Incredible team, disappointing pay and HR culture - Media Executive WPP Employee Review

2.0
Sep 28, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

1. The team was phenomenal—genuinely full of go-getters. 2. Learned so much from the senior staff, who were always willing to help, guide, and mentor. 3. Managers were committed to career progression and consistently pushed for promotions and growth opportunities. 4. Day-to-day, colleagues were collaborative, supportive, and some of the best I’ve ever worked with.

Cons

1. Pay was significantly below industry average (around ~$65k including super for my level). 2. While direct managers were strong, wider organisational pay structures were dismal. 3. HR culture was toxic. The new Head of People & Culture who came in during my time was insensitive and unempathetic, particularly around mental health. Several team members felt unsupported or even threatened with termination when raising wellbeing issues, which led to multiple resignations. Instead of addressing workload or structural problems, HR often blamed employees. 4. High turnover due to these HR issues, which was demoralising for the wider team.

Explore other reviews about WPP

5.0
Jun 12, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Nice company to work for

Cons

Nice company to work for and good people

4.0
Jun 15, 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

After 5+ years here, the thing that keeps me is genuinely the people. The talent across this company is remarkable — collaborative, smart, and decent humans who make even the hard days manageable. The culture at the team level is something I haven't found elsewhere in this industry. The work itself is a real strength too. As a holding company, you get exposure to a diverse range of clients and challenges that keeps things fresh and stretches your skills in ways a single-agency role wouldn't. If you're curious and want to grow, the opportunities are there — you just have to be proactive about finding them. Flexibility has also improved meaningfully, and leadership has generally trusted senior employees to manage their own time.

Cons

Like most large holding companies, there are growing pains worth knowing about going in. Career pathing can feel ambiguous — it's not always clear what the criteria are for the next level or how decisions get made, though there are signs that more structured frameworks are being developed. Compensation conversations can be slow and incremental; the company is working to stay competitive but the process doesn't always move at the pace the market does. Workload and resourcing is a real tension — ambitious scopes don't always come with proportional headcount, and that can wear on teams. It's something leadership is visibly aware of and working to address. Similarly, as a large organization, internal processes and approvals can add friction. Not unusual for the holding company structure, but worth patience if you're used to a leaner environment.

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