Stay away - Omicom is evil - Software Engineer Flywheel Digital Employee Review

1.0
9 Jul 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

For the most part, the people you'll work with in the weeds are great. Leadership/executives however are awful

Cons

Flywheel strung employees along all of 2023 indicating the company would IPO. Instead we were abruptly told we were being acquired by Omnicom instead, for nearly $1B. Employees received no bonus, equity, nothing at all as a result of this sale. Benefits and perks were slashed across the board. Several rounds of layoffs have occurred since the acquisition in January 2024. HR is non-existent and creates more problems than they solve. Personally they made mistakes on my medical, 401k, and HSA accounts through no fault of my own. And when you try to resolve the issues that they create, they do not respond. And now that Omnicom owns Flywheel, the internal Flywheel HR is nothing but a middleman with no answers, and good luck finding anyone to contact at Omnicom. The omnicom CEO is a mid-70's dinosaur - do you want someone like that running a modern "tech" company? Flywheel also has it's own CEO who is nothing more than Wren's puppet. And don't get me started on Flywheels executives/leadership. Truly an aimless ship. After years of hiring many fully remote employees, Omnicom is now enforcing a 3 day per week minimum return to office even if you were hired fully remote. If you live within an hour of an office, now you get to commute for many hours per week. Flywheel does not offer any bonus or equity plans for most positions. Annual reviews and raises are delayed for many months every year without any clarity or communication from HR or leadership. I could go on and on, this place is a disaster and well past its days of being an interesting tech startup to work at. Flywheel is now a bizarre combination of 12+ companies with an incredibly tangled web of systems, data, backends, etc which barely work, if at all.

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Flywheel Digital Response
1y
Thank you for sharing your candid feedback. We’d like to start by saying that we’re glad to hear that you’ve had positive experiences with many of your colleagues. However, we regret that you feel this hasn’t extended to leadership and executive teams. We take your concerns seriously and appreciate the opportunity to address them: The acquisition by Omnicom: we understand that this transition has been difficult for many. The decision was made with the long-term growth and stability of the company in mind. We recognize the disappointment regarding bonuses and equity, and we apologize for the lack of clear communication during this period. We are actively working to improve our HR processes and ensure that issues such as those with medical, 401k, and HSA accounts are resolved promptly. We are committed to making HR more responsive and effective, both within Flywheel and in coordination with Omnicom. The shift to a hybrid work model: We understand this shift has been challenging, especially for those hired as fully remote employees. We are exploring ways to better support all employees through these changes and appreciate your patience as we navigate this new phase. Compensation & evaluations: We understand your frustration regarding the lack of bonus or equity plans, as well as delays in annual reviews and raises. Improving our compensation and evaluation processes is a priority, and we are working to provide more timely and transparent communications. Thank you again for your feedback. While we recognize that some concerns may not be immediately resolved, we are committed to listening and making necessary improvements. As a current employee, we encourage you to use the internal resources we have in place to ensure any new feedback is heard. Team advocates and senior leadership always welcome your input via Slack or feedback surveys. Your input is invaluable as we work to create a better workplace for everyone.

Explore other reviews about Flywheel Digital

5.0
11 May 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Forward thinking agency that cares about its people and strives to be best in class.

Cons

High expectations mean high demands.

2.0
4 Feb 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

- Their portfolio of clients you have the opportunity to work on is great for building relationships and resume - Some people you work with truly care and are making efforts to make Flywheel a better place to work - Great place to grind it out if you want experience quickly. They will throw you in the fire from day one.

Cons

I say "used to be great" as in pre-Omnicom. - Leadership is very out of touch with what actually goes on at middle management and lower levels. They used to care about the work culture even with many remote employees. I've been on calls where senior leadership would promote working in the evenings or weekends and only talk about how employees are not "client obsessed" enough. - If you show them you're dependable, they will exploit it and not compensate you appropriately. - There is so much turnover and they bring in former employees from dying agencies that bring in different strategies that are not aligned with Flywheel's best practices (onboarding is nonexistent - you will be put on a client day two). - They got rid of most benefits that motivated people to stay and lowered the pay ranges for their positions. Benefits are on par with standard Omnicom. There's a reason why employees who excel at their jobs have all left/are leaving. Everyone who works there can see it. Turned into another company that tries to duct tape a slowly dying engine.

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