Good People, Desperate Need for New Leaders - Anonymous employee Joan Creative Employee Review

They're awesome, love everyone there

Sometimes hire difficult people, but mostly good eggs

JOAN works with culturally relevant, high-visibility brands, which provides exposure to strong creative output and interesting campaigns. Many of the team members—across creative, production, and strategy—are genuinely talented, collaborative, and committed to producing great work. The agency environment is fast-paced and offers opportunities to learn quickly and adapt across multiple workstreams. As a whole, the company positions itself around creativity, storytelling, and culture, which can be energizing for people who are passionate about those areas.

Leadership structure and management processes are inconsistent. Workload distribution can be uneven, with some employees absorbing responsibilities outside of their scope due to gaps in communication or team bandwidth. Feedback and performance evaluation processes lack transparency. Cross-team alignment—especially with global partners—often lacked structure, which slowed down progress and created avoidable confusion. I felt the absence of intentional support systems, leadership practices, and opportunities for growth.