Good place to work - Digital Marketing Connect Group Employee Review

* Talented, friendly people - this is the company's biggest asset * Good mix of people - all ages, all walks of life, different skills * Relaxed atmosphere - lots of trust and no micro management * Great social events - organised through the employee-driven Culture Club * Enlightened approach - to things like diversity and mental health * Some good benefits - pension, healthcare, 30 days' holiday

* No career progression - huge turnover of young, ambitious, skilled people * No bonus structure, no promotion opportunities, no salary review - basic things you might take for granted at other companies are non existent. Even appraisals are voluntary * Partners do not value full time employees - happy to let skilled people leave and replace them with contractors * Zero training offered - if you want training you have to break down doors to get it, and even then it's not guaranteed * Owners do not abide by their own company values - how can you truly create a culture when management do not believe in it? Madness! * Lack of clear direction - need to write a new mission statement every six months * Base strategy on marketing buzzwords not on what they're really good at, hence why strategy frequently changes * Can't retain staff, can't recruit staff - very reliant on contractors which creates strange imbalance and transient workforce. Demoralising doing same job as people who get paid twice as much.

The core team here are hardworking and lovely people.

Where do I start? - The company is run by ego maniacs who are always there to accept praise but hide away from reality and criticism. Then they wonder why staff berate them to their faces at social events like the Xmas Party. - Since the ITG takeover said directors now spend even less time in the office despite claiming to be "employees" rather than owners. Imagine if we all operated on the same timetables. - Said directors can also never agree on anything; one thinks we are Saatchi and Saatchi and acts like he's some sort of celebrity, the other thinks we're some Silicon Valley tech firm because we've built a couple of half-decent Web apps. - Directors promote their favourites or bring people back in senior roles after they've left the company at the expense of others. A recent promotion has seen someone who is known by the client services as the biggest nightmare to work with take a role that is above 90% of the people in the office and is enjoying lording it over other more deserving staff. - Intense office politics, particularly from members of the senior team. - Popular members of staff are leaving in droves because they are fed up of playing games. - One director thinks it's appropriate to brag about how they spent £495000 on a holiday home when his employees are struggling to pay their own bills. All he cares about is his own ego.