An Apple Rots From the Inside Out - Anonymous employee Designory Employee Review

1.0
Jul 26, 2016
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Like many of the reviews will tell you, there are some great people here that make the workplace pretty fun. The hours are standard 9-6 with some flexibility if work on the global accounts or if you have some unexpected childcare/personal issues that come up. Upper management is friendly with everyone and generally approachable, when present. Breakfast twice a week and weekly afternoon socials.

Cons

Leadership positions have been occupied by the same individuals for over 10+ years. Little advancement opportunities and promotions are empty titles. Most teams are disproportionately staffed with too many "leaders" who are always out of the office at some conference or [NAME DROP] networking event. If not then it's vacation because they need a break. Like another review mentioned, it wouldn't be a nuisance if they didn't have to approve projects. Training is a major problem since it's non-existent. New team members are left to flounder around until they figure things out or have a team member show them the ropes. Across the board insanity on how to do a project if someone get switched out midway. The global accounts are managed in complete chaos. Multiple high level individuals on the same project yet having no tangible evidence of work other than forwarding emails - so others can actually do the work. Account leaders don't draw a line with clients so all requests are fair game (no matter how unreasonable). Other Cons - -Empty promises of opportunities in other office. Sure a couple of people switched to other offices, but that's hardly a program to brag about if it's only temporary until someone local is hired. -People get hired for one role and then get placed in an area where they are unqualified. -General incompetence is not frowned upon but the norm. -If you have hobbies, forget them. You won't have time. -Little to no effort to retain talent. I get that in the ad world agency hopping for raises is typical, but then again so is rewarding those that have put countless of hours get the job done. -Management makes promises to clients that aren't practical/feasible and then flip out on the team when there are issues meeting deadlines. -No communications on team members that leave/get let go. Work seems to get diverted to people at random with little awareness to ability/workload. -Ethical problems aplenty. Management ignores issues so most go unreported. Even if you do go to HR they can't be trusted to actually do anything to the tenured or those that were hired because of nepotism. Open door policy is kind of a joke.

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Designory Response
9y
Here is a real and honest response, similar to the others, as this site works two ways: We are sorry to hear that you have not had a great experience at Designory and that your issues are many. Some of your points are valid, and we welcome your comments as items that will be discussed internally. On the flip side, several of your comments are hyperbolic, contradictory and frankly, untrue. You offer no constructive advice or solutions outside of your criticisms. While we would hope a majority of our employees are generally happy, it is possible that Designory is not the right place for you.

Explore other reviews about Designory

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May 1, 2026
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CEO approval
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Pros

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Cons

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4.0
Mar 30, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
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Pros

Good culture, flexible hybrid schedule.

Cons

Laid off within my second year, quite callously. Personal comments made about my non-work relationship with coworkers and their respective connections/relationships to my family, during exit interview by the global head of HR. Extremely unprofessional in how they handled my exit. Was asked word for word "is this your first time getting fired?"

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