Weber Shandwick Reviews

I worked at Weber Shandwick full-time for less than a year

Pros – Excellent benefits, overtime compensation for entry level working overtime (12-14 hr days on average). I adored my other junior level colleagues we really banded together while being "hazed." I'm usually a super outgoing, positive, hard working and reliable person, but the demands of this role made me completely overwhelmed, physically ill and exhausted 24/7. I went on to a smaller fashion-based showroom and its a 100% more positive.

Cons – My group and client and managers were known well within the department as being the most difficult and unreasonable. I had terrible middle managers; no guidance, no positive feedback; worked myself ino the ground and burnt out. 2-3 of my former junior colleagues which I adored went to competitors for better work/life balance and compensation. Executive management realized treatment and hierarchy structure was not working and morale was terrible around the time everyone was leaving and enforced in memorandum that junior level employees had to be treated basically like humans (shocker!) ie: nonexcessive overtime, positive communication and delegation, allowing junior level people out for lunch at least once a week (?! is this a work camp/salt mine?) The new president quit after 4 months to go to a competitor (sinking like the Titanic, much?)

Advice to Senior Management – Fire middle management and get positive people in there who don't just look good for clients but mentor and grow junior staff as well.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

I have been working at Weber Shandwick

Pros – Decent client roster to add to your resume
Extra days off during the summer
Good parking
Nice location and near the freeway
Nice co-workers

Cons – Over-worked and under paid - expect to work seven days a week -year round
Highly political environment
No value for good work
Blame game is the norm
Clients are often very abusive
Management will throw you under the bus

Advice to Senior Management – tell the NY influence to go home and try learning about Corp Culture in the valley before attempting to make change

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

I have been working at Weber Shandwick

Pros – Good brands as clients, strong New York, Chicago and Minneapolis offices.

Cons – Senior management doesn't care about the quality of its supporting practice groups. Horrible leadership at its internal multicultural group, The Axis Agency.

Advice to Senior Management – Hire credible executives to manage and expand potential growth markets. Some specialty area executives are paper thin on actual business experience.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

I worked at Weber Shandwick

Pros – A chance to work on a lot of national, big-budget brands, which looks good on your resume. They put a lot of stock into PR for their own agency, trying to make others think it's "the" place to work. It's not.

Cons – 9.5 out of 10 people there hate their job. Pay is really poor. You feel more like a number than a valued employee.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

I have been working at Weber Shandwick full-time for more than a year

Pros – It has a good global reputation that strengthens your résumé/CV (but only if you're searching for a job outside of China).

Cons – As with many PR agencies in China, the Beijing office is a sweatshop and offers little opportunities for career and personal growth, particularly for junior employees. Senior staff also seem to have little interest in the growth of junior staff, leaving this instead to the middle managers.

Rampant bootlicking has resulted in favorites being promoted quicker regardless of their capabilities.

Employees that leave the company are often not replaced, resulting in existing staff working long and often unreasonable hours. This leads to a vicious cycle that eventually sees them leaving for the competition as well.

The inability to find relevant talents means that a number of employees (many of whom have no China experience and don't speak the language) are brought in from other offices to do a job they are not
well-equipped to carry out.

There is a general lack of professionalism and business ethics practiced in this office. Clients only find out about the departure of their account leads and team members long after they have left the
company, many smaller accounts are serviced only by junior staff with little senior presence, former employees receive wages several months late etc.

Having worked in the PR industry for a decade and encountering senior management from various practices, I have to say the quality of senior managers here is mediocre at best. A lack of strong leadership skills, strategic direction and adequate market knowledge/ experience seem to be the main issues with a number of the senior managers I have worked with.

I spent a couple of years in an in-house role and have been trained to look out for red flags when it comes to hiring a PR agency, i.e high turnover, absent senior management on smaller accounts etc. The Beijing office is exhibiting a number of these warning signs, which unfortunately, is testament to how it is performing in the market and/or is how the local industry views the agency.

My advice for those looking to join Weber Shandwick's China offices is to research the agency thoroughly and ask around the local PR industry for insights into the company before signing on the dotted line.

Advice to Senior Management – In a fickle industry like Public Relations, acquiring and retaining talents is instrumental to the growth of an agency. Taking genuine interest in the advancement of your employees and treating them with respect will help you retain the best talents, which in a fast-growing market like China is increasingly difficult to come by.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

I worked at Weber Shandwick full-time for less than a year

Pros – really enjoyed colleagues. Personalities and interests are similar throughout the office

Cons – terrible salary. Programs were usually extensions of American clients. Not very active in new business at the time

Advice to Senior Management – build credibility for better clients and bigger budgets

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

I worked at Weber Shandwick full-time for more than a year

Pros – - Some loyal and honest middle managers who eagerly want to see you grow
- Global brand is well-known and a plus for your resume
- Big client names giving you opportunities for bigger projects

Cons – - Probably the least competitive salary in the industry
- Senior managers seem to be clueless/ not there
- Poor accountability structure
- Some clearly unethical business practices
- The most un-transparent pay structure ever seen
- HR does not work objectively; you need to be a favorite in order to get a fair look into your performance and pay
- Absolutely no mentorship program in place; you'll be lucky to have the few managers who actually know what their doing and want to spend the time to train you as a professional
- Because of poor accountability, work is usually done by the responsible ones.

Advice to Senior Management – Where to start...
- Start to look internally for talent instead of seeking seemingly experienced 'foreign talent'
- Learn to grow your junior staff so that you can grow a sense of loyalty
- Start fairly compensating and recognizing the diligent
- Take accountability more seriously
In general, take more time to identify and nurture your staff instead of resting on your lorels. This way, you won't have to spend time trying to keep clients because it will naturally come with the great work and morale within the teams.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

I worked at Weber Shandwick full-time for more than a year

Pros – Have some of the best resources in the industry.
Have quite a few decent clients from varied industries.

Cons – unprofessional top level management, over promise and under deliver, in human working conditions, no employee benefits.

Advice to Senior Management – Ask the CEO, President and VP to quit before this MNC goes to the dogs 'completely'. Assess the damage done already and do something about it.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company