Embryo Reviews

This is my first time working in an agency, so I've got nothing to compare it to, but I've had a positive experience overall in my role.

Many senior management are in relationships with staff. It creates a weird environment. Others have been best friends for years and worked closely together at other agencies. So, for anyone joining, understand that there are politics and cliques. The agency can be great for some and awful for others. It depends on your job/ department. Service delivery roles are the highest stress/ churn. Some of the staff are under severe stress. It's not uncommon to find people crying in the toilets. There is a high staff turnover problem. People leave constantly, and this is happening in every client delivery department. Embryo has a polished image with marketing, events, holidays, and a nice office. But this comes at a price. You'll have to work at a pace that fuels mistakes caused by the demands on you. And when you make those mistakes or can't meet deadlines, there is an abundance of staff in management or other roles ready to criticise. This is a large part of the issues of working there. The whole agency feels like it has two halves. Delivery and the rest. The agency is relatively small per department on the delivery side, with vast churn and pressure. On the 'rest' side, you have strategists, marketing, admin, senior management, client services, project management, and more. This makes up a large part of the agency. This means that a volume of people are talking about the work and not delivering it. This adds to the pressure you feel. In addition, the agency seems unable to attract or retain new talent. Some exceptional staff members have left, and others have virtually vanished without reason or warning. This often results in 'rushed' hiring. This leads to further churn as people don't make it past their probation or jump before being pushed. Overall, Embryo is an odd agency that, for some, you'll walk in and be an instant part of the furniture. For others, you'll join and either be gone quickly or want to leave soon.