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SmartBrief

Acquired by Future

Is this your company?

Absolutely awful company - Anonymous employee SmartBrief Employee Review

1.0
10 Oct 2019
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Nothing good comes to mind when I think about this place

Cons

If you like being watched like a hawk or under a microscope then SmartBrief is the place for you! Upper management needs to be replaced; they absolutely do not care about their entry level employees. They only favor the people on the manager level and above. They want you to work as a team but God forbid you mess up or make a mistake; you’re definitely getting thrown under the bus. There is no level of respect especially from the sales department. Sales Account Directors are cutthroat and careless. They disregard you as a person and expect you to drop everything you’re doing to help them. Job titles are a blur and have no clear descriptions. You’ll apply for a position thinking you have an understanding of the daily functions but guess what, you’ll be assigned work that is not what you expected and things you should be getting paid for. Speaking of pay, it is chump change and scraps! They pay you absolutely the bare minimum and call it a paycheck. They must have forgot where they are located and the Washington DC area is one of the most expensive areas to live in let alone support a family! You can work from home but that may change since they’ve been acquired. People have EXTREMELY loud office conversations that are distracting to others and do you think they care...nope! Please believe the other bad reviews on here because they are 100% true! Such a shame to see a company like this fail their employees and fail altogether. If could leave zero stars then I would.

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SmartBrief Response
6y
Thank you for taking the time to leave a review of SmartBrief. In August we were acquired by the global media platform Future, and we will be working hard to address all of the issues you have raised. If you have concerns about the way your team is managed, please reach out to the People & Culture team at peopleandculture@futurenet.com who will do everything they can to help. Team spirit and morale is hugely important to us, as people are at the heart of everything we do. This is why we’re excited to share the news that we have a new Community & Culture team based in the DC office, who will be in charge of organizing social events for the office and other exciting initiatives, such as charity fundraising, local community projects, and improving the office space. If you would like to get involved or have any ideas for the team, please reach out to them.

Explore other reviews about SmartBrief

5.0
26 Aug 2021
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Work life balance is encouraged, wonderful people, expectations are clear, great vacation policy, good perks

Cons

Lining up coverage for vacation takes some time

2.0
4 May 2016
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

I loved the people I worked with. SmartBrief is a good place to work as an entry- and mid-level employee. Because it operates in so many different industries it offers a unique, high-level overview of the mechanics behind various industries and types of businesses. The motto, "save busy professionals time and keep them smart" may not be an earth-shattering aspiration, but it affords a nice sense of contributing positively to the world. The core product is a good one.

Cons

As one gets closer to senior management, dysfunctional aspects of the leadership structure become apparent. The CEO and CFO are co-founders, and it's not clear who is in charge. The CFO is hands off. I'm not confident he understands the needs of the business in an era of tough competition. The CEO is largely hands off, but will occasionally involve himself--often after the fact--in lower-level decisions like the design of marketing collateral and entry-level hiring. The CEO's behavior is generally inconsistent. He seems to change his mind repeatedly about small things, which causes an unhelpful amount of confusion and factionalism in the management ranks. If there is a larger strategy for growth and innovation, other than "do what we're doing, but more of it," it has not been fully communicated.

8
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