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Sterling Communications

Is this your company?

Office politics, stressed teams, incompetent executive team - Anonymous employee Sterling Communications Employee Review

2.0
13 Aug 2019
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Strong orientation process, normal work hours (8 am - 5 pm), dog-friendly, easily accessible and beautiful office location, amazing Content Director and Vice President of Digital Marketing.

Cons

Senior leadership's complete disregard and disrespect for all other employees runs rampant. Many employees can attest to being publicly screamed at by unbalanced vice presidents. The CEO plays favorites and employees are encouraged to grow close to her if they want a promotion. Most of the senior leadership team has been at Sterling for 10+ years and thus goes unchecked, even when employees consistently bring complaints to HR. I would not be surprised if most of the reviews on here were written by the senior leadership team to drown out the bad reviews, as they all strictly highlight the positives and do not even point out any negatives surrounding the company. Sterling broadcasts its core values both internally and externally but does nothing to live up to those same values. Their incessant cries about how flexible they are could not be farther from the truth. If you show up later than 8:15 am, expect to hear about it. If you take a lunch break longer than the allotted time, expect to hear about it. If you leave 5 minutes before you have completed your 8 hours, expect to hear about it. If you are wondering how they track this so precisely, it’s because they check what time you log on and off of Slack. This is not something they tell you from the start, but rather something that comes up months later because they try to hide it. There is a lack of consistency in the way accounts are run. You can end up working for a great account lead, an extreme micromanager or someone who has no idea what they are doing. You will likely be placed on multiple accounts, with different directors/supervisors who do not communicate well and have no idea what your workload looks like. Some AA’s and AE’s are drowning in work, while others are sitting idle without accounts for months. Sterling preaches about teamwork and helpfulness, but when confronted about uneven workloads, they do nothing to correct it and even shame you for bringing it up.

Explore other reviews about Sterling Communications

5.0
31 Aug 2021
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

- There is no wall between you and executive team; everyone contributes equally and pulls their weight - Company only takes on clients with a positive social impact, so the work is fulfilling - "Life-friendly" - everyone has kids, dogs, hobbies outside of work and is not expected to be chained to their desks 24/7 as long as work gets done - Lots of flexibility and opportunity for learning new skillsets, expanding in your career, and upward mobility within the company

Cons

-Team may be smaller than what one may be used to, coming from other agencies. But the crunch is nothing beyond typical for someone in our field -Not a con, more a warning: it takes some time to fully plug in and start reaping the full benefits of a company like Sterling, so this is not the kind of place to treat like a pit stop in your career. It would not be worth it to work here for less than a year.

1
1.0
21 May 2019
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Sterling's head of content is extremely knowledgable, experienced, and an asset to the company.

Cons

- The culture is not what they try so hard to portray in the interview process. Know that the interview process is the best you will ever be treated at this company. They pull out all the stops for interviewing/onboarding when the actual day to day experience at the company couldn't be more different. - Toxic, hypocritical environment with lots of turnover and excessive micromanaging. - Employees are treated, compensated, and promoted inconsistently, most of the time based on how close you are with the CEO and head of HR. Employees are encouraged to work on their relationship with the CEO if they want a promotion, it's not based on merit. - Big brother mentality rucks amuck here. They review your Slack messages, keep track of your ins/outs, hold it against you if you leave at 5pm or work from home, etc. - Firing of employees seems to happen inconsistently, and without a rhyme or reason. Some people are given passes for years upon years after egregious behavior, and others are let go after months over minor offenses. - Seems like they will take any and every client...no big names, and lack of interesting projects. - Politics are often discussed openly in the office, and leadership assumes everyone has the same views.

3
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