DraftFCB Reviews in Chicago, IL Area

Pros

people are fun and smart

Cons

very strict about raises...almost force you to leave and come back just to get fair compensation

Pros

Good work life balance
Fun and creative individuals (VP level and below)
Interesting speakers frequently visit the agency
Laid back work environment/work culture
Good benefits package

Cons

Low compensation
Senior managers are so concerned with looking good that they'll steal work done by analysts and claim it as their own
Doesn't follow through with the 360 review process, poorly enforced, if enforced at all
No opportunity to manage up, everyone is scared of speaking out against poor performance from SVPs or heads of departments
Too much power resides at the SVP level, especially in some of the smaller groups, often all talk and no action
Doesn't encourage growth or goal setting
Complete lack of transparency in promotions, compensation, and staffing

Advice to Senior Management

A high attrition rate isn't something that should be accepted as an industry standard. Having 20-30% of a group leave indicates that management is not doing something right. They're not incentivizing individuals to stay at the junior level, because there's no commitment from upper management that good work will be rewarded. Why should anyone stay at a place where individual growth and goal setting is deprioritized and ignored?

 NOT enforcing 360 degree reviews allows poor managers to maintain their roles with no consequences. Actionability and investment is extremely important when it comes to gaining the loyalty of the people who work for you. Both of these things are non-existent in certain areas of the agency, and need to be acknowledged and restructured.

Fire managers who are only concerned about their personal image at the agency. Hire managers who will genuinely care about the people who work for them and who will provide individuals with opportunities to do impactful work, GET CREDIT FOR THE WORK, and have something to aspire to. Lack of transparency in the promotion process and compensation was not only discouraging but completely unfair and gave me no reason to stay.

There's a lot of things that need to be fixed at DraftFCB and it needs to start at the top. Turn words into actionable tactics, or risk seeing the smartest people at the agency leave for bigger and better opportunities to learn and grow.

Pros

Plentiful resources, full Starbucks coffee bar where pretty much any drink is $1 and proceeds go to charity

Cons

Highly political to be hired at entry level

Pros

There are some great people and clients, for now

Cons

Senior Management from CEO level down are clueless about running a full-service agency.

Advice to Senior Management

Quit positioning for your next role and be great at your current role.

Pros

...and the work/life balance allows me to pursue outside interests. Decent benefit package and in house cafeteria. They try to keep morale up by doing lots of work events and internal contests.

Cons

...but I'm not in account services, where I know they work much longer hours. Often. Sometimes there is a lack of communication between interacting departments, but that's common in such a large company.

Advice to Senior Management

Don't sugar coat the bad stuff, and pay your employees what they're worth (their time, talent and energy). Enough said.

Pros

Easy access to senior management, even if it means just standing in the back of a meeting
Open door policy, everyone's doors are literally usually kept open
Everyone is fairly open and honest, especially when complaining
Always extra food left over from meetings

Cons

Not too much diversity, mostly Caucasian
Pay not too great
Not a lot of feed back
Few company outings or networking events

Pros

Benefits are good compared to other companies
Cafeteria is nice
Strategic Planning team is strong

Cons

Poor leadership
HR doesn't care about employees
Very senior level people who don't know what they are doing/uninvolved in their businesses
Pay is not commensurate with the work achievements
If you don't do TV every day they think you are worthless
They are a :30 spot/print agency trying to survive in a digital world - they will never succeed at digital
Spend too much time worrying about who is stabbing you in the back - gets in the way of real work
Senior leaders do not focus on the quality of the work - too concerned with politics to care

Advice to Senior Management

Hire smart people
Take care of employees who bring in the business and take care of clients

Pros

The only reason I have stayed at Draftfcb this long is because of how great my coworkers are.

Cons

Underpaid and overworked junior employees. I have been filling the role of a sr analyst for months now but leadership won't give me a good reason for why i haven't been promoted yet except that "official reviews are this summer." There have been four off-cycle promotions this year, but only for middle managers. Stop yanking my chain... I've been at Draftfcb for 2 and 1/4 years now and I have only gotten one 3.5% raise, and I'm underpaid as it is. Relative to inflation I'm making less now than I did when I started. Company rhetoric is always a positive spin, but when I was given my measly 3.5% raise my SVP lead it off with "well, its been a rough year, but..." Get your story straight and be more transparent.

Advice to Senior Management

Stop taking advantage of your entry-level employees and recognize when they are going above and beyond.

Pros

it is spirited group of junior / mid level people. the agency does provide great corporate training, especially to entry level candidates. i would consider the chicago office to be a good place to start a career.

Cons

senior management is a disaster as a result of political upheaval. the draft versus fcb dispute is unresolved and creates unrest that trickles down the entire food chain. you're lucky if you can find a way for it not to disturb career advancement or opportunity in the long term.

Pros

Great clients and great people

Cons

Poor leadership. Agency needs better leaders

Advice to Senior Management

Better leadership