Not a great place to be right now (but still hopeful?) - Anonymous employee Wolff Olins Employee Review

2.0
Dec 14, 2016
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Great location in the West Village. People are generally pretty fun. Good amount of vacation days, competitive benefits. But the real reason I joined was for the promise of learning from the best and brightest. For a long time, this was the case. I've gotten to help on some iconic projects with great people.

Cons

Not sure when the place turned, but I think it was about 18-24 months ago when there was a massive exit of the top people. A few people took advantage of the situation and landed at a place that gave them an inordinate amount of power for the experience they had, especially when it came to managing people and leading teams. This, in my opinion, changed the dynamic of the office. What resulted was a lot of lost pitches because of poor team chemistry, people getting run ragged because of mismanagement, and most disturbingly, those responsible for the mismanagement resorting to intimidation and bullying. While this nastiness only happened to a few people, I think they (the culprits) underestimated how much even witnessing such things affect people. Morale is at an all-time low. There were layoffs but now there are needn't be any more rounds because so many people have left voluntarily. It feels like more are leaving every other week. There are more people wanting to get out than wanting to say where they are.

Explore other reviews about Wolff Olins

5.0
Jul 23, 2024
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Wonderful people ambitious for the work and the future of the industry

Cons

Important to focus on work life balance amidst heavy seasons

1
avatar
Wolff Olins Response
1y
Hi - it's Sairah here. Thank you for taking time out to share here, especially when I know how busy it's been for everyone while juggling all of the demands our industry is currently experiencing. I do hear you on work-life balance and we're working to lighten the load, which should become easier now that we're through a heavy pitch load combined with the summer holidays. We'll get there and we'll do it while keeping our ambition, standards and optimism high thanks to our wonderful team and spirit as you say 🙌
2.0
May 21, 2025
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

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).

Cons

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.

1
avatar
Wolff Olins Response
1y
Hi - it's Sairah here. Thank you for taking the time to share such a detailed and thoughtful review. I’m glad to hear that you’ve experienced the strength of our teams, the support people give each other, and the pride that comes from working at Wolff Olins. It’s wonderful to know that our name and our work continue to open doors for people, and that the culture of care and collaboration is still felt (and lunch is good too!). That said, I hear your concerns loud and clear, and I want to acknowledge how tough things have been recently. The current economic environment, the resulting uncertainty in our industry and the impact of layoffs everywhere are all very real and have affected us in different ways. You can be sure that I take your points about management, communication, and morale very seriously. These are not the experiences I want anyone to have, and while it’s clear we have work to do, I also feel we're on the right track, gaining momentum and that more positive times are ahead. Our clients are great, our work is great, and our people are great - we have the most brilliant ingredients to get back to our best very quickly. Regarding gossip, lack of transparency, and a feeling of being undervalued or unsupported - this isn't what any of us want, and it's not what we're about. With the help of our local leadership team, each will be addressed. I know recent changes have been unsettling, and there's an awful lot more in your feedback that I'd love to talk about - let's pick that up internally. Thank you for your honesty and for caring enough to share in the meantime. And do drop me a line privately if you'd like to, or reach out to Jill or your community lead, so we can keep moving things forward together.
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