Horrific workplace with no respect for employees - Lead Creative Director Designity Employee Review

I’ve really enjoyed my collaboration here with Designity over the past few years. They has a strong vision, supportive and really hardworking leadership, and a culture that genuinely values creativity and growth. One thing I appreciate most is the flexibility and the opportunity to work with talented people across different industries and projects. I’ve personally never had any issues with payments or professionalism. Everything has always been handled properly and on time, which is something I truly value when working with a company long-term. The leadership team is ambitious and focused on building something sustainable for the future, which gives me confidence in where the company is heading. I also appreciate that they continue investing in improving the organization and creating more stability for the core team. Overall, I love my job and feel grateful to be part of Designate with such an exciting future ahead.

Recently, the company made the difficult decision to reduce some freelancer and part-time positions in order to invest more heavily in full-time team members and long-term growth. Naturally, that made some people unhappy, which is understandable. Change is never easy, especially in creative industries. However, from my perspective, the decisions were made with the future of the company in mind, and I believe the leadership is trying to build a stronger and more sustainable organization.

The environment is so challenging due to "people" that it serves as a powerful motivator to find a better job and advance your career elsewhere:)

- Inconsistent Promotion Policies: There is a significant gap between stated policies and reality. The internal system indicated "promotion-ready" status multiple times, yet these indicators were consistently ignored by the management team, seemingly to avoid salary adjustments. I would prefer them to hide these metrics entirely rather than to set false expectations for employees. - Lack of True Transparency: While the CEO keeps emphasizing transparency, decision-making remains highly centralized. Bi-weekly policy training sessions often feel like one-way directives; it is never clear how employee feedback is actually considered. - Payroll & Contractor Issues: Compensation processes are unreliable. There were frequent errors in contractor payments that required constant follow-up. Most alarmingly, I witnessed a contractor being terminated simply for asking for a salary followup in a public Slack channel. - High Costs & Low Benefits: The benefits package is unsustainable for lower-earning employees. For instance, the cheapest health insurance plan cost me $580/month, which is nearly 30% of a $2,000 pre-tax monthly salary. And this company does not support any software for full-time W2. - Extreme Leaving Rate: Prospective employees should look closely at team stability. When I joined, roughly 80% of the CD had already left or was in the process of leaving.