12232: Best Places To Work…For Whom?

Advertising Age published Best Places to Work 2014. The list begs the question, “Best places to work for whom?” Sorry, but these types of honors are nothing more than political, self-promotional hype, as the “winners” have to respond to surveys for consideration. And in most cases, it all becomes a cheerleader exercise for the agency’s human resources department. In short, the overwhelming majority of advertising agencies probably didn’t even bother to make themselves eligible. Anyway, back to the question, “Best places to work for whom?” How many of the best places are minority-friendly environments? Plus, why are there no minority shops in the bunch? Based on the accompanying photographs, the best places appear to be typically and predominately White. The only semi-exception is Marina Maher Communications, a firm specializing in marketing to women. However, a peek at the agency website shows the leadership is almost exclusively comprised of White women. Unfortunately, Best Places to Work 2014 underscores the reality that the advertising industry is not the best place to work for non-Whites.

Ad Age’s Best Places to Work 2014

Top Companies Craft Culture That Attracts, Fosters, Rewards Best Minds in Our Industry

TALENT. It’s the single most important asset in any company. The ability to recruit, develop and retain talent can be the difference between success and failure, winning business and falling behind the competition. This year we set out to identify the best places to work in advertising, ad tech and media. We searched for companies that do an exemplary job of crafting cultures that attract, foster and reward the best minds in our industry.

We looked at compensation, benefits packages and hiring practices, as well as work-life balance. Special perks, such as subsidized meals, gym access and transportation reimbursement, were also considered. But we wanted to hear directly from employees, so we surveyed more than 20,000 people to find out, in essence, how they feel when they walk through the door and sit down at their desks day after day.

The 40 companies on our list stood out—read on to find out why they’re the best places to work in the industry.

By Ad Age Staff

METHODOLOGY

New York-based Buck Consultants, which has nearly a century of experience in human-resource consulting, crafted two surveys. Employee surveys, which had 50 questions, accounted for 60% of a company’s score, while the 100-question employer survey accounted for 40% of the score. Any agency, ad-tech or media company with more than 40 full-time employees in the U.S. was eligible.

Best Places To Work

1. Centro

2. Wpromote

3. TM Advertising

4. DigitasLBi

5. Dixon Schwabl

6. Droga5, LLC

7. The VIA Agency

8. CPXi

9. Eric Mower + Associates

10. inVNT

11. Unified Social

12. DXagency

13. Ervin & Smith

14. 3Q Digital

15. POSSIBLE

16. Carmichael Lynch

17. Victors and Spoils

18. UM

19. Saatchi & Saatchi X

20. KBS

21. Criteo

22. Tierney

23. Red Door Interactive

24. Weber Shandwick

25. SocialCode

26. true[X]

27. 72andSunny

28. 22squared

29. SapientNitro

30. Planit

31. Marina Maher Communications

32. Sq1

33. Archer>Malmo

34. Young & Laramore

35. Brownstein Group

36. ARGONAUT

37. Team One

38. Barkley

39. Firstborn

40. Engine Shop Agency