Great team mixed with chaotic leadership - Anonymous employee SmartAcre Employee Review

I've worked at SmartAcre twice now -- why did I come back? These are the best and smartest people I've ever worked with/for. Everyone is passionate about their work and brings their best every day because of it, which inspires me to do the same and is the reason I've grown as much as I have as a professional. As someone who is a returning employee, I can not speak enough to the difference in the company culture today vs a few years ago. The leadership team puts the people first. Here are a few examples of how/what that actually means: 1) They are the most transparent leadership team I've ever worked for. I was actually shocked during the first quarterly agency recap meeting when they told us the company revenue goals, where we stood at that point in the year (down to the dime - we also all have access to see this directly within our CRM if we ever wanted to look for ourselves) and where we're headed as an agency/ any changes we should anticipate coming our way. The CEO literally records a video for the agency every single Friday with a recap of what he's been up to all week and highlights any exciting news or agency wins (he also always remembers to give a shout out for any birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, moving/purchasing a first home, encouraging someone to enjoy an upcoming vacation, etc). In the past, I literally had no idea what the leadership team was up to and felt a frequent sense of anxiety about changes that could be coming if I sensed something was up. It is basically the complete opposite of that today and it's why I love working here. They even fired a client after a new point of contact was hired there who didn't treat our team with the respect the SmartAcre leadership team ensures that all members of the agency are given. 2) They will go SO far out of their way to make sure you're supported and set up for success that the only reason I've seen anyone fail over the past 2 years (only 1 full time employee has left during this time) is due to a lack of passion for what they're doing. They used to require that people work in-office, at one of their spaces in Bethlehem, Denver, or NYC, but now it's a fully remote agency, so you can work from wherever and are never required to go into an office. However, there are still office hubs that can be used when you'd like to and events planned to make sure we can still see each other in person from time to time. Endless opportunities here for learning and growing, you'll never be bored (which for me, is critical or I lose the drive to bring my A-game), the clients are also great people, and everyone here wants to see you succeed. There's an unlimited time off policy, 401k match, great health benefits, paid maternity leave, $1k/yr learning stipend, and more. ****tl;dr: This is a really, really awesome place to work.

Agency life is tough, and days can be a little unpredictable which some people don't jive with. I actually require that type of environment, so it definitely works for me, but if you want a job where you kick your feet up and no one ever comes to you with an urgent request that you're expected to tend to, this won't be for you.

I started as an intern and transitioned to full-time. What got me to stay with SmartAcre was the great people and the fast-paced work environment. When working with my team there is always a "Get Sh** done" attitude that is highly infectious and motivating. I know this may sound generic, but you truly do learning something new every day. For me, it was extremely important that I got as much exposure to all aspects of digital marketing as possible early in my career, and SmartAcre does this well: I touch many aspects of digital marketing (demand generation, ABM, email, content, PPC, SEO) and get exposure to some of the most popular marketing automation platforms (like HubSpot, Pardot, Marketo). There is a lot of opportunities to grow in the agency and I feel as if the upper management cares about my future with the company.

Agency life isn't for everyone. Work is fast paced and you are expected to produce high-quality work in a relatively short amount of time. Sometimes your team is pushing a deadline and you need to stay later then you planned. From time to time, the hours your client pay you for limits what you can do for them which is frustrating. You want to produce the best work possible but can't because they paid for 5 hours of work instead of the 10 that would have made it great. For me, it was important to draw a distinct line between work and my personal life. For those who don't have healthy work/life hygiene or are ones to easily get consumed by the quantity of work, beware.