Proceed With Caution - Recensione dipendente - Project Manager presso EPIC Creative

EPIC Creative has invested heavily in their company culture, touting several internal catchphrases (you'll hear Work Hard, Have Fun come up a lot) and a community of professionals that acts more like a family than a workplace. At one point this was genuine, but as with many small companies growth has led to these values being watered down to the point they might as well not exist anymore. In previous iterations of the company there were many employee-led culture- based committees that fostered engagement outside of work hours and made coming to work feel fun and inviting even when the winter commute was a drag or when hours were long. These have since been pulled back as the employees leading them have either moved on or become busier and the internal leadership seems to now struggle with the concept of being buttoned up while all of their stationary and swag is branded with the Work Hard, Have Fun motto. The company is suffering from severe growing pains and should be considered risky at best at this juncture. The big picture strategy seems to change by the month, with leadership roles being shuffled around almost as quickly as they've been announced. Internal squabbling and indecision seems common, and inconsistent transparency by leadership has led to a toxic culture of rumors, paranoia, and confusion among staff. Layoffs began as early as last year and management wrote this off as performance based while ensuring staff that finances were fine. "There are never surprises" and "we don't do layoffs" were the common responses by leadership to concerns right up until a point, a few months later, when they cut some of their biggest cheerleaders, award-winning creatives, and longtime assets. Layoffs are part of this industry, but it becomes hard to justify them when a company continues to hire and to finance costly pet projects during them. Without its cultural benefits and with growing internal resentment and dysfunction, what does this small agency in West Bend offer? Sadly the answer is not much. EPIC suffers from the same cons as most agencies -- expect to work long hours with little time to reap the benefits of your work or enjoy yor accomplishments. Despite their location and being a communications company they do not typically allow work from home arrangements and can be fairly strict about hours. Some employees seem to have endless free time while others on demanding accounts are drowning. Because of its culture where business is often very personal, employees are often promoted due to their tenure and friendships with leadership regardless of whether their new role is warranted or suits them. As others have stated there are definitely cliques and understanding and navigating the inner-office politics will be crucial to your success regardless of the hours you put in. This mismanagement extends to struggling employees who are oftentimes not utilized to their strengths or allowed the time to explore responsibilities or roles that fit their strengths. There is no dedicated Sales or New Business Team and the company's reliance on their longtime clients has become a liability during this period of growth. Pitches seem few and far between and leadership has often bragged about being picky about taking on clients despite the company's financial situation.