Boutique agency still trying to grow up - Director Cibo Employee Review

Cibo has been and continues to be one of the best places I've worked after 15 years in the design industry. The team is smart, upbeat, flexible, respectful and like a family. Having worked at a number of shops that favor burnout and cliques - Cibo is a breath of fresh air in the world of advertising. Project managers and the new business team are doing a spectacular job with staffing/scheduling reasonably to maintain a solid work/life balance. They allow anyone to take the initiative and influence/shift how things are done. Projects are a nice mix of conceptual/routine and everyone is onboard with modern digital design tools + UI/UX/dev knowledge. Older negative reviews don't align with the Cibo I've experienced thus far. I have been incredibly happy since joining the team and looking forward to doing more great work together!

The staff is mostly comprised of senior talent, which doesn't make Cibo a great place to start your career. Everyone comes to the team with their A-game and it's confident sociable personalities who can think and do that thrive.

The best thing about Cibo is the group of people you work with. The agency is structured so most people touch multiple accounts and get the opportunity to work with everyone else in the office, which keeps the work you do fresh and exciting. Cibo also takes care of its employees very well. The company sponsors company events at least once a month, which further contributes to the sense of camaraderie among employees-- Giants games, an afternoon at Bar Bocce in Sausalito, a summer BBQ at the CMO's house, to name a few. Cibo also actively promotes work/life balance, which is generally unheard of in the agency world. Employees come to work, work hard, and are out the door by 5 or 6 PM. This makes Cibo the ideal environment for folks with kids, or just those who have things in their life they like to do besides work. Apart from having a normal work day, Cibo gives employees 4 weeks of paid vacation plus time off during the holidays. Cibo's management also does a great job of providing opportunities for professional development. From having junior members of the team participate in biz dev. pitches, to hosting lunch-and-learns on the latest technologies, to sending employees to conferences relevant to their disciplines, individual professional growth is something that is actively promoted at Cibo. Cibo boasts an impressive client list for such a young firm

As with many young companies with fewer employees, the organization is pretty horizontal with not many management tiers and few strict processes in place. It is a startup-like culture and you have to have a certain type of personality to thrive.