Creative-Marketer-Turned-Talent-Curator | Agency Matchmaking + Talent Placement | Marketing, Advertising, Creative, Digital & PR | Agency Veteran | Global Network | STL Groupie | Diversity Champion
Reasons why I left a holding company ecosystem: 1. It doesn't matter how much money you make for the holding company; it's never enough. I'm serious when I say 40% margins are not enough. 2. You're filling the pockets of people on Wall Street so they can buy their fifth house and their 18th Maserati. (All on the backs of people working 80 hours a week missing ballet recitals and little league games, who haven't had a raise in three years.) 3. You can report years of profitability and have one weak quarter, and heads are rolling. You're forced to decide which loyal, talented, hard-working employee(s) you must "manage out" only to replace them at a lower salary in six months by someone younger. 4. I couldn't stomach one more CEO call reporting "record-breaking revenue," during which they jubilantly declared, "Our business is never stronger," only to tell your team that there are only cost-of-living increases—and they will be three months late. 5. I was tired of the biannual trips from the six suits flown in from NYC who force the top 50 executives in a conference room for two hours so they can project an Excel spreadsheet on a conference room wall and go line-by-line to call people out on things like: "why are you doing original photo shoots and not stock photography when we own a part of Getty?" or "why did you spend $2M printing annual reports for that Fortune 25 company with a printing company we don't own?" Mmmm. Quality of the work? It's more effective FOR THE CLIENT? It makes more financial sense FOR THE CLIENT? Smaller, independent firms have challenges, and they're not perfect, but they don't operate like The Sopranos, and the ones I know do their best to share the spoils with their people. Happy people do great work. You should try it sometime. Hire an independent, privately-held agency. #lovewhatyoudo #hireindependents #agency #client #marketing #advertising #digital #creative #pr
"We're excited to announce record breaking profits....and mass layoffs"
Yep it's a good way to lose hard working and dependable people. Plus most places don't have cost of living raises either. Some people make less money in "professional" positions with seniority then some people start out at in entry level positions. Simply because they can't afford to give out raises and then raise almost every other departments wages. Then they wonder what they can do in order to keep "good" workers. It's a greed problem and lack of humanity. They haven't ever had to decide between feeding their kids and themselves and it shows. That's all I will rant about.
Thank you for sharing your experience! It’s eye-opening to see the impact of corporate culture on employees' well-being and productivity. At WinSavvy, we believe in valuing our team and prioritizing quality and client satisfaction over rigid profit margins. Smaller, independent firms truly offer a more human-centric approach. Appreciate your honesty and insight!
Oh, and the whole creative team is tied up for weeks on materials for the six suits & 50 execs mtg and therefore not available to the acct teams trying to 1. win new business and 2. service existing clients (1. which drives the firm and 2. which comes first)(never understood the contradiction but will never forget the slogans). Used to really, really drive me crazy!
Appreciate you sharing. Point #1 is giving me flashbacks. Independent firms are more likely to prioritize people over profit.
So unfair of you! How do you suppose they pay for all those entries and trips to Cannes every year?
Bonus points if you actually know / interact with the owner of the indie.
Not to mention...the sheer number of very, very unhappy people looking to spread that unhappiness around...
Bingo! Us Indy folks make work way more fun too.
Performance & Integrated Marketing Strategy
3wTotally agree with you on large, holding agencies. But have also experienced the penny pinching approach of smaller, independent firms where it was things like, “that two hours you took to go to a doctors appointment? We’re going to need you to make that up in billable hours this week.” And, “Sorry, grandparents aren’t included in the bereavement policy. That half day you took to attend the funeral will need to come from your PTO.”