AVOID AT ALL COST! TOXIC WORKPLACE - Account Executive Grayling Employee Review

Management is encouraging and working on building a strong close-knit team

It is a smaller team, but growing

- Flexibility, including working from home at least one day and week and closed for the week between Christmas and New Year's - Great opportunity to build technology reporter relationships - You do not have to record and enter time at this agency

The work is entirely tactical and not at all strategic. The firm represents its success to clients in the number of stories placed and so the day to day is composed almost entirely of pitching. At one point I was told that the expectation was that I would come up with and push out two proactive pitches a week per client if they did not have news to announce - it was very alienating for my reporter contacts and personally stressful for me to constantly be coming up with pitches with no news or new content. Further, clients are encouraged to take any interview secured, regardless of whether the publication or topic is beneficial to the client's business ROI (and without regard to whether there's a potential risk in giving the interview). Last, the digital department is not at all integrated with the PR teams and there is no opportunity to plan and carry out integrated outreach campaigns, events, online activations or really anything that deviates from smile and dial traditional media outreach activities - it's clear that the founders do not come from a PR background and don't have a robust understanding of the services that other firms offer. As an employee, the work is not challenging or engaging on an intellectual level.