Barkley Reviews

Pros

great people. the opportunity to do great work.

Cons

boys club. bad management. no feedback on job performance. no opportunity to grow. very little forgiveness for minor mistakes in staff - but huge forgiveness for HUGE mistakes in senior management. most of the great creative projects are given to a hand-picked group of people.

Advice to Senior Management

be careful what you ask for. if you bring in new york management to try to make it a new york-ish agency, don't act like you're upset when you let half your staff go.

Pros

Great work space, nice perks: free coffee, beer, popcorn. Nice people. Located in downtown KC.

Cons

Senior management is embarrassingly inadequate. Such a great company, all it needs is a new set of leaders. If Barkley replaced all of senior leadership the company would make a dramatic positive shift. Employees are extremely unhappy with leadership and human resources.

Advice to Senior Management

Replace C titles with new individuals with fresh thinking. Barkley is stale, has bad reputation in KC,dramatic change needed.

Pros

Look/feel of office is cool, with wide open areas that promote easy socializing between employees. Offer free beer and other small perks, like ping pong tables. Fairly laid back vibe.

Cons

My experience was the same as everyone else who's posted here. The treatment of "favorites" versus "everyone else" was literally like the difference between first and third class citizens. For no reason I could discern, certain people were considered untouchable. I was literally told by a senior management member that they were aware that certain people had "toxic personalities" and were causing a lot of internal problems, but that the only option was to deal with it or leave. A lot of very good, competent people quit during my time there since they were so fed up with this completely ridiculous favoritism.

Advice to Senior Management

This is a business, not high school. Quit with the cliques and grow up. Also, you're not as hot stuff as you think you are. Stop acting like you're the only ones in the entire agency who may have ideas worth listening too

Pros

A wonderful place to work. Excited and passionate staff. Passion to do great things and make its mark on the advertising/marketing industry.

Cons

Leadership is inadequate and inexperienced. The top level is an old boys club who make decisions on the course and then pay lip service to the staff and any new ideas that bubble up.

Advice to Senior Management

Understand what you are. Don't act like you are a NYC/Chicago shop. Draw a circle on the map and own that territory. Start with KC. Then put up a wall from Denver to StL, Minnapolis to Mexico.

Pros

creative culture, team oriented environment

Cons

large organization, little individual recognition

Advice to Senior Management

communicate losses and gains with the staff effectively and in a timely way.

Pros

The people I worked around were really nice...many there, just get out of the department and socialize.

Cons

The media department does not seemigly respect everyone fairly, and will treat people poorly depending on who they do or do not know. Unnecessary weekly meetings were given to assistants to fish for information to use against them. Media buyers would speak of others behind their backs. A senior buyer was passed over for a promotion by someone who doesn't do consistent work. Passive-aggresive retaliation was used due to political views. Overall, not a good environment to excel or work in.

Advice to Senior Management

Pay attention to this department...there's a reason only one person in the past 5 years has been promoted to media buyer.

Pros

Loved my co-workers, always attracted great people who really tried to do their best. Allowed leniency for work/life balance. Great effort for company wide activities. Relaxed atmosphere. Good perks and community involvement.

Cons

Major mistakes were forgiven for the old guard or favorites. Minor ones or efforts to initiate change were cold shouldered. To give credit, they tried to be more nimble and progressive and succeeded from time to time but hidebound leaders found a way to screw it up. Critical leadership positions are undeserved. Creative work is stale. Senior management is like high school.

Advice to Senior Management

Take a hard look at leadership. Pampered creatives need a kick in the pants, work is tired. When people feel untouchable it shows.

Pros

opportunity to work on television, light hours compared to other advertising shops, office activities such as office olympics, team can food drives, etc.

Cons

the status quo is maintained here. everything about the idea process causes things to get watered down to a mediocre, at best, level of creative work. account people are afraid to challenge clients or push for innovative/ risk taking ideas to go through. the creative department is ruled by seniority, and those with junior and mid level experience resort to undermining tactics to get ahead. the agency says it wants change and better creative work, yet seems to treat the talent they bring in as black sheep and outsiders.

Advice to Senior Management

give opportunities to those who are hungry and ask for them, and not just assign projects based on seniority or favoritism. get to know employees on a personal level. do not let those who resort to undermining tactics get ahead.

Pros

Fun atmosphere, free beer, flexible hours... no dress code, good parking, um i cant think of anything else

Cons

No pay, lack of leadership, poor reviews, overall, just no room for growth or promotion... no pay increases or any sort of incentives

Advice to Senior Management

new VPs

Pros

It is a high profile advertising agency in Kansas City. They have a great physical environment. Free beer and popcorn.

Cons

All is not as it seems. Most people not having fun with their work. A bit of a sweatshop. Some very bad managers. A bit of the old boy advertising mentality. Sexist and difficult to get past the barriers. PASSIVE AGGRESSIVE.

Advice to Senior Management

If you have to tell people to look like they are having fun when there are cameras or clients around, it is not the fun atmosphere you like to project to others. Get rid of some high profile managers who are jerks. Everyone knows it. Senior management puts up with it.