Pros
I really enjoyed my time at SmithBucklin — I left only because I moved out of state. I appreciated how the leadership in Marketing and Communications (MCS) valued continuing education. As marketers and creatives, it’s important to occasionally step away from our client work and explore what’s going on in the industry. My coworkers in MCS were amazing — it seemed everyone had their own area of interests and expertise and was willing to share their knowledge and collaborate. Outside of the unit, I greatly valued my relationships with my client executives and client teams. The matrix environment at SmithBucklin is sometimes positioned as a challenge, but I liked the opportunity to work with different people who had different backgrounds. SmithBucklin is a company that fosters professional development in its people. The adage “you get what you put in” certainly rings true here. I participated on multiple corporate committees and completed the company’s emerging people manager program, which were all great experiences. I am happy that I took advantage of all the opportunities presented to me at SmithBucklin. They made me a more well-rounded and confident professional.
Cons
I worked on client publications, and I found that innovation wasn't fully supported at times. Of course, not every idea is going to stick or meet the client organization's objectives, but blue sky and brainstorming sessions are a great way to share ideas and solutions as a team. Secondly, in the budgeting process, more attention should be paid to right-sizing the scope of both existing and new business projects. Knowing that projects do evolve over time and new resources are added, a fixed fee project may need to be updated to reflect the true scope of the work. I'd encourage managers who scope projects to meet with the individuals actually doing the work when scoping. Additionally, revisiting client fixed fee budgets on an ongoing basis is just as important as variable project monitoring to ensure that the scope and budget are accurate. Finally, 360 reviews were only available for client executives, and I would have appreciated the opportunity to review the senior management in my unit.
