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      SGA

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      SGA Reviews

      4.2

      78% would recommend to a friend

      (25 total reviews)

      Stephen Groner

      93% approve of CEO

      80% positive business outlook

      Ratings by category

      4.0

      Culture and values

      4.0

      Work/Life balance

      3.9

      Career opportunities

      3.7

      Diversity and inclusion

      3.6

      Senior management

      3.2

      Compensation and benefits

      SGA has an employee rating of 4.2 out of 5 stars, based on 25 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an excellent working experience there. The SGA employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Media and communication industry (3.7 stars).

      Reviews by job title

      25 reviews
      2.0
      14 May 2014

      POOR TREATMENT OF APPLICANTS AFTER MUCH EFFORT

      Account manager
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business outlook

      Pros

      This company/agency seemed like it would be a great place to work.

      Cons

      I applied for an Account Manager position in January of 2014. The position is located in Oakland. I have never had a company ask me to go through so many hoops of exercises prior to even having a telephone interview. You're asked to submit resume, cover letter, and create an environment focused ad with your submission. I did that and made it to the next level. Then you're asked to submit a lengthy career employment application, listing your weaknesses/strengths of each position you've held along with your personal profile (groups or activities you are involved in, etc) plus more questions as to why they should hire you, etc. You are also asked to complete a 2 page mock-up outreach plan based on a new client and their challenge. I spent several hours on this. I made it through this stage as a final candidate for a phone interview. That happened late February 2014. The phone interview went well and all of my information was forwarded to the owner of the company who determines who will be invited for an in-person interview in LA. The month of March goes by no word from the company. I check-in and everything is still with the owner....no movement. April passes...same thing....I check-in. They say thank you for your patience...no word yet from the owner. Now it's May 2014....and I see the job is posted on Indeed.com with a closing date of July 31st. OMG! So frustrating. After all the effort applicants' place into trying to get the job they don't even have the courtesy to tell me anything. So not impressed...and this is supposed to be a communications/PR agency. You should really look at how you treat people.

      avatar
      SGA Response
      9y
      We are sorry about your experience. As a consultancy hiring is based on external factors (i.e., timing of new contracts and funding of our client's projects). Sometimes a project that seems like it is on the verge of moving forward that we want to hire for does not. We do let applicants know about general changes in timing and in your case we did inform you of the changes in timing several times. However, often we also don't know the exact issues of a new project. Regarding our interview process, we are a tight knit team and we are very careful about who we hire. For us to hire right, we do look at a lot of aspects of potential candidates and do ask for a lot in the interview process. We want to know that there is a good fit both in skill set, but as importantly if not more importantly in culture fit.
      4.0
      17 Jul 2013

      Good Learning Experience

      Anonymous employee
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business outlook

      Pros

      - For better or worse, you "wear many hats" at SGA, which can be frustrating at times, but it also allows you to learn a lot and build your experience quickly. - Pleasant group of people to work with. - They have volunteer events, potlucks and happy hours. - You get to work on environmental campaigns (mostly government contracts- I'll let you decide if that's a pro or con). - Pay is average (not bad- not great).

      Cons

      - There is a lot of feedback happening- all the time. I think receiving and providing feedback is healthy for the work environment, but SGA is still working on obtaining a "good balance" within their company culture. - They're in need of procedures. I didn't have a problem creating or suggesting procedures, but this can be rough for beginners. There is a lack of "training" for new employees (there's an attempt at training, but it's not structured in any way.) My advice, don't be afraid to ask questions. - Expect overtime hours for at least half of the year.

      2.0
      19 Mar 2019

      Very Flexible, Great people, Major Internal Issues

      Senior pc/pm
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business outlook

      Pros

      Very flexible environment. Great office culture, people are very nice and supportive. You get to work on very different projects and are given the opportunity to learn and grow.

      Cons

      TRACKING TIME SYSTEM IS BROKEN You have to track every 15 minutes of your time, which includes the work you do for the clients but also the internal work. This creates a lot of stress and leaves time spent in the office that is not paid/recognized. For example, when you chat with your coworkers for a while in the office, it is expected that that time would be personal time and non-paid. Also, all the fun culture stuff (book clubs, salons, etc) happen during people's personal time (so you have to leave an hour later if you want to join a salon). Sometimes even company-related presentations are scheduled during lunch hour, labeled as "optional" but people feel that they have to participate even though they are not getting paid. Job security is an issue, especially if you work as an Outreach Specialist and Project Specialist, which are hourly positions. You are expected to fill 40 hours/week with something, which creates "busy work" and people begging for tasks even if those tasks are not in their job description. Lastly, the quality of work suffers because people need to bill every single minute they work on a project, which causes projects to become very expensive and then staff needing to just "check the box. " Sometimes the staff is asked to bill time that includes things like training a new person, fixing a mistake made by the company, which shouldn't be billed to the client. Some clients have complained about bills being too high because of this and I don't think the company is very transparent with its clients on how it manages the time internally. MAJOR HR ISSUES If you are hired, make sure you check every single benefit. Since I worked there, the staff reported errors with their sick time, vacation time, taxes, gross income, insurance, and more. Seriously, it is pretty bad. Also, make sure you document every conversation with the CEO and Admin in case you need to refer back to it.

      avatar
      SGA Response
      7y
      SGA is a very flexible work environment that provides its staff with a great deal of autonomy balanced with accountability and high expectations. We work with local governments and non-profits with the goal of changing behaviors to improve our environment and community. The rewards of making a difference is why people work here. The work is hard and because we work with public funds we have to be very accountable for our work including tracking our time and reporting it to our clients. From time to time we do have some employees that are not a good fit and they don't do well in a culture where you have to be self-driven and like that balance of flexibility and requirements for accountability. To be successful at SGA you need to be able to be self-motivated in a system where the individual has a lot of flexibility and autonomy, but which is balanced with accountability and a structured billing system. If you are looking for a tight-knit firm with passionate people, are self-driven and willing to go the extra mile to make a difference, then SGA might be a good fit for you. Also, please read all the reviews, so you get a feel for the majority of the people who have worked at SGA and have found it a great place to work.
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      ReviewsSGA reviews

      Glassdoor has 44 SGA reviews submitted anonymously by SGA employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if SGA is right for you.