• Being a small firm, young employees never actually learn the tools of the trade hurting their career in the long-term (SMTs, global campaigns, change management, internal communications, corporate communications, PR Newswire, and more…)
• Their IT system is from the 90s, no laptops for employees, no automated HR software for time and expenses, no cloud technology, no conference room booking, or viewing other’s calendars in Outlook, etc.
• AWFUL leadership, especially in the Chicago office – the highest ups in this office pick favorites, could sometimes be very inappropriate around his subordinates (including engaging in VERY off-topic conversations), gossip about employees, and are generally inexperienced, and have no actual experience in the REAL PR world – all they know is how to run a tiny campaign without any real metrics. It’ almost laughable.
• Awful work/life balance. You work long hours and nights, and are uncompensated. Barely any work from home days. They treat their employees like children, instead of real adults
• Little room for salary growth, unless you want to cap out at like $85k, which is really sad…
• A bit of a “trashy” environment, very-high ups would smoke cigarettes constantly and openly discuss “recreational” habits with employees
• They overpromise clients the world, and when of course they can’t deliver, they come down hard on those who run the account
• Unless you “drink the Kool-Aid” you are ostracized
• A lot of secrecy between higher-ups, and those lower in the totem pole
• Extremely hostile work environment, very manipulative
• VERY little vacation time
• No 401k, just an IRA offered, no life insurance, no disability insurance, etc.
• Was essentially a “popularity contest” all the time
• Leadership in Chicago were very disconnected from Chicago social scene, which is not idea for PR
• Leadership VERY scared to tell a client they were wrong, when often they could benefit from this honest
• Wagstaff Worldwide tends to be very nice to their client’s faces, then talk behind their backs…especially about beer distributor clients in the Chicago office, which was pretty much a running joke making fun of them. No client should EVER be talked about so awfully as they did them
• Overeating of carbohydrates and dairy products from food tastings for clients often lead to weight gain of employees, employees with dietary restrictions are often looked down upon
• Associates are forced to lie about the number of clients they actually serve to clients, in reality they serve much more than their actually told to say
• Once you reach Account Supervisor there’s no where else to go, and you’re stuck because they don’t give you the skills you need to succeed at a real PR firm
LOW PAY!