Highly competent architecture firm trying to move into the consulting space - Anonymous employee NBBJ Employee Review

3.0
Jun 28, 2012
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- fiscally responsible - competitive salaries and good benefits package - good working environment (if you like open offices) - nice location - good internal support mechanisms (with regard to HR) - great place for aspiring designers/architects/PM's to learn - tremendous opportunity for systems thinking - truly interdisciplinary - engaged in sustainability, community efforts and non-profit work = drives positive impact - architectural work is robust and quite lovely

Cons

- slightly staid in their management approach - don't toot their own horn nearly enough - marketing is next to none - not tied in well enough to related disciplines such as experience design, service design, UX - lack flexibility and speed to market with new tools and methods - "meeting culture" takes up too much time and is often ineffective - organization is often too democratic and pseudo flat - difficult in the case of new incentives due to lack of discipline and focus - lack of introspection and realistic comparison to the competition - seller/doer model not very effective

Explore other reviews about NBBJ

5.0
Jun 4, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Super flexible and great coworkers

Cons

No real cons. Maybe wished it was more hybrid

1.0
Jun 16, 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

healthcare benefit, good office location

Cons

Bonus points if you're white and can fit into the small inner circle (iykyk). If not, you may find yourself constantly reminded that you don’t really belong. There is a very obvious double standard around flexibility and trust. Certain people seem to be allowed to do whatever they want, while others get questioned for the same behavior and suddenly need to have a “conversation with the manager.” Openly talking negatively about coworkers and consultants is also treated as normal. There is a lot of casual criticism, gossip, and dismissive commentary, which makes the environment feel unnecessarily tense and unprofessional. The micromanagement is also exhausting, especially from managers who are too busy to know what you are actually working on. Instead of feeling trusted to do your job, you end up spending a lot of energy managing perception. Also, 4 days in the office is intense; sometimes people just need quiet time to focus. Although if you're one of the favorites, that can be negotiable.

1
See reviews by: Helpful|Rating|Date|All