Avis sur McMillan

Avantages

Talented people, accessible execs, wide range of experts from who you can learn from, great office spaces and openness to new ideas, fun no-drama colleagues, events outside of work.

Inconvénients

We position ourselves as a brand experience agency, but we often accept work/projects that are disconnected from our strengths. It takes a lot of time to even know where we are going in terms of projects or processes. People are strong-willed, committed to great work but disorganized to make it happen. Nobody really knows who owns what, roles are unclear so too much time is taken before we do what we do best.

Conseils à la direction

Clarify roles. Simplify processes. Reduce the number of communication channels with clients but make them better. Roadtest all this more quickly and communicate results more often, even informally. Don't take months cooking something up before even communicating or testing it with us, in the loop. All the right people are here, all the right elements are in-house but a good team without roles will somewhat always... suffer from an identity crisis.

Avantages

Constant personal and professional growth, new challenges every day, and upward momentum. Very talented and passionate coworkers and supportive, transparent leadership. New CEO showing excellent business acumen in navigating the ups and downs of our highly volatile industry with a great sense of integrity and foresight.

Inconvénients

Because the nature of our industry is very fast-paced, sometimes it gets very overwhelming and requires some serious time management and organizational skills to maintain a healthy work-life balance.

Conseils à la direction

Possibly leverage and use the skills of middle management more often to sharpen business skills and create more fluidity and autonomy throughout the organizational hierarchy. Hire more talents from out of town who have more competitive industry experience and are hungry to compete with global talents. We need more people with a certain level of maturity and perspective that comes with “big cities” background and... experience.

Avantages

Great staff of talent, probably the best in the area. Real experienced pros who are among the best at what they do, an excellent place to learned from seasoned vets. McMillan always does well in the award shows and with a new CEO who seems determined to do bolder work that gets noticed, should be interesting to see where it leads. Some staff seemed shaken by the move away from safe B2B work, and they are definitely... being pushed outside of their comfort zone now - which is always good for creatives. The team was trimmed recently, but a leaner crew seems focussed on doing work that showcases the talents of the staff. 2019 is looking like a wild ride, which isn't unusual in this business. The Ottawa ad industry seems pretty staid compared to Montreal and Toronto, not used to volatility. But new management has been very transparent and is making a lot of hard, necessary choices to ensure viability and produce great creative.

Inconvénients

Perhaps a bit of Ottawa malaise exists, some staffers seem content to play it safe with the work. The shift to bolder work will test those types. CDS need to step it up and push for work that makes an impact.

Conseils à la direction

Stick to your guns, keep the vision, ride out the storm and aim high. Utilize the great talent on the staff to their fullest potential. Bring in new clients who allow the team to shine and the future will only be bright.

Avantages

This used to be an amazing place to work. The culture was phenomenal. Moral was always high. Work was a bit dull, but still thriving. Work/life balance was decent. Salaries and profit sharing was decent.

Inconvénients

Things started going down hill really fast after the new CEO was announced. Empty promises. Failed company ambitions. A major shift in culture. Now, moral is at an all-time low. Clients don’t see us as trusted advisors and work/projects are dwindling. Layoffs are frequent and significant. And the CEO doesn’t even know my name, or my title for that matter.

Conseils à la direction

What happened to you guys!? Seriously. Check your egos.

Avantages

McMillan has always recruited well, so they have a strong core of extremely creative people, and a few genuine superstars. The workplace is beautiful and encourages collaboration. Salaries are competitive among senior management.

Inconvénients

In less than a year, McMillan has gone from being one of the most sought after agencies in Ottawa, drawing new hires from Toronto on a regular basis, to a company that appears to be sinking rapidly. The company has laid off some of its most experienced creatives, and seems to have completely abandoned its hard-won reputation as a great place to work. Current employees are shopping their CVs around and telling anyone... who will listen how bad morale has become at McMillan. Rumours abound that the agency is being positioned for a takeover.

Conseils à la direction

Return to what made McMillan great, if it's not already too late.

Avantages

No egos Competitive salary and benefits Friendly and supportive working environment Not hierarchical Focused on positive growth and performance Respectful Fun Locally owned and operated No micro-management styles

Inconvénients

Opportunity to improve and formalize some processes for how teams can/should work together. At times teams people can become silo'd and lack clarity roles and expectations for projects. Opportunity to become firmer with regards to performance management to help demonstrate clear and defined expectations.

Avantages

Amazing work environment with a great community of talented individuals. Profit sharing with tiers encourages everyone to strive to achieve more than the bare minimum. The office is closed for Christmas break so no need to use any vacation days around the holidays. 'The Albert' is a role that I am convinced every company should look into implementing. He stays on top of everything, and plays a large part in... making the office a fun place to be.

Inconvénients

Starting salary was less than expected.

Avantages

There is no gossiping - the culture is very positive. Work culture is non-toxic - it's refreshing! Executives are approachable, friendly, real people. They have earned people's respect. All the employees are talented, inquisitive, and hard-working - we frequently share inspiration with each other. Projects have well put-together teams - there is a sense of collaboration, and feedback is encouraged which... makes working with people really easy. There is a lot of participation in terms of social activities (of which there are a lot!) and the social committee works hard to make sure the events are unique and exciting. There is free fruit in the kitchens daily and candy in all the meeting rooms - and people bring in their dogs frequently!

Inconvénients

Non-competitive salaries, and benefits package could be greatly improved: there are only 2 weeks of vacation to start and no group RRSP matching plan that is common in other workplaces. There is a lack of an established process for some things which can be hectic at times. They are aware and this is being worked on. Employee reviews are frequently held late. HR has set up the software to require an... explanation for any time off booked (including personal appointments and vacations), which can be sensitive in terms of privacy. The company can do more in terms of establishing itself as a thought leader and involving itself in the community. Use social media more frequently!

Conseils à la direction

HR policies should be reviewed to ensure that they make sense and are competitive. Other than that - keep it up!