Gensler reviews

3.6

66% would recommend to a friend

(2,472 total reviews)
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Elizabeth Brink, Jordan Goldstein, Andy Cohen, and Diane Hoskins

80% approve of CEO

56% positive business outlook

Gensler has an employee rating of 3.6 out of 5 stars, based on 2,472 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Gensler employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Servicios de construcción, reparación y mantenimiento industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

2K reviews
2.0
Sep 14, 2017
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

I liked working on interesting projects, and the firm knows that is what brings new staff in who are hungry to work on projects for big name clients. There is a sense of power that the firm has so when you say to an engineer or vendor you work for gensler they jump to attention.

Cons

I did 4 years when Ed Friedrichs was the CEO, he was alright and the firm was about people. I moved and came back in 2011 and did 6 years and it was as awful as newer staff had warned me.The firm knows you want to work for the big name firm so senior associates and leaders try to use that in exchange for making you hit ridiculous deadlines which require all nighters (without charging your all night time) while they go to principal retreats and leadership meetings and put time on your project even if not working on it. There always seems to be that perception that if you don't want to sacrifice someone else will fill your seat in a minute. Not about people anymore. We are a commodity. Some people just deal with it, and some like me had to boomerang back again to see if things changed but they did not. I need to pay for my kids things so I went back for promise of a big bonus, but it wasn't worth it for the rest of the time.

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Gensler Response
7y
Thanks for the feedback! We want every person at our firm to make their voice heard.
1.0
Aug 4, 2016

Yikes!

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The clients are the best part - if you are lucky - you'll get to work on good projects. But it really depends on what team you are on and what projects are in your specific "studio".

Cons

Where to begin... The lack of ethics in project management is terrifying. People bill to whatever project they are told, with no real hours accounted for (poor clients!). The ethics in actual work is also terrifying. People just copy and paste from one project to another - so work is never original or top tier (poor clients!). There are a couple of studio directors in the Boston office who seem to run more professional gigs, but the studio directors on my floor were both totally nuts. They fought with each other like school girls, were incompetent managers, and lacked any true leadership qualities. The revolving door gets old too. There are always "new" people on your team - and having to tell who can really accomplish actual client work is super difficult.

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Gensler Response
9y
Thank you for the feedback on your experience at Gensler. We appreciate your candor and will share your comments with the firm’s leadership. We’d also like to take this opportunity to stress that professional ethics lie at the core of Gensler’s guiding principles. Gensler is consistently listed as one of the “Most Admired” firms in our industry by publications such as Interior Design magazine and Building Design. We believe the admiration of our peers reflects our ongoing commitment to protecting and nurturing a strong and ethical culture, and we will continue to do everything we can to provide the best possible experience for our clients and our people. Thanks again for your feedback.
2.0
Apr 22, 2016
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The work was extremely relevant and interesting. great culture and work atmosphere. Lots of resources and room to grow.

Cons

I had a negative experience with the specific supervisors I was working under. This is not a reflection on the whole company, so it really depends on who you are working with. I experienced some extremely shady business practices on this team. I was told to bill for jobs that I wasn't working on for weeks at a time. There was also a severe lack of communication regarding procedures and project deadlines. Prepare to be a scapegoat when things go awry due to incompetent supervisors.

Viewing 46 - 48 of 2,472 Reviews

Glassdoor has 2,836 Gensler reviews submitted anonymously by Gensler employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Gensler is right for you.