Pluspunten
I have only been with Wolff Olins for a short time but so far I have had a fantastic experience. The team is extraordinary; it's inspiring and humbling to work with such talented folks. Here's a great mix of on the one hand young, bright and ambitious folks at the beginning of their careers and - on the other - very experienced, knowledgable staff who have often been with the agency for ten years or more. From what I can tell, there is a high retention rate - which speaks for itself. If I had to describe the overall attitude I would say people here are dedicated to their work, respectful of their colleagues and generally fun to be around all of which amounts to a strong sense of identity and culture.
Minpunten
The fact that the agency is owned by Omincom and housed together with a dozen of other creative businesses in a large, corporate office development doesn't do much to foster creativity, experimentation or a sense of belonging. It feels people a thriving not because but despite of the physical and operational workplace circumstances.
Pluspunten
Wonderful people ambitious for the work and the future of the industry
Minpunten
Important to focus on work life balance amidst heavy seasons
Pluspunten
If you're lucky, you'll work with teams who respect each other and put out world-class work. Most people genuinely care about each other and truly operate as a team. Working for well-established agency allows for instill trust from the clients who want to work with us. The Wolff Olins name still has weight to it and it will open doors for staff when they decide to leave. Free lunch twice a week in addition to fresh bagels every morning (provided by OMC).
Minpunten
Management, or what's left of it, is a complete mess. Inconsistent communication, endlessly changing processes and protocols formed by being reactive (instead of proactive) thus not making sense or being useful. There are a few office gossips who will make sure that news is spread before anyone even knew it was news. Some of those people sit in higher positions. You really need to watch what you're saying as you can almost always be assured it'll be shared widely. Pressure to perform but no incentives (bonuses, raises, or promotions) as the company refuses to understand how to win against their competitors. Resulted in multiple rounds of layoffs with nearly half of the headcount from a year ago remaining. Yet somehow everyone on the operations team still stands. What's left to operate? Feels very stubborn in thinking that we're always the best fit for clients, often showing up as cocky in a pitch. Inability to adapt to the current market. Incredibly top-heavy, making upward growth nearly impossible and making the few mid-level team members constantly on the hook for all of the work. Lack of interest to hire more junior and mid-level talent as nobody "has time" to manage or mentor. Lastly, Omnicom is such a stain on the organization. The hammer comes down and suddenly we are confined to Teams, confined to stringent in-office policies, confined to not being able to use tools because OMC doesn't approve them. Wolff Olins will never be the "best" or "coolest" agency because nobody wants to deal with the bureaucracy. Lastly, where's the DEI? Management and nearly all team leads are white. You cannot tote being diverse if your only diverse staff are confined to the same team or job seniority. Morale is so low after a year of layoffs, distrust, change backed by no rationale, and lack of new work. Everyone is looking for jobs, and if they're not, they really should be. The pro's do not outweigh the con's here.