Pros
Management: Some of the managers there really have their heads screwed on and know how to rally the troops. Please continue to stay connected and supportive of the ground staff -that is what gets results. How they manage to navigate the bureaucratic mess, power trips and some of their uncooperative colleagues is beyond me. Culture: Most people working there have an open, relaxed and friendly attitude which makes the rest slightly more bearable. There were plenty of fun nights out and office events organized through a fantastic sports and social committee. Benefits: The health insurance is second to none and a fantastic perk. Parental leave. Sessions with a nearby personal trainer that you can take during office hours. Flexitime and the option to work from home (for some).
Cons
Management: Micromanagement. A smile, chat or quiet laugh is perceived (by some) as laziness and lack of focus. A segregated, overly competitive attitude is promoted with employees pitted against each other rather than reaching for the common goal. In my experience, any efforts toward team building were purely superficial. Constant schedule changes and team rotations, the 'rules' seemed to change every other day. There was a new process rolled out or altered every few weeks and none were properly enforced, they all failed to address serious long-term issues. Some manage to do very little apart from furiously typing unnecessary emails, reminding you of their seniority by constant check ups and subjective revisions. Stifle new ideas while taking credit for the ones that manage to slip through. Culture: The level of petty office politics, favouritism and nepotism involved in working there. Under qualified, under experienced employees are promoted ahead of more suitable candidates through personal connections. There is a very high turnover of staff with most employees moving on after a maximum of 2 years. Those experienced and valuable members of staff that leave were not replaced and it was up to the rest to pick up the slack. A scary percentage of staff had lost all desire to excel because the system that has been set up makes it so there is no benefit to standing out or going the extra mile. There were no positions to move into and a very meagre bonus once a year if you were lucky. The production staff, particularly creatives, were treated like servants. Some roles do not know if their position will be made obsolete from one week to the next. Facilities: Dirty office and break rooms. Bins overflowing each day, filthy eating utensils. Regularly a strong smell coming from the bathrooms that would quite literally take your breath away. There were only enough parking spaces for about two thirds of the staff which caused mayhem every morning. Be prepared to scale a ditch or climb over a wall as you move between meetings… Technology: Out-dated systems and technology. Vast majority of staff who require decent computers are using something circa 1995. Lacking the basic, industry standard software. Salaries Far too low, once people gain or top-up their experience they move on. When offering you a position they will seriously low-ball you...hold out for more because the raises do not happen.