No onboarding or training process. Gaslight employees for the mistakes of higher management.
This position was put in front of me by a recruiting agency. Before accepting further conversation around this position, I made sure to focus my questions around onboarding and training. I have been in media/marketing management for the bulk of my career and have learned that when going into a specialized industries , it is essential to understand the industry specific items and to have a training process in place before dealing exclusively with clients.
I was assured by the recruiting agency as well as the management team at CLEAResult that training/onboarding was essential to the success of the role. I was told that I would not have direct contact with the client until at least 2 months in and that training could last anywhere from 4 to 6 months.
This sentiment was an absolute lie. By the 2nd day, I was thrown into client meetings and asked to build a presentation for an in-person meeting with the client the following week. By the second week, I was asked to build an entirely new strategy and lead a new program. At this point, I still didn’t have access to training nor had the time to finish the mandatory company training. For the 5 weeks I was there, I expressed this concern to management as well as the Director, who instead chose to gaslight me into thinking it was an issue with me and refused to acknowledge their failure to properly onboard or train on the history of the current work.
I learned along the way that this particular position for the specific account I was assigned had gone through 3 or more Marketing Account Managers in less than 2 years time. It was so obvious that there were internal issues, that the outside agency who was hired directly by the client (and who hired us as a subcontractor), expressed concern regarding the high turnover and was advised by their marketing manager to make sure that my management team was proving me the support necessary to succeed at this position and providing me with the necessary history to ensure deliverable were correct before submitting.
A typical workday consists of no less than 10 hours a day and even that is not enough time to handle the amount of work that is thrown at you. Expect to be told to “prioritize” your day, however each initiative is essentially high priority with no end in sight.
It was so bad, that portfolio managers from outside regions offered their verbal support and apologized on behalf of the company and reiterated that this was not a typical experience but instead, an issue with this specific team.
My program managers described my “onboarding” as a “fire squad” and have equated my experience as “a fire hose to the face.” My producer said that they were “surprised” I last more than 30 days.
For anyone thinking of joining this company and specifically this role, make sure to ask ALL the necessary questions- even ones that may be uncomfortable to ask. Expect to put out fires by the second day but do not fool yourself into thinking that management will be accountable for their end.
