Toxic Work Environment, Good Experience - Recensione dipendente - Senior Designer presso AvroKO Design

3,0
6 giu 2025
Consiglia
Gradimento del CEO
Pronostico commerciale

Vantaggi

* I really loved my co-workers - there are really incredible people that work here - I just wish the company appreciated them as much as I do :) *The conceptions of the design direction is really interesting and intriguing. *The benefits are competitive for a smaller Hospitality design firm - but no where close to Tech. *You will learn a lot, FAST. It can be a lot, but you will learn something new everyday which is the reason I stayed for so long. I stayed for 6 years because I had a good relationship with my Direct Report, and I was learning something new everyday.

Svantaggi

This company is sexist, and I have listed examples below: * NY hired an outside white male Design Director over two female associates who had been with the company for over 10 years. * They only offer 4 weeks paid maternity leave. * 90% of leadership is male, and 90% of Junior level staff is female. * Reports of inappropriate comments about female staff from the Male MD were issued to HR yet nothing was done.. * The hired male replacement was offered $10k more then my current salary and he has less than 3 years experience. The company culture does not value, respect or support their employees: * No thank you 's and minimal appreciation for work, when most designers are working 60+ hour weeks to meet unrealistic deadlines. * If you ask for help a standard response is "you should know that, or how do you not know that" leaving staff feeling helpless. * Verbal abuse from clients is never addressed, and the blame is always placed back on the junior. * Pay is low, bonuses are infrequent and unreliable. *Finance team and HR are incompetent. Note - I was contacted by HR to revise/remove my previous glassdoor post after they suspected it was me.

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Risposta di AvroKO Design
1y
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience. We genuinely feel unsettled and sad that you left feeling unsupported and unheard. While it’s difficult to read feedback like this, we believe that listening, even when it’s uncomfortable, is an important part of growing as a company and as leaders. While our hiring and promotion decisions are made based on merit, experience, and alignment with the demands of the role, not tenure alone nor gender, we are always aiming to improve. Nearly half of our current global leadership team identifies as female, and over a third of our leadership identifies as non-white. We will continue to strive for more equity at every level. We also take any HR complaint very seriously. While we can’t comment on individual cases, every formal report is reviewed with care and discretion, and action is taken when appropriate in both communication with individuals and in policy shifts. Our paid maternity leave is 8 weeks, and we continue to offer flexible return-to-work plans. We recognize this is just a step amongst many that we will continue to make, and we’re committed to evolving our benefits to better support all employees at different life stages. We are deeply proud of the work our teams produce, and we know it takes long hours, creative passion, and a deep sense of ownership to do what we do. We are also actively working to create a culture that more consistently allows for employee life balance, including a flexible 3-day hybrid in-office schedule, and summer Fridays. We will aim to continually improve our expression of staff appreciation, support our employees’ physical, social, mental and career health, and strive to give employees a safe space to ask questions and seek help. Culture is never finished, and we endeavor to continue to listen, learn, and improve. Again, thank you for sharing your experience.

Esplora altre recensioni su AvroKO Design

5,0
12 lug 2024
Consiglia
Gradimento del CEO
Pronostico commerciale

Vantaggi

Lots of support and lots of opportunities to learn and grow my career.

Svantaggi

Just some general company growing pains.

1
1,0
29 mag 2025
Consiglia
Gradimento del CEO
Pronostico commerciale

Vantaggi

-amazing, talented and friendly colleagues -occasional interesting projects

Svantaggi

-Toxic culture from leadership: Inappropriate comments about maternity leave, pressure to sacrifice personal life for deadlines, and a dismissive “figure it out” attitude when staff are overworked. -Lack of empathy: Management openly admits they know staff are overloaded but provides no support. Employees are treated like numbers. -Systemic bias in promotions: There are employees clearly deserving of advancement who are repeatedly passed over in favor of less experienced — and often whiter — external hires. -Dishonest about compensation: Bonuses were promised and never delivered to staff, while leadership announced and collected their own bonuses and celebrated promotions/ profit shares. -High turnover: Within a year, the company lost two tenured female associates, two design directors, the CCO himself, and about 10 out of 20+ NYC designers. That should speak volumes. -Verbal abuse from clients ignored: Instead of supporting staff, management places blame on the team. -Disorganized HR: Constant changes to systems leave employees without proper insurance or guidance on critical issues like taxes and benefits. -Feedback is ignored: Leadership loves to paint a pretty picture, but meaningful concerns go unresolved and unacknowledged. -Declining project quality: The company increasingly takes on low-budget work by slashing bids and compromising on quality — just to get paid. This impacts morale, reputation, and the integrity of the work. This company fosters a harmful environment and is unwilling to make real change. Proceed with caution — or better yet, don’t.

6
avatar
Risposta di AvroKO Design
1y
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience. We’re truly sorry to hear that your time at AvroKO didn’t meet your expectations. Feedback like this is difficult to read, but we believe it’s essential to listen with humility in order to grow as an organization and as individuals. We aim to foster a respectful, inclusive, and supportive culture at AvroKO. Any behavior or language that undermines that is not tolerated. If you experienced inappropriate conduct, we encourage reaching out to HR directly so that we can take appropriate action. Every report is taken seriously and reviewed with care. We understand that our industry can be demanding, and we are actively working to better balance project needs with employee well-being. While the workload can be intense, we encourage open communication with leadership, and we strive to provide support and resources wherever possible. Our decisions around promotions and advancement are rooted in merit, performance, and alignment with business needs—not in personal bias. We regularly review our processes to ensure they are fair and equitable, and we take concerns around equity seriously. Bonuses at AvroKO are not guaranteed and are based on both company and individual performance. We acknowledge that communication around this has room for improvement, and we’re working to enhance transparency so that expectations are clearer across the board. The past year brought some organizational changes and transitions, which did lead to turnover. While change is a natural part of any company’s evolution—especially in a creative field—we remain focused on building a stable, collaborative, and engaged team for the long term. We also expect our team members to be treated respectfully by our clients. When issues arise, we do not ignore them—we address concerns directly and work to protect our staff from inappropriate treatment. Over the past year, we’ve updated several of our internal systems and HR processes. While change can be challenging, we’re committed to guiding our team through transitions thoughtfully and with support. We value employee feedback deeply. It informs how we evolve—from policies and processes to culture and communication. While not every suggestion can be implemented immediately, we do our best to respond with thoughtfulness and transparency. We are incredibly proud of the work our teams produce and the standards we hold ourselves to. Despite changing market dynamics, we do not compromise on design quality or project integrity. Thank you again for sharing your thoughts. If you’re open to a confidential conversation, we’d welcome the opportunity to speak further. We remain committed to creating a workplace that values excellence, fairness, and humanity—and to growing in the areas where we still have work to do.
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