Aggressive, unrealistic deadlines: These lead to panic in the office and poor quality work, despite the team's best attempts.
Frustrated, desperate employees: Employees have few opportunities to produce meaningful work, leading to a feeling of unfulfilled potential.
No creativity and no respect for creative professions: For a company that describes itself as an "agency", management sure has a hate-on for the world of graphic design. Upper management seems to constantly mock other, very serious and successful agencies for putting stock into great design. No one at the company bothers to interact with or become a member of local creative institutions or communities. Does not believe that good design is important.
Management abruptly changes employees' job functions to suit their needs regardless of whether or not it was the job the employee earned an education in or was hired for. Employees are often thrown into doing SEO work with no understanding of what to do or how to do it. Meanwhile, management will outsource for things like graphic design and copywriting, a very pricey thing to do. Creative types are the ones who get thrust into doing SEO work typically because they're younger and management makes them feel as though they should be grateful to accept any work coming to them. Management also routinely forces employees to work reception at the drop of a hat. They also expect them to fully complete their original job function and SEO tasks at this time. Then they balk at the notion that this is unacceptable and unfair. If you leave the company after this kind of treatment, they will go behind your back and tell lies about you to other employees to make it seem like they didn't do anything wrong and like you were a bad person. This has happened to almost every person who has left the company to date.
No HR presence - sexist, racist, and extremely offensive commentary is rampant in the office. If employees ask to meet with management to politely discuss how cruel and unfair this kind of commentary is, they're told to "suck it up" and "learn to take a joke". Have overheard staff discussing female clients in a sexually explicit nature immediately after she left the building following a meeting.
Management places undervalued employees (ones they don't like or care about) in a dark corner at the back of the office with six foot tall desk shields to discourage talking among employees. You're not a person at Metric Marketing, you're a means to an end.
Suggestions, questions, and complaints are met with anger followed by termination. Management does not want anyone rocking the boat. The moment an employee speaks up about something, plans are set in place to let them go or treat them so poorly that the employee is all but forced to leave.
I would never let anyone I know work at this company. To work there is to be underpaid, overworked, have your skills, problem-solving abilities, and creativity be hugely undervalued.
