RAPP has all the ingredients of a great place to work. So much so, that when you put all of those ingredients together, you would think that an amazing dish would be cooked up. But that could not be farther from the truth. In fact, your dish boils over and is one ugly, gross, hot mess.
The majority of the senior management team is full of self-righteous, shady and occasionally STUPID human beings. They may be book smart (that's what got them through college) and street smart (that's how they snaked their up way the corporate ladder), but they are NOT industry smart. (Core Dialog sounds nice, but it doesn't exist in MOST of the offices -- an reversing CRM and now calling it CMR is just idiotic. And the new clunky logo speaks volumes about their inadequacies, too.)
Don't fool yourself or let them fool you. This doesn't apply to all of RAPP's senior management -- only a few. However, those few run important enough departments and hold senior enough positions to really make your wonder...
For example, one extremely senior woman in Client Services said that, "social media is a fad. It's a passing of today's generation. If you want to succeed in this industry, pick up some real skills."
Right. In 2015. Has this woman been under a rock for the past 15-years? Facebook, a multibillion dollar company is just a fad? SnapChat that is being courted for billions of dollars to be sold is just a fad? Yahoo! had to complete restructure themselves completely to survive because of this 'fad.' Vitamin Water, who 4-years ago, changed their homepage to redirect to their Facebook page is just a fad? This woman is ignorant and her comments make her look downright stupid.
I've also heard of people being wrongfully let go from RAPP too -- things like being verbally abused as they hand you your exit letter, or people who left their exits in tears because they were disrespected, or other situations where they were told it was being of the organizational restructuring but really it was because their boss simply hated them and if they wanted their severance, they had to sign so they couldn't sue. That's been the story that's been circling for the past 6-9 months. Funny that that comes at the time of a new CEO and Managing Director.
The new Managing Director of RAPP NY is ... interesting. Not leadership quality. This person may have survived many years at RAPP to 'earn' that role, but don't let their charm fool you. People who tout how they resilient, smart, fun and cool they are and feel the need to TELL you, actually, just SHOWED you another side of their personality. The other side of their personality being the opposite of the things they said. It's like that age old saying, someone who NEEDS to TELL you, just SHOWED you the truth.
It's sad.
RAPP was one of the those places where people always said, it's a great place to work because the PEOPLE are the best. There was a time when RAPP did have great people. It didn't matter that they were not a Cannes Lion award-winning agency. No. RAPP had amazing company culture, with solid and decent people.
That's why it's sad. That doesn't exist there anymore. Not at all. Not with this new culture.
The senior management team is really full of sharks. People who say one thing, do other things, and bulldoze over other people without any qualms or remorse.
One senior member of the Project Management team has even become infamous for their habits of bad mouthing anyone they do not like to the rest of the staff. One senior member of Strategy is known for their bullying to pretty much everyone.
What kind of place is RAPP? If "kindness" is supposed to be one of their core values, they certain need a new dictionary.
It speaks volumes that RAPP is losing business, including their no.1 account, Humana.
It's a sinking ship.
They should invest in good people. Heck, they should make a bigger effort to KEEP the good people they already have.
Free snacks, alcohol and breakfast, Core Dialog or donating your homepage to support Nepal aren't fooling anyone.
It's like that saying, a fish rots from the head down.
