Ogilvy CommonHealth Reviews in Parsippany, NJ

I worked at Ogilvy CommonHealth full-time for more than 3 years

Pros – They have assembled a group of people who are dedicated to their field of expertise and knowledgeable about the field. They are always looking to expand into new technologies. Their vast array of offerings allow for unique exposure into many marketing categories.

Cons – Very limited upward mobility. Raises and bonuses are minimal compared to the field. Long hours with very little recognition from management. Extreme disconnect between upper management and other employees.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

I worked at Ogilvy CommonHealth full-time for more than a year

Pros – I wish I could think of one.

Cons – I have never worked in a more dysfunctional, unhappy, unpleasant place in my entire 35 year career. Management makes a big charade of how much they love their employees, but behind closed doors, they talk about them like they were fleas and ticks. Turnover rate is horrendous.

Advice to Senior Management – Get someone to videotape your meetings and play them back to you. You're like an episode of the reality TV show Big Brother.

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

I worked at Ogilvy CommonHealth full-time for more than 7 years

Pros – - They hired me
- They had benefits
- the building kept me dry during rain storms.

Cons – - Great job on your review, but we can't give you a raise because of tough times - right after the company posted profits (it's publicly traded, we can look up profits)
- they love to hire the mentally and emotionally challenged in all positions.
- Crappy dated technology.
- Inept HR
- Most people there hate life, are alcoholics (or on their way to becoming one), emotionally disturbed, or are borderline personalities. Your review is in their hands with the process they do..... Good luck with that.....

Advice to Senior Management – They should all get into a bus and drive off a cliff to make the world a better place.

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 Ogilvy CommonHealth full-time for more than 3 years

Pros – Big name for your resume....not much other than that.

Everything they offer, from benefits to bagel Mondays is industry standard or below.

Cons – Don't be fooled by the supposed 35 hr work week (8 hr day with 1 hr paid lunch).
You will be expected to be over 100% billable.

- Work 20 hrs on a pitch....you still need an additional 40+ hours of billable utilization.
- Attend 10 hrs of mandatory (useless) training...you still need an additional 40+ hours of billable utilization.
- Take your (very limited) vacation time...you still need an additional 40+ hours of billable utilization.
- Enjoy Christmas with your family...you still need an additional 40+ hours of billable utilization.

Etc, etc......there is NO vacation, holiday, sick, personal time, etc. IT IS ALL FLEX TIME THAT NEEDS TO BE MADE UP FOR...or you will be laid off.

Advice to Senior Management – In 20 months I have seen the interior design of the building changed 4 times. Stop wasting money.

Stop emphasizing "billable hours". Ar you so stupid that you do not realize that we could all just start being twice as slow/ half as productive? This would double our precious utilization but we would lose all our clients.

If the stock price is down....start riding your sales people to get more business and stop obsessing over a ridiculously manipulatable benchmark.

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

I worked at Ogilvy CommonHealth full-time for more than a year

Pros – I learned a lot from a few people who were cutting edge and amazing at their jobs.

Cons – Some dead weight like any other ad company. Hard to move up in the company if you don't fit into a specific agenda. (Or at times turn someone's advances down...)

85% chance I would never go back.

Advice to Senior Management – Cut some of the six figure dead weight. Please learn there are people making 6 figures who lie and twist the truth as to their day to day where abouts. Billing time while they work on outside side projects. Pay more attention. Also advising a few people in upper management that there are cameras in the conference rooms would be good. There were a number of uncomfortable moments opening conference room doors. Welcome to advertising.

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 Ogilvy CommonHealth

Pros – Free coffee to keep you working 22hrs/7 days a week...all billable at 107%

Cons – So many better agencies out there. This had to be my worst work experience in over 18 years of work in both pharma and advertising. I worked on many projects where we crossed the firewall between companies in the name of getting a new client. As an agency they were the least flexible, most expensive agency most pharma and biotech companies had....they started losing business big time. The chain of command and the impact of the billable hours was incredulous. My boss billed way too many hours on clients $$ and most of it was spent golfing and traveling to golf resorts.

Advice to Senior Management – creativity and house cleaning is probably an important first step or just go back to selling grocery carts......

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

I worked at Ogilvy CommonHealth

Pros – Good reputation outside the walls of the company -- WPP is an industry leader in the advertising space and the connection is impressive.

Cons – Uncapable management in the Information Technology area. "Old Boy" Culture pervasive and rewards were given to those who made kissing up a priority. Training and development was promised and then not followed through on.

Advice to Senior Management – Spend money on training and development, and pay IT salaries commensurate with the experience and skill set of your people.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

I worked at Ogilvy CommonHealth

Pros – Pretty environment
Bagel Monday every week
Starbucks coffee
Great holiday party and summer picnic

Cons – No ability to win new business
A few people are favorites... Everyone else ignored or mistreated
Most management and Division Presidents know NOTHING and prove it every day
Creative is not very creative
Kisses up to clients... To the point of disgusting
Everyone loves to play the BLAME GAME... Nobody takes responsibility when something goes wrong.... And the peon at bottom takes the blame 99% of the time
Vision for the future... What vision?? Lots of hot air
Some big egos... Think they can do no wrong....

Advice to Senior Management – Remove yourselves and bring in fresh blood with experience and knowledge
Need fresh smart creative
Need smarter account people
Need to stop showing favoritism
Need to stop kissing up to clients and winning new business legitamately
Need to stop doing things last minute
Need to drop the big ego.... Lots of great companies out there that can eat you for breakfast

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

I worked at Ogilvy CommonHealth

Pros – Fun environment, beautiful office, free coffee, bagels once a week. Treated well, outside my area, as a person.

Cons – Communication about my expectations was minimal, and when it did happen it was negative. I did not feel respected by my management, and they lost my respect pretty quickly. Collaboration was discouraged, blame was plentiful, and people have tire tracks from being thrown under buses too many times. Plenty of managers with little experience in management.

Advice to Senior Management – It is more expensive to hire unqualified people and poor managers than it is to spend money on key roles that require specific experience.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

I worked at Ogilvy CommonHealth

Pros – Salary and benefits very good.
Unlimited amount of free Starbucks coffee—fresh-brewed by the cup.
Frequent parties and get-togethers for employees; generous gifts for employees.
Many friendly and competent people in operations and support services.
The NYC and Parsippany locations contain several divisions; each has a distinct personality and a different turnover rate. CEO has good intentions; but his vision of the company is more idealistic than realistic.

Cons – Long hours, with an emphasis on staying billable.
Emphasis on cultivation of old clients; much pitch preparation but very little new business.
Cliquish atmosphere; nepotism is common.
Firewall blatantly ignored; management will do anything that needs to be done to make the client happy, with no questions asked.
The amount of bad behavior tolerated from account managers is directly proportional to the amount of revenue they generate.

Advice to Senior Management – Go after new business

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend