Not your typical architectural firm - Architect WD Partners Employee Review

2.0
Oct 21, 2013
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The company culture is nice. It's a generally relaxed environment and the lower level management and non-management employees are a pleasure to work with. It's a fairly stable workplace if you have competence in your field.

Cons

Upper management generally seems to have no clue with regard to employee management and employee relations. It seems that the main criteria for a VP level person in this company is someone who is a good salesman. Understanding how to manage or even relate to their employees seems to be far down the qualification list. Despite whatever the current company slogan is, profit is the main focus. How does this affect the employee experience? Most employees are salaried. It's an unwritten expectation that all salaried employees work at least 44 hours a week. There is absolutely no additional compensation for salaried employees who work over a 40 hour week, no matter how many additional hours they work. Depending on which client studio the employee works in, they could easily average a 55 or 60 hour week. Management typically does not hire additional employees until their current workers are at about the breaking point. Another problem this company has, and this can be comes directly from the CEO, is a lack of focus. They have a lot of big ideas, but rarely give them time to be implemented properly before completely switching focus to the next. Clear and consistent communication of the direction of the company, and even things as basic as org. charts seem of little importance to WD as well.

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WD Partners Response
4y
Thank you for your feedback! This review was posted in 2013, but if you're still a current Associate, please contact Jessica in Talent Care to learn more about what the Executive Leadership Team and Recruiting teams are doing to identify resources to support current and future workloads across all of our disciplines. For others reading this feedback in 2022, we’d like to highlight some of the things that we’re proud of at WD. In 2021, our overall turnover was 17% and our 6-year average turnover is 26%. If you compare that to the Bureau of Labor Statistic’s national averages, we’re doing much, MUCH better than the rest of the country – even in our own industry and region – where the annual separation/turnovers are in the 40-60% ranges for that same 6 years. (https://www.bls.gov/news.release/jolts.t16.htm#jolts_table16.f.10) We’re really proud that our clients are keeping us busy and our associates are choosing to stay! In the WD Associate Satisfaction Survey from April 2021, here is how our Associates rated their satisfaction with working at WD… - 8.3 out of 10: Overall Satisfaction Score - 8.9 out of 10: “I would like to be working at WD Partners a year from now” - 9.1 out of 10: “Inappropriate or derogatory comments and behaviors are not tolerated on my team.” - 9.3 out of 10: “My manager treats everyone fairly with respect, regardless of their differences or background.” - 8.2 out of 10: “I’m able to manage my work in a way that allows me to maintain a healthy balance between work and home.” We examine all reviews from Glassdoor to identify any trends or areas of concern, but we also encourage all Associates to reach out to their manager, Executive Leadership Team Member, and/or Talent Care at any time. We do our best to offer potential solutions and share what is being done to address those concerns, though we understand that available outcomes may not always resolve all frustrations.

Explore other reviews about WD Partners

5.0
Aug 2, 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Positive environment. Forward thinking. Good leadership.

Cons

Salary is lagging a bit.

3.0
Dec 17, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Everyone is really great to work with and the culture is great even being remote. Good projects for your resume.

Cons

They seem to do decent sized layoffs almost every quarter even if they know work will only slow down temporarily. They then reach out to hire you as a contractor when projects pick back up again and they are short staffed. It’s not a stable job by any means. I’ve coworkers who put more than 15 years into the company get laid off and then rehired as contract two months later. Horrible business model.

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WD Partners Response
1mo
Thank you for your feedback. We recognize the importance of clear expectations in a client-driven business. We prioritize transparent communication around project timelines and client needs, and we actively align opportunities for Associates as client demand evolves. We appreciate you taking the time to share your perspective.
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