and "reward" employees with promotions that are little more than title changes and a tiny jump in salary that barely equates to a cost of living increase.
If you’re interested in becoming part of the management team, don't rock the boat, ask questions, or challenge the President and Founder. Make sure that no one on your team trusts you and throw people under the bus along the way when things go wrong. If you do these things, you’ll fit in just fine!
But the absolute worst thing about this place is the culture, or lack thereof. It could best be described as a culture of fear. I was constantly worried that I would be fired, because if it could happen to so-and-so, why not me? Amazing employees that had great relationships with clients and employees would just disappear. Nothing was said, and their absence was never even acknowledged. Employees were fired without being given the opportunity to correct or change anything because they were never told they were doing anything "wrong”, even in their reviews (if they were lucky enough to get them). The work/life "balance" is terrible. As I mentioned before, having "fun" was frowned upon. Employees were expected to work late every day. People looked at you sideways if you left on time, even if you had completed your work.
