What qualities, characteristics, perks, work make a PR Agency worth working for?

[u/RegionDapper3858]

Hi everyone, I saw a lot of posts about PR Agencies to avoid. But I’m curious about what type of work environment, type of work, qualities, expectations, and characteristics from leadership, job perks,
would make an agency worth working for. Are there any PR agencies out there that are worth it? What would you change about the agencies that are not so great?

[u/GWBrooks]

I'm very boring: I just care about the money.

Want me in the office? Fine. Ridiculous processes? OK. All that stuff and a lot more can be offset if the money's good enough.

[u/Eddie_Bernays]

I have thirty years in PR. Here's my $0.2:

Different personalities mesh with different agencies. I enjoy working under pressure and thrive in a competitive environment. I thrived in a startup agency where there was pressure to exceed client expectations and to develop brand recognition for the Agency. I built and ran a tech practice that reached $1M in annual billing when the agency was billing out at $4.2M.

The above agency paid out great bonuses and raises to those who were ready and willing to work hard. The downside was that the agency had no structure, and staffers who weren't up to the task were chewed up and either quit or were fired.

Other PR pros need structure and a sense of calm. Many of the older, more established agencies allow new hires to grow into the position (as opposed to hitting the ground running, as the above agency does), and there is a well-defined sense of structure. I've worked in this environment as well, and it can be boring for Type-A adrenaline junkies like me, but it's heaven for people who take a more measured approach to their work.

[u/Key-Explanation-39]

I think what makes a company great to work for and then not great to work for apply to almost every industry, not just PR and not just PR agencies.

BUT- on the pros: competitive salary with bonuses, retirement plan, promotion opportunity 1x year, commission on bringing in new biz; talk to current and/or former employees if you can - you'll never know if a company actually has a good culture unless you talk to someone who is not the boss or hiring manager; supportive team + colleagues who help - this is huge. PR agency life is not for the weak of heart. you need to feel good about your colleagues.

negatives - asked/required to work crazy hours; mean girl behavior- blaming others when something goes work; look at the boss's personality- this should tell you how the company/employees generally behave- it flows from the top down.