LAVIDGE Reviews

Some departments are very obviously valued and lauded over others. My team was siloed from the rest of the company, and it seemed like upper management was not concerned with investing in us or our growth. There near constant turnover, which nearly doubled my workload over time. Upper management focuses more on branding the company as employee-centric and earning awards and recognitions than actually making that a reality. A lot of money goes into parties, events, and other miscellaneous treats but not into salaries. They will argue that pay is above average, but this was not even remotely true for my department. They also encourage feedback via anonymous surveys but then argue concerns and criticisms. LAVIDGE doesn’t seem to be too concerned that they are hemorrhaging talented, hard-working people, which speaks to how little employees are valued here. Management was also highly unprofessional. My department director would frequently come in late, take hours-long lunches, and leave early. They would also arrive late to meetings and derail them completely or just not show up at all. Direct managers also modeled this behavior, taking on less work and relying on underpaid entry- and mid-level employees to make up for their slack.

None of those great, talented people you'll work with or learn from are in management positions (definite exceptions). There is a clear divide between managers and their slaves. They are feared instead of being viewed as mentors, and some are just downright awful and mean. The agency is literally segregated in half: one side traditional and one side interactive. This approach is completely dated and is a disservice to clients who should expect efficiencies from going with one agency for both sides of marketing- instead, they get two account teams that never interact and lack a full perspective of the business. Interactive side is volatile- high turnover, mean/incompetent/unavailable managers. It is common for the agency to lay off en masse when financials dip and managers do little to help employees feel less anxious about being just a number. No training whatsoever. No forum for ideas. Avoid if looking for entry level positions - expect a low salary, no potential for growth, no training, extreme pressure, little appreciation or acknowledgment.