Critical Mass FAQ

Pros

There used to be free cooked breakfast, then COVID happened. Loads of lovely people there who got turned into bitter husks.

Cons

Terrible MD, no ability to delegate, doesn't trust the people she hires to do there jobs, doesn't allow the people she hires to do their jobs. Will take praise when things go well and blame everyone else when things go wrong. That flows down to a back-stabby environment. Multiple staff burning out and having to take time out/go on meds. This place will work you like a dog then blame you for breaking. More than 50% of the staff left in the short time I worked there. Senior management completely blind as to who the one single constant is in the absolute shambles that is the London office.

Advice to Management

Empathy training isn't good enough. Take real action.

Pros

benefits, company culture, events, pay,

Cons

hours worked, late emails, too many meetings,

Pros

Some incredibly talented people who are a pleasure to work with Benefits are comparable to peer agencies Promotions happen a lot but quite often it seems more like a retention scheme than actually warranted, ie employees being promoted up two levels at once before they’re actually ready.

Cons

Leadership under the current CEO is seriously lacking since the original president stepped down. He has no charisma, he seems bored in town halls, and he feigns empathy for employees but there’s no action. He’s at the top because he’s been there since the beginning but he doesn’t represent the dynamic of current day employees. He doesn’t really appear to listen or care about employee needs, though he greatly benefits from our hard work. C-suite creative team is a straight, white boys club. They talk so much about diversity and inclusion but it’s not shown at the top. More than half the creative team and almost all the dev team in our office left within one year and there was no acknowledgement or action to reassure or retain those remaining Pay is below industry standards and despite being a billion dollar generating agency owned by a huge parent company there is no bonus program or profit sharing for employees below c-suite, despite having increased profits year over year even during the pandemic. Mental health and work/life balance is not actively provided for and there are barely any sick or wellness days to accommodate. A few sick days for an entire year is a joke especially during covid, and the handful of flex days don’t cover it either. Upper management talk up their core values but they don’t follow them There’s no culture to speak of. Creative management is uninspired and pushes the responsibility to build culture onto the creatives.

Advice to Management

Competitor agencies are doing way better at the things listed above. Do better or continue to have massive turnover. You’re losing so many talented people due to your hubris.

Pros

- Great culture, passionate about maintaining it - Love in-person work - Are very flexible with remote work/in-person work - Are TRYING to recruit more diverse talent - Very friendly and supportive people - Smart and passionate upper management - Upper management is usually very supportive and fights for their teams are very supportive of reproductive rights, gender affirmation procedures, and things in the same vein

Cons

- Have a hard time keeping junior and mid level talent due to salary but get passive aggressive & retaliate in sketchy ways when people try to leave due to that reason - Health benefits aren't great - Talent is not quite diverse yet - Work life balance CAN get bad - Most of upper management are workaholics - Owned by a larger holding company so everything has to go through them

Pros

Some incredibly talented people who are a pleasure to work with Benefits are comparable to peer agencies Promotions happen a lot but quite often it seems more like a retention scheme than actually warranted, ie employees being promoted up two levels at once before they’re actually ready.

Cons

Leadership under the current CEO is seriously lacking since the original president stepped down. He has no charisma, he seems bored in town halls, and he feigns empathy for employees but there’s no action. He’s at the top because he’s been there since the beginning but he doesn’t represent the dynamic of current day employees. He doesn’t really appear to listen or care about employee needs, though he greatly benefits from our hard work. C-suite creative team is a straight, white boys club. They talk so much about diversity and inclusion but it’s not shown at the top. More than half the creative team and almost all the dev team in our office left within one year and there was no acknowledgement or action to reassure or retain those remaining Pay is below industry standards and despite being a billion dollar generating agency owned by a huge parent company there is no bonus program or profit sharing for employees below c-suite, despite having increased profits year over year even during the pandemic. Mental health and work/life balance is not actively provided for and there are barely any sick or wellness days to accommodate. A few sick days for an entire year is a joke especially during covid, and the handful of flex days don’t cover it either. Upper management talk up their core values but they don’t follow them There’s no culture to speak of. Creative management is uninspired and pushes the responsibility to build culture onto the creatives.

Advice to Management

Competitor agencies are doing way better at the things listed above. Do better or continue to have massive turnover. You’re losing so many talented people due to your hubris.