At Louise Blouin Media, You Will Like Your Co-Workers But You Will Hate The Shitty Management and Pay for Your Own Medical/Dental

CEO LOUISE BLOUIN

Art world media group Louise Blouin Media may be a darling to some in the art world, but to those who've walked or currently walking the floors of the company, it's a whole different world on the inside. The company is currently entangled in endless lawsuits brought by former employees and vendors who claim to be owed money. The company has a horrible track record and was called out by us and other sites for moving employees into a windowless moldy basement while it looked for new offices after getting evicted from its spacious white, Richard Meier designed offices in the Starrett-Lehigh building. The dysfunction continues as current and soon to be former employees review the company and rate its very hands on CEO Louise Blouin. It sounds like the people in management are just there to collect a paycheck and that's it. No real leadership, direction or goal is in place. Here is what some employees are saying about life at the company:

FROM CURRENT EMPLOYEE 1

Pros

For the most part, the people are what make this company. Mostly everyone who works here is really smart and committed to their craft. People take their roles seriously, and that can be motivational for an otherwise drab existence. If you're interested in the contemporary art world, you may have the opportunity to go "backstage" at certain events and openings. You can easily get contacts in the art world because… Show More

Cons

One word: Louise (CEO)

The print publications are more or less devoid of management as a result of the CEOs inability to delegate. It's obvious that she doesn't trust the people she's hired, since she won't allow them to do their jobs. The so-called management is either too disillusioned to care, or has adapted the CEO's managerial style because there is little to no communication about goals, plans or anything remotely related to the future.The turnover rate is EXTREMELY high: about 3 people quit or are let go EVERY MONTH. Career development and mentoring are non-existent: you won't so much as get a performance review. Louise only cares about profit yet fails to see the correlation between content employees and improved output. She doesn't see the point of creating an office environment that people want to work in.The office space is cute but completely crammed and under-resourced, and has serious HVAC issues.. There is one bathroom for about 30 people. No kitchen or break area. It's either too hot or too cold and everyone decides to eat at their desks, the entire place smells like a stuffy kitchen.There is nowhere to hold important meetings with a large group. The office has no projectors or conference tools of any kind. . For Louise's CEO-led "seminars", as she calls them, instead of coming to the office to meet with us, the relevant staff reports to viewing room in the basement of her West Village condo building. There is no direct deposit, and the only benefit the company offers is the ability to sign up with MTA's TransitChek proram for commuting. There are no medical/dental/retirement benefits-- they simply give you the option to register with Oxford Health-- you pay for it 100%.

Advice to Management

Pretend like you give a damn about your junior level employees. Open channels of communication so everyone understands the company's vision and how they plan to execute it. You can't outsource all the jobs to India. Finally, stop replacing junior level staff with unpaid interns.

FROM CURRENT EMPLOYEE 2:

Pros

Laid back atmosphere, flexible, sometimes able to work from home. Ability to produce a large quantity of writing for a print publication if that's what you're interested in.

Cons

No mentoring, leadership, or management. Don't expect a performance review, even if you ask, or a bonus. They "offer" benefits, but the health insurance is astronomical (the same cost as being self insured). Not a place to build a future if you're just starting out. Extremely high employee turnover rate for the obvious reasons. Internally a disaster, which is reflected from the top down.

Advice to Management

Focus on perfecting one part of the company before expanding into other areas. If you don't invest in your employees, then the company will continue to be in a state of flux.

FORMER EMPLOYEE #1:

Pros

Some of the people were nice to work with.

Cons

Louise Blouin is a crazy person who doesn't pay her bills so if you have to work with vendors (as I did) it's almost impossible to do your job. Ms. Blouin would be 4 months behind in payments and still expect vendors to jump to do her bidding

Advice to Management

pay your bills

FORMER EMPLOYEE #2

Pros

The people that work there are incredible. Smart, sharp and energetic.

Cons

Psycho CEO, high turnover, upset management leads to uneasy environment. Let all the best people leave.

Advice to Management

Stop drinking the kool-aid

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