Ableton reviews

3.3

53% would recommend to a friend

(83 total reviews)
avatar

Gerhard Behles

57% approve of CEO

25% positive business outlook

Ableton has an employee rating of 3.3 out of 5 stars, based on 83 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Ableton employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Information Technology industry (3.9 stars).

Reviews by job title

83 reviews
2.0
Jul 25, 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Possibility to work from home at all times is a major plus (at least this is the case in Product Development), unlike other companies that forced employees to return to the office after Covid. Really nice colleagues overall with a shared passion for music. Competent Works Council that constantly fights for employee rights with great results.

Cons

Extremely limited career paths, frozen salaries since early 2023, very low pay compared to most tech companies. Positions of power are often held by incompetent people who are solely chosen through favouritism. I've seen entire units collapse due to terrible staffing choices made by the board, despite them being warned by dozens of employee about the implications of such decisions. Double standards at their finest -> Engineers, Designers and Product Owners go through rigorous, systematic evaluation using progression schemes and other formal tools of evaluation while managers get promoted randomly without any evaluation of their work and their impact on employee satisfaction. Incompetent management board who stubbornly refuse to listen to employee feedback and their customers' wishes. They won't take responsibility for their mistakes, despite the complete mess they caused by aggressively growing the company within the first year of Covid and investing in risky projects that have yielded nothing but losses. Employees who choose to speak up and criticise the board's decisions and leadership style are punished either by being laid off or denied career options. Ableton has fallen behind competition but no actions are taken to introduce fresh blood to the board; instead, board members seem to be holding on to their positions like old-school politicians who refuse to give up their chairs when the entire ship is sinking.

2.0
Dec 11, 2014

Process, not product

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Open, relaxed environment No feeling of management looking over your shoulder Good espresso machines Many very talented employees A lot to learn as a developer

Cons

Too relaxed No career path Bogged down in process and management No risk or innovation Impossible to make the smallest change Horrible HR

1.0
Sep 23, 2023

Not a good place to work

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Sadly, it’s impossible to think of a good reason to work at Ableton considering the current conditions.

Cons

I joined Ableton with high hopes, eager to be part of a cutting-edge company that would revolutionize the music production industry. Unfortunately, my time here has been marked by a series of disappointments, largely stemming from the executive team's inability to listen to its customers, measure the impact of their decisions, and empower their staff. These failures have culminated in a catastrophic business downfall, with heartbreaking redundancies that have left many of us in disarray. One of the most glaring issues within Ableton was the executive team's deaf ear to customer feedback. Despite countless pleas from customers for improvements and changes, our leadership seemed impervious to their needs. This lack of responsiveness led to a decline in customer satisfaction and a hemorrhaging of new customer acquisition, a blow from which we never fully recovered. Equally distressing was the executive team's inability to measure the impact of their decisions. Important choices were made seemingly in a vacuum, with little regard for how they would affect our users and the business as a whole. Metrics and data-driven decision-making were cast aside in favor of hasty, ill-informed judgments. The consequences of these shortsighted decisions became painfully evident as our market share dwindled, and competitors surged ahead. Perhaps the most disheartening aspect of my time at Ableton was the utter lack of empowerment among staff. Employee voices were stifled, innovative ideas were brushed aside, and morale plummeted. In fact, it was those who spoke up and challenged the leadership team who were laid off. This culture of disempowerment and mistrust created a toxic work environment that made it difficult for us to thrive or contribute our best to the company's success. Regrettably, these collective failures of the executive team led to a catastrophic business failure. The company's downward spiral reached a point where layoffs and redundancies became inevitable. The pain and uncertainty that this inflicted on many dedicated employees, who had tirelessly worked to salvage the sinking ship, cannot be overstated. In conclusion, my experience at Ableton was marred by the executive team's inability to listen to customers, measure the impact of their decisions, and empower their staff. These shortcomings proved fatal, leading to a catastrophic business failure and a wave of redundancies. It serves as a stark reminder of the importance of effective leadership, communication, and decision-making in the world of tech companies, and a lesson in what can go wrong when these crucial elements are overlooked.

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