APCO Worldwide Employee Reviews about "work life balance"

Pros

At APCO I worked with some of the smartest people in the industry who were extremely successful in previous careers before coming to the firm. The top-heavy nature of the firm made it a great place to learn from my superiors.

Cons

The top-heavy nature also made for a lot of work at the junior levels and the work-life balance wasn't great.

Advice to Management

Continue to nurture junior talent.

Pros

APCO boasts a diverse portfolio of clients for both long- and short-term projects, which opens a lot of opportunities to learn different industries and work with a lot of people. The "entrepreneurial" culture rings true, but what that really means is that you're on your own to fight your way through office politics. Great place to cut your teeth at advocating for yourself, working under constant organizational... change, and learning to trust very few people. Once you put in a few years and earn the trust of those who matter, work/life balance is manageable due to being so independent and being able to create your own schedule. Arrive at 10am, leave at 5pm, or go on a trip and "work from home"... as long as the work is getting done, no one will ask questions. Compensation is reasonable if you're an aggressive negotiator or have a manager who does the same.

Cons

The office politics are beyond repair. Nepotism has led to a culture of cuddling up to senior leaders who pull weight politically & fending for yourself, sometimes at the expense of others. Management may claim to have your best interest in mind, but they're all just out for themselves, too. Must have a thick skin and be willing to tolerate a lot of BS to be successful. Constant organizational change and waves... of departures leave little stability and isolate true talent. The office is very cliquey, so it feels like being thrown back into high school, choosing which table to sit at in the lunchroom. Choose wrong, and you're doomed.

Advice to Management

Take a good, hard look at the culture you're building. Your junior staff is overworked and underpaid, your mid-level staff is fighting for resources and for the attention & praise they need to be promoted, and your senior staff is more focused on their own success than ensuring the people under them are being supported, all while protecting the individuals they favor and overlooking others who are genuinely... talented. The ability to navigate the APCO political web outweighs the skills needed to manage clients properly & produce high-quality work.

Pros

The APCO office culture is very "flat" and gives its junior staff the opportunity to grow and learn with a fairly quick promotion cycle. Compared to other agencies, the junior staff has a decent amount of responsibility. The people that work here are smart and driven, and generally are nice enough. The work is also interesting - however NY is mainly corporate comms with little public affairs (despite APCOs... reputation as a PA firm). A plus us they are totally flexible on WFH and office is closed Christmas week.

Cons

APCO works its staff to the ground and expects its employees to be available 24/7. They also pay terribly given hours the staff give to their jobs. The result is little work/life balance and a lot of tears over the grueling work. They also have a major staffing issue and teams are often staffed incorrectly.

Advice to Management

Start focusing more on your employees, their happiness, the type of work they want to be on, and improve organizational and staffing structure.

Pros

- Great office - Comprehensive benefits - Top leadership is engaged and competent - Global community - Big clients, big budgets - Opportunity to travel if you're on the right teams - Flat organizational structure - Incredible group of high-profile advisors - Great in-house research and creative teams - Really smart staff - Cultural exposure

Cons

- Terrible work/life balance - Mid-level management is too stressed and overworked to care about the people they manage - Mid- and upper-level management is extremely disorganized - Employees come to the office sick all the time because the workplace culture has made them feel like they can't work from home for a day - As far as mid-level management is concerned, if you're not at your desk, you might as well not... be working at all - This company will work junior staff into the ground with little regard for their well-being - Lots of false promises from upper-level management - Low pay for junior staff - HR department is a complete mess and constantly mishandles cases - More turnover in the last few years than usual, and HR is slow to hire, which results in teams being stretched for resources and overworked

Advice to Management

Hire more mid-level managers. Pay attention to what's going on with your junior staff. Be realistic about the utilization/billability numbers you're asking for. Do SOMETHING about your HR department. Try to make the workplace culture healthier--throwing weekly pizza and beer parties isn't the answer.

Pros

Great Coffee machine. Nice snack bar. There is work-life balance.

Cons

People are not as friendly as expected.

Pros

Smart people, great clients,work/life balance, global, strategic

Cons

Loss of talent Management in transition Lack of transparency with salary

Advice to Management

Aggressively recruit next gen leadership Incentive mid-levels to want to stay

Pros

Work/life balance flexibility that promotes a nice work environment.

Cons

Very clear difference in management levels.

Advice to Management

I would consider increasing the hourly wage of interns. It is below the market rate for competitive programs.

Pros

-The work is varied and intellectually stimulating; the opportunities to learn are definitely there -Great environment for young professionals (possibility to attend events and build your network etc.) -Good culture and friendly colleagues -Good HR presence: professional and helpful

Cons

-Work/life balance is sometimes hard to manage, especially at junior levels