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Burson-Marsteller Reviews
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Full-timePart-timeApprove of CEO
Donald A. Baer
106 Ratings
Pros
"Big name clients mean that there are high-exposure campaigns and opportunities to work on, which helps build skill and can look impressive on a resume" (in 10 reviews)
"Great people, office culture, interesting work, exciting environment" (in 18 reviews)
Cons
"Work life balance essentially depends on team associated with" (in 22 reviews)
"Parent company has large influence, lack of recognition for hard-working staff, long hours and focus on numbers over work" (in 18 reviews)
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"Great Experience!"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Comp & Benefits
- Senior Management
RecommendsDisapproves of CEOPros
Close office culture, fun events, generally approachable people
Cons
minimal yet expected office politics / can't get a sense of how employees have access to upward mobility
Burson-Marsteller 2017-11-30 12:13 PST![Burson-Marsteller Logo]()
"Didn't have the best experience"
StarStarStarStarStarI worked at Burson-Marsteller full-time
Pros
-Salary on par with other comms firms
Cons
-Not much support from leadership
-Lacks diversityAdvice to Management
Account management is hard work. Invest in your people to help alleviate the work environment.
Burson-Marsteller 2018-04-30 16:02 PDTHelpful (1)
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"Director"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Comp & Benefits
- Senior Management
Doesn't RecommendNegative OutlookDisapproves of CEOI worked at Burson-Marsteller full-time
Pros
As a former employee, I was fortunate to work with very talented folks. The environment was friendly and upbeat. The company allowed the employee flexible when it came to your work schedule.
Cons
Indecisive and untrustworthy senior management.
Promotions and raises are not based on hard work but "who you know".Advice to Management
Get your act together!!!! You're losing talented and loyal employees. Morale needs to come first. Listen to your employees and act accordingly.
Burson-Marsteller 2018-03-12 07:36 PDTHelpful (1)
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"VP"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Comp & Benefits
- Senior Management
RecommendsNeutral OutlookNo opinion of CEOI worked at Burson-Marsteller full-time
Pros
global reach, good people, knowledgeable staff
Cons
Poor management decisions, difficult to make long-term plans because business is run reactively according to clients
Advice to Management
Be more proactive--runs very reactively according to clients.
Burson-Marsteller 2018-02-20 15:03 PSTHelpful (1)
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"Just ok"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Comp & Benefits
- Senior Management
No opinion of CEOI worked at Burson-Marsteller full-time
Pros
Experience to work on high profile clients
You get to meet great people
Flexibility to work remotelyCons
Salaries are not competitive to other agencies
Promotions are hard to come byAdvice to Management
There's a lot of turnover in PR and especially at agencies so invest in your people.
Burson-Marsteller 2018-01-30 20:45 PSTHelpful (1)
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"Associate"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Comp & Benefits
- Senior Management
Doesn't RecommendNegative OutlookDisapproves of CEOI worked at Burson-Marsteller full-time
Pros
Good long-term, large clients, great internship program
Cons
Parent company has large influence, lack of recognition for hard-working staff, long hours and focus on numbers over work
Advice to Management
Recognize the work and the staff who produces quality work for key clients
Burson-Marsteller 2018-01-27 20:26 PST![Burson-Marsteller Logo]()
"Client Executive"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Comp & Benefits
- Senior Management
Doesn't RecommendPros
Most people are great and wonderful to learn/work from
Cons
Late hours, work/life balance, promotion cycle is horrendous
Burson-Marsteller 2017-12-04 16:26 PSTHelpful (1)
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"Smoke and Mirrors - Get your house in order"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Comp & Benefits
- Senior Management
Doesn't RecommendNegative OutlookDisapproves of CEOI worked at Burson-Marsteller full-time (More than a year)
Pros
Smart colleagues, diverse clients and new initiatives to improve culture and promote diversity & inclusion
Cons
Financial hardship (recent layoff selection process unclear - leaving many questions and concerns), top heavy, raise & promotions are not consistent both with timing (unsure as to when the next cycle will occur) and selection (lots of social promotions), performance development plans are useless and connected to nothing (raises nor firing), many senior leaders have been socially promoted and do not carry their weight - dumping the work and on younger staff and quickly point the finger at others.
Advice to Management
Get your house in order. Develop consistent HR practices for raises & promotions - talent and institutional knowledge are walking out the door every week. Take the business case for employee engagement seriously. Retention of clients will never work until you nurture and develop the people that serve them. Connect annual performance evaluations to raises and firing, without doing so they serve no purpose and you are not developing your talent or providing exits for low-performing employees.
Burson-Marsteller 2017-11-20 08:25 PSTHelpful (1)
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"Don't Be The Fool That Stays"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Comp & Benefits
- Senior Management
Doesn't RecommendNegative OutlookDisapproves of CEOI worked at Burson-Marsteller full-time (More than 3 years)
Pros
- Incredible talent everywhere you look that came for the name
- SF office prioritized culture and succeeded
- Flexibility
- Ability to punch above your weight (also a negative - see below)Cons
- Leadership needs to change as evident by the revolving door of talent
- ZERO communication where it matters; any communication is just smoke and mirrors that avoids talking about the topics people actually care about (i.e. why we lost the pitch or even that we lost the pitch, the outdated and ambiguous WPP-mandated promotion and raise cycle, serious IT problems, etc.)
- The practically non-existent promotion cycle that is lucky to come once a year
- Stuck using old HP garbage because of a deal signed years ago that should no longer apply
- Mr. Burson's deal with the Y&R / WPP devil that keeps BM so tightly wound and "number" focused that it ruins the work environment and the work products
- Junior talent forced to grow up fast and miss out on key development opportunities
- Junior talent working at much higher levels without recognition or compensationAdvice to Management
Same advice every other former employee is giving: figure out how to fix the employee retention epidemic and for god's sake, cut ties with WPP and remove the horrible cycle.
Burson-Marsteller 2017-12-07 03:52 PST![Burson-Marsteller Logo]()
"Junior Staffer"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Comp & Benefits
- Senior Management
RecommendsPositive OutlookApproves of CEOPros
- Great projects
- Capable and intelligent colleagues
- Opportunities for growth
- Entrepreneurial spiritCons
- Work life balance
- Crazy hoursBurson-Marsteller 2017-11-06 08:58 PST
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