Amazing people and projects, poor leadership - Senior Associate NBBJ Employee Review

2.0
Jun 9, 2015
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The projects are often fantastic, visionary. The office culture and sharing of ideas is an important way to grow and well-supported in grass roots and unstructured ways.

Cons

Like most design-focused firms, the technical execution of projects is not as scrutinized as it could be. There is a significant amount of waste, not enough emphasis on training staff in the effective use of tools. The marketing hype has been huge recently. Now it's time to back it up with quality delivery. Too many old guard project managers that want to work in the pre-digital world.

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.

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