Assembly Reviews

Over the past year, significant changes have swept through the organization, and regrettably, these changes have taken a toll on everyone's collective morale. The good people I previously mentioned are now grappling with overwhelming exhaustion, contemplating their exit strategies. It's disheartening to observe that not a single soul appears eager to remain onboard, and I empathize deeply with those just embarking on this turbulent journey, as this is undoubtedly the most challenging phase the agency has ever navigated. There are scant prospects for excitement now; the summer festivities have been axed, complimentary lunches are a distant memory, and even the breakfast toaster has been rendered inaccessible. The only glimmers of positivity on the horizon are a forthcoming Christmas gathering and a proposed office relocation, which I fervently hope will be executed thoughtfully, keeping some character from the Aldgate office. The onboarding process is bereft of adequate training, primarily because our managers find themselves perpetually swamped and stretched thin. I've encountered bewildered stares when mentioning our proprietary technology, and this perplexity isn't limited to newcomers; even those with half a year under their belts struggle to grasp the essentials. The prevailing circumstances force new hires to plunge headlong into the abyss, driven solely by our desperate circumstances. Promotions and salary increases remain shrouded in uncertainty. HR redirects inquiries to our supervisors, yet the managers themselves are as uninformed as the rest of us. The established procedures have been revamped without a clear replacement or proper communication, a recurring source of confusion resulting in missed opportunities for advancement and higher remuneration. The workload has burgeoned to unmanageable proportions. Earlier this year, we witnessed redundancies, and curiously, these reductions affected the very teams that are integral to our operations. Subsequently, even more senior management personnel found themselves on the chopping block. Teams were left to fend for themselves, and since then, everyone has been stretched beyond their limits, struggling to stay afloat amidst this deluge of tasks. Strangely, this hasn't deterred the hiring of costlier senior staff members. One can only hope, for the sake of all involved, that circumstances improve, for our current situation resembles nothing short of a dogs dinner. My current advice for those looking for a career here would be to run, you can do better elsewhere. Or...come back in 12 months to see whether things have improved.

Where do I even start? I used to love working here and would rave about it to everyone, but things have gone downhill fast over the past year or so. After multiple messy mergers/acquisitions, leadership changes, and company re-orgs, Assembly is a hollow shell of what it once was. Make sure to do you research so you know what you would be getting yourself into. Stagwell is Assembly's holding company and is suffering big time financially - search the ticker symbol STGW to see for yourself. The rest of the market and other agency holding companies are doing well YoY, but Stagwell is down over 10%. The investors see the writing on the wall and so do us employees. Assembly leadership used to be transparent and respected by the staff, but that is sadly no longer the case. They flip-flop constantly on major decisions and are generally shady about going-ons at the company. Recently a chunk of the finance team was was let go without any notice to those that work with them, and rumors quickly started to swirl about layoffs. The North American CEO promised on a town hall they would send out an update of what happened, but we have not heard a word about this, even weeks later. They also say they appreciate us as employees, but this could not be further from the truth. Last year they withheld our pay increases for months after they were promised, since the company was/is struggling financially. Rather than be transparent about it, they let rumors fly and swept it under the rug. This is also the first company I worked for that gave its employees absolutely nothing for the holidays - not even a mug or a $5 gift card. If you work here, expect to be treated as a financial number to be cut rather than a person. I could keep going, but you get the point. There is also a huge lack of accountability at this company. No one is held responsible for what that they do/don't do, and it shows. Work is often done sloppily and with a lack of effort, simply because people have generally stopped caring. Management is more concerned about timesheets to figure out who to cut next rather than actually supporting the employees who put out great quality work (or actually providing consequences for those who grossly underdeliver). Please avoid Assembly if you have any work ethic whatsoever and want to be respected and valued by the higher-ups. They are also starting yet another re-org this year and have openly said multiple times that it is going to be messy, so yet another reason not to jump on this sinking ship.