- 5 years of declining revenues
- Lacking basic company-wide processes, tools and methodologies to operate efficiently and profitably
- Lack of accountability from the C-suite on down - this takes place in the form of vague direction to very little going on record
- Nearly everyone working in siloes, which creates needless duplication of effort, hoarding of information as well as inertia
- No onboarding for new employees
- Inconsistent brand experience and culture across offices
- Conflict of working styles and resulting resentment between French and English teams
- No employee training programs
- Poor hiring: top talent is neither sought after nor retained, and without top talent in management, it is very hard to attract others
- Poor communication: most meetings have no agenda or end in next steps and very little goes on record (see lack of accountability)
- Lack of investment in its brands
- Many departments understaffed due to cost cutting measures
- Unclear chain of command, roles & responsibilities
- Many VPs unwilling to roll up their sleeves and set up the necessary infrastructure for their teams to succeed, and gather honest feedback about how it's working
Last, but not least:
It seems senior management is a revolving door for a certain clique of men who are being perpetually propped up by their buddies inside and outside of the company in order to escape accountability. If you're not one of them, it's highly likely that you will get stuck with the blame while they move onward and upward at TC Media or elsewhere. I fully understand the need for strong relationships and synergy in business, but something seems wrong here, given the lack of financial results. You need divergent views, know-how, accountability and integrity to turn around this business.
In summary, it's very difficult even for the best and brightest to succeed given all these factors.
A bad career move for most.
