Pros
Sociable atmosphere with lots of responsibility available at a junior level. High standards of work on blue chip clients. Beautiful riverside office and central location.
Cons
Cliquey office culture throughout the agency, with a shocking DE&I record despite much self congratulation (this issue has deep roots, see accountability below, and The Drum article "Ad agency iris worldwide faces online backlash over 'iris on benefits' staff booklet"). Poor work-life balance is a core part of the culture. Rare to see the office empty outside of core hours, driven by a timesheet obsession and unrealistic scopes. Common to see even the most junior team members working overtime. Progression and development are valued but at odds with account pressures, and budgets for external training and conferences non-existent (slashed during Covid and never returned). Financial decisions increasingly dictate these opportunities as value is wrung out by parent company. Inauthentic hybrid and flexi-time working policies, inc. short notice mandatory ‘buzz days’ where the board attempts to impress potential clients by having a full house (coupled with increasingly desperate office-branding stunts as accounts are lost and not replaced). Absurd in-office drinking culture, with an office bar often supplying free booze in lieu of real employee benefits, industry-level salaries or bonuses. Inauthentic application of environmental and social values – employees encouraged not to fly via annual leave rewards, whilst the agency continues to make excuses for working with fossil fuel, airline and ICE automotive companies. Poor integration with parent company, with its inter-agency synergies disfunctional and frequently blamed for poor work outputs. Intra-agency synergies also a common cause of confusion. General lack of accountability for poor working conditions from senior leadership: - Severe cognitive dissonance around diversity, salaries/benefits, cliquey, and a bean-counter driven culture. They have their heads in the sand. - A People Team that lacks empathy and is poor at listening to employees even within designated listening circle exercises (defensive 'us vs them' attitude, glosses over own shortcomings, have also witnessed individual lash-outs from senior leadership upon receipt of critical feedback). - Creation of a hostile atmosphere for out-going employees. - Board poor at executing change due to lack of understanding of employees / what the work entails, especially within the more profitable areas of the business. - Founders are proud to still represent core of the business but they are blind to the fact that they are the very thing holding it back.
