AKQA Reviews

Pros

Work environment is laid back, yet very focused on getting things done. The management team is accessible and transparent about what's happening with the business. I feel like it's a company who genuinely cares about the people and the environment as well as delivering great work for clients. It's definitely a place that has a high bar for success, but if you're up for putting your best forward it's a great place to work.

Cons

Still runs a bit like a small company in some regards but the good thing about that is there's not any bureaucracy or red tape to getting things done.

Pros

Cool-looking office, location, a beer fridge, and a pool table.

Cons

But the above serve as distractions from the terrible work environment--a reason not many stay here for longer than a year. The company hires inexperienced account managers who also serve as project managers--many of these hires have never worked for a digital agency before, or have had any significant experience dealing with other agencies and clients. As a result, requirements are not accurately translated to Creative and Technical teams, project scopes constantly swing, budgets are stretched, client expectations and trust are frequently blown, and the guns turn on you.

Nearly all company events are centered around alcohol. The atmosphere can be cliquey and suffocating.

Hiring is completely reactive, instead of being strategic.

Advice to Senior Management

Fix the glaring problems within the Account team. Hire competent project managers and product managers that have had a deep experience working with blue-chip clients in a digital agency environment. Allow the Creative team to take more of a leadership role in driving the ideas forward. Hire strategic planners with a proven record.

Pros

VERY dedicated staff. Provides a fun atmosphere which is necessary given that this job is your entire life. Lots of free fresh fruit every week. Diverse staff. Opportunity to work on new business and participate in new business pitches. The Flash work is beyond reproach....better talent than I've seen elsewhere. People actively problem solve in every department to make the work great. This agency's name on your resume will open doors for you that had previously been closed - for that point alone it's worth giving your life to AKQA for 1-2 years, as it will make your resume work MUCH harder and get you better opportunities down the road. For creative talent - this is an investment that's "worth" it.....

Cons

Senior leadership should be much more experienced. You're expected at work by 9:30AM regardless of the fact that you left at 3AM the night before....and will be there until 3AM that day. You'll work around the clock, and weekend work is the usual. No one celebrates the wins....with all of the great achievement, they should take the time to highlight key players and stand-out individuals that make the achievements possible. Zero ramp-up or onboarding - this goes, hire, desk, sit, work....you'd better know what you're doing when you take this job. With rapid growth, the bar for new hiring is far lower than it had been. The workplace can be incredibly inappropriate despite the diversity. They work great talent into the ground, and then don't care enough to retain them and let them leave...the door revolves with great talent leaving and moderate replacements coming in. This is a dead end job.....if you're looking for a career at this shop, you should take the advice and go elsewhere.

Advice to Senior Management

With turnover of capable and experienced senior leadership, the bar should be equally high if not higher for those that are hired as replacements. Middle management is more experienced than senior leadership more times than should occur.....just because someone has been in the industry for X years, doesn't necessarily make them the best person for the job - the experience in many different forms of digital advertisement, on many different types of brands is what makes someone seasoned enough to lead full teams....without that, the senior leadership becomes a joke. Seriously, the butt of many jokes.

Choose wisely.

Pros

Clients brands, professional set up, lots to keep you busy

Cons

too process focused, very long hours, bad snacks

Pros

- great design
- great digital production
- great tech people

Cons

- poor strategy
- terrible senior management

Advice to Senior Management

Start using your strategy people and start making real briefs. Time to grow up.

Pros

You get to work with young creative people. Also the idea of the company is pretty appealing and may look good on your resume.

Cons

It's fast paced, you will be overworked without compensation, and don't expect a promotion unless you are good friends with management. They promote their buddies.

Advice to Senior Management

If you expect employees to bend over backwards 47 weeks of the year, allow them them flexibility to take vacation when they want to use it and they should have the right to use all of it at once. Don't expect your employees to be available over holidays last minute.

Also employee of the month is demotivating. It praises the managers and people that are already in a job position that deals a lot with people. There are a lot of jobs that do not allow a lot of exposure to others. These are biased praises and you fail to recognize others who do a great job but don't have the kind of job that is helping others directly. I'd recommend getting rid of the employee of the month and replacing it with submitted kudos where everyone who is thanked in the kudos get's recognized.

Managers should have managerial training outside of work experience. Send them to classes and courses. They need to know how to manage people in a fair manner.

Pros

Hard working environment with smart people who are driven.

Cons

Low pay, and sometimes very long hours.

Advice to Senior Management

Share other account's work with the agency.

Pros

If you're into technology and making apps, AKQA is the place to go. But don't expect to learn any branding or big thinking.

Cons

The leadership only cares about maximizing profits at the expense of pursuing creative ideas. They don't know how to build brands. Only cares about tactical executions and making money of producing banners and apps. In essence AKQA is a production company, not an agency.

Pros

Really collaborative, great creative team, genuinely nice people to work with--no egos

Cons

Little opportunity for advancement, not given basic tools to help get the job done (ie: copywriters don't have the creative suite on their comps), crazy hours.

Pros

It can have a somewhat of a family like environment. Mostly young and goal driven employees work here. Great work location as well.

Cons

Difficult to advance in career at some positions. There is some separation of treatment between different levels and departments of the company.

Advice to Senior Management

Keep up the great work with advancement of the company in the digital ad world. Looking forward to many great things to come