Growing pains as company reaches new markets
Pros
W2O is going through a lot of change currently. Most of it is for the better, but there are occasional bumps in the road as the company matures. Senior leadership is attempting to create newer, healthier relationships with their client base, and as they do so are sloughing off the dead skin as both poorly conceived client engagements and employees that no longer fit within the organization. While there has been some turnover, there has also been some incredible new talent to better fit within the growing company. I consider this an important part of the company as they go forward. The hiring of middle management has certainly created some confusion at several levels. I was a Director for example, until they hired another Director to do my job, leaving me with the same team, but an added layer of management that wasn't creating any value (to the client nor the team). In one review here I read about power struggles between creative leads and I can confirm that this has happened on a few occasions leaving people uncertain about personal agendas, etc.
Cons
Communication within the organization needs help. Not in the amount of it, which seems to happen often enough. But in the quality and consistency of it. Too many last-minute company meetings seem like a home team football rally, with people doubting the sincerity (perhaps probability) of the announced strategy or plan 10 minutes later. Bringing in so many managers and staff from that other agency has in fact brought a lot of their problems, bad habits, and attitudes. (Pointed out in the review about a merger). The initial group were very smart people looking to do something different. Then came waves of people that were just wanting to join the party. I think that there were probably better candidates out there, I know I had several in the pipeline that were superior, and local. The first thing my new boss did though was to stop all of that recruiting I had been working on for months. As another reviewer pointed out rather caustically, the company had promised to make smart and infrequent RIF's, however forecasts fell short, and some last minute reductions (mine included) had to happen. They do this pretty quietly, and with less than ideal communication. The dog policy changed (Okay, I know this is trivial, but still important). But it used to be that there were some really great 4-legged personalities that would wander from room to room saying hello. They've created a leash-law of sorts, keeping animals tied to desks, or not brought in at all. I guess its part of maturing, but it was sad to lose all those puppy kisses.
