Code3 reviews about "layoff"

- The main negative is there are a few unhappy team members who want to infect those around them; immaturity even at the mid and lower senior levels makes team dynamics difficult at times - As with any agency, the hours can be more than 40/week - especially on more complex accounts - Agency stability is based on client outcomes, more clients = growth, less clients = layoffs - simple business economics tbh - We could use more junior talent, to develop and provide tactical support, so CP and Activation leads can focus more on client strategy

Another senseless mass layoff of actual employee talent in favor of keeping a bloated c-suite that adds more white people every day to the top. Dont let them fool you. This place is losing clients by the week because its leaders are phoning it in, using AI to tell them how to think and delivering BS solutions for “proprietary” offerings that always fail to last or work. I feel embarrassed to work here.

This was, without question, the most damaging work environment I've experienced in my career. Within my first two months—while I was still onboarding—I was reviewing a recorded client call to gather information for one of the many accounts I had recently inherited. Before the meeting had officially begun, the recording had already started, and an Associate Director and a Director were having a conversation about me. They questioned my competence, reliability, and trustworthiness, using language that, from my perspective, reflected bias rather than an objective assessment of my work—especially considering how new I was to the organization. Instead of receiving direct coaching or feedback, I found out what senior leaders thought of me by listening to a recording I was reviewing as part of my job. From that moment on, my trust in leadership was gone. I never felt like I was given a realistic opportunity to succeed. New clients were assigned so quickly that I barely had time to learn one account before taking on another. I routinely worked 15+ hour days just trying to stay afloat. At the same time, I was expected to build comprehensive year-in-review strategy presentations for businesses I had just inherited, with little historical context, limited documentation, and, in some cases, without the data needed to perform the analysis. Leadership didn't seem to fully understand the situation until they joined client calls themselves. Once they saw how the accounts had been transitioned and what information was actually available, it became clear that many of the challenges employees were facing were built into the way the organization operated. I have no issue receiving feedback when it's deserved. What became frustrating was watching systemic problems repeatedly be framed as individual performance issues. The instability never stopped. I had five different managers in roughly six months. Expectations changed constantly, priorities shifted week to week, and consistent coaching was nearly impossible. During the same period, there were repeated layoffs and significant turnover. Despite that, the company continued holding large company-wide events. As an employee watching coworkers lose their jobs while teams were stretched beyond capacity, those priorities were difficult to understand. HR also failed to build confidence. During my time there, HR promoted itself as an open-door resource while also openly talking about enjoying workplace gossip and drama. Whether it was intended as a joke or not, it made me think twice about bringing forward concerns. Employees need HR professionals who solve problems—not people looking for the latest tea. As a Black professional, hearing senior leaders question my competence only two months into my employment—while I was still onboarding and working extraordinary hours—reinforced many of the workplace challenges Black professionals often describe. I can only speak to my own experience, but I never felt I was given a fair opportunity to establish myself before my abilities were called into question. Eventually, the stress became overwhelming, and I had to take a medical leave of absence. No job has ever affected my mental health the way this one did. Before accepting an offer, ask detailed questions about onboarding, workload expectations, manager turnover, and how new employees are supported. My experience was one where I was expected to perform at a high level immediately, often without the context, resources, or stability needed to do the job well.

- Layoffs and job stability - Heavy workloads - Leadership

This used to be a great place to work. Team camaraderie, opportunities for growth, a fun environment - until a new CEO was brought on a few years ago and layoffs started to occur at least once per year. It became a culture of fear, even for longstanding employees who knew the business inside and out and worked extremely hard. The entire ELT team is essentially all former co-workers from leadership’s previous company. Friends hiring friends, where accountability and transparency is non-existent. My team had gone to leadership many times with ideas for client retention, processes, and general feedback. Each time, leadership “listens” and you never hear back or get a follow up. Lots of “ideas” thrown around by leadership with no actions.

high turnover rates people don’t stay here very long

Are you tired of predictable employment, reasonable workloads, and organizational stability? Then look no further than Code3, where every day feels like a thrilling survival challenge! At Code3, layoffs aren't unfortunate events they're part of our culture. Why settle for job security when you can enjoy the excitement of wondering whether you'll still have a paycheck next quarter? As coworkers disappear, don't worry you won't have to pick up some of their work. You'll have the privilege of picking up all of it. Watch your workload double or even triple while being held to the exact same performance standards as before. After all, your bandwidth, capacity, and personal boundaries are merely suggestions when "doing what's best for the business" is on the line. Lost a client because you're now doing the work of three people? That's the beauty of our accountability program: somehow it's still your fault. The resulting loss of revenue then leads to more layoffs, which creates more understaffed client teams, which leads to more unhappy clients, which leads to more lost revenue. We call this our "self-sustaining business model." Looking for strong leadership? Great news! While frontline teams desperately need more junior-level talent to actually perform the work, leadership continues investing in what truly matters: additional C-suite executives. Because what every struggling agency needs is another highly compensated person to explain why everyone else needs to work harder. And if you're concerned about performance issues among certain members of leadership and client services, particularly the men who seem permanently protected despite repeated concerns? Don't worry your feedback will be treated with the utmost care and attention before being promptly ignored. New hires will also love our revolutionary training program, which eliminates unnecessary onboarding. Why waste valuable time teaching employees when they can be speaking directly with clients and handling client work by Day 2? Sink or swim isn't just a philosophy it's our entire learning and development strategy. Hard work and dedication are highly valued here, which is why you'll constantly be told how indispensable, critical, and amazing you are. Recognition may not come in the form of meaningful compensation, resources, staffing support, or career growth, but you can rest assured someone will call you a "rockstar" before assigning you another project. Speaking of growth, promotions are absolutely available. The title changes. The responsibilities increase. Your day-to-day experience remains exactly the same. It's a truly innovative approach to career advancement. Overall, I would not recommend this agency to anyone seeking stability, growth, support, training, recognition, or a sustainable workload. If you're looking for an endless cycle of lost clients, lost revenue, lost employees, and increasingly unrealistic expectations, however, you've found your dream workplace. As for the agency's future? Let's just say I'd recommend enjoying the experience while it's still around.

Since joining the company, the environment has been marked by repeated layoffs and ongoing instability. These cuts have created significant staffing gaps that have never been properly addressed, leaving remaining employees to absorb increasing workloads with little structural support. Teams are consistently overextended, and while leadership is aware of the resourcing challenges, there has been little meaningful change to address them. Instead, the burden falls on employees to “figure it out” and keep client work moving despite unrealistic workloads. A particularly frustrating dynamic is that employees who go above and beyond to cover gaps are often praised for stepping up, but when the inevitable decline in quality or bandwidth happens elsewhere, the same individuals are criticized rather than leadership acknowledging the structural issues that caused it. Executive leadership also feels disconnected from the day-to-day realities of the organization. There is a noticeable lack of visibility and engagement from the CEO and senior leadership team, which contributes to a growing sense that employee burnout and morale are not a priority. Overall, the culture has become increasingly reactive and stressful, with teams doing their best to deliver under circumstances that feel unsustainable.