KBM Group Reviews

Pros

KBM sells technological solutions, so technology jobs are part of the business and technology workers are treated as part of the business, rather than just cost center that doesn't produce revenue. KBM is not publicly traded, so we don't have knee-jerk reactions to stock prices or analyst calls. The people are friendly and helpful to others. KBM has the lowest level of internal politics I've ever worked in. Management examines problems that arise with a view toward correcting the process rather than punishing the individuals involved. Overall, it's a great environment in which to work.

Cons

The merit pay raise pool is dictated by parent companies and is lower than the industry average for technology workers. There is no meaningful incentive bonus system for worker-level employees. Benefits seem costly for employees, but perhaps the employee costs are going up at all companies.

Pros

The people are extraordinarily bright and somehow motivated. There are opportunities to work with a variety of teams, partners and clients. You get the chance to interact with everybody from project managers to marketers to creatives.

Cons

Absolute chaos, constant churn, the work stacks up and it never ends. It's highly repetitive with little opportunity to learn. After a while it becomes so mundane, and too many hours, that you get burned out. The team is extremely understaffed. You do everything and work alone in an individual silo. There is no collaboration with other team members. The VP is an uninspiring workaholic with little understanding of what the team needs to be successful. Hours and hours of process have been added, but nothing has been done to improve the quality of work. His priorities are client, billable hours, process and more billable hours. He's full of ideas, but has no management skills whatsoever.

Pros

The opportunity to work with global teams and across multiple client industries. There are a few gems in management that really care about your career development, if you find them; they are the reason why I learned a great deal.

Cons

Micromanagement. Shady politics. Out of touch with innovation. Dysfunctional teams. Below average compensation. Poor integration with the greater Wunderman agency which is actually a much better company to work for. Unclear path for advancement and raises. The cultural shift over the past year has lead to low morale but also to the departure of many very talented senior employees, and with them some very important leadership and interesting work.

Pros

I liked the people I worked with, but that's about it. They're a great group, trying to do the best they can at a really tough place.

Cons

I barely lasted a year here. The hours were killing me, and there was no work life balance. Unless you count 100% work as balance. I lost all my weekends to this job. This was a lot of stress with no rewards. The amount of time put in to get work done was never appreciated and was criticized by other teams or clients. The job was supposed to be about analysis and insights, but 90% of my time was spent setting things up and making sure things work. You may as well be a project manager. The VP always promises things will get better, but they don't. He sells big ideas with PowerPoint and Visio presentations, but he doesn't know how to manage or execute. And then he demands you do more work. The last straw for me was when the new Director created a boys club environment. I had enough after that.

Pros

Friendly staff, broad client base, broad product offerings (though not well defined), part of large global organization (a con at many times)

Cons

Poor pay (no pay raises for 5+ years); politics. KBM seems to have lost their way in recent years with no clear vision of the future, no loyalty to employees, and absolutely no support from HR. Leaders

Pros

Lots of different clients with differing project scopes. Exposure to many different network agencies and different methodologies. The company tests you on all levels and provides the occasional good stress to really propel you forward so that you're ready for anything.

Cons

I have not experienced any unique challenges that differ from normal challenges you see in every position.

Pros

The people are fabulous: cordial, professional and smart. The work has been satisfying.

Cons

It suffers from corporate baggage, meaning there are layers and bureaucracy from outside the office. It tends to make mountains out of mole hills.

Pros

Working for this company was satisfying. I was kept busy all the hours that I worked, and the benefits were more than adequate. This company really cares about its employees.

Cons

The challenges came during the times when the work was overwhelming. Sometimes the grass-roots employees were kept in the dark about situations, but even this improved. Actually, the "cons" about this job were very few.