Does IDEO pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, IDEO employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.3 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at IDEO. This rating has improved by 1% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at IDEO?

79% of IDEO employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated IDEO 3.8 out of 5 for work life balance, 4.3 for culture and values and 3.8 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at IDEO?

Senior Designer (14) , Designer (12) , Design Lead (11) , Director (8) , Business Development (6) , Communication Designer (6) , Interaction Designer (5) , Lead Designer (5) , Senior Design Lead (5) , Senior Interaction Designer (5) , Industrial Designer (4) , Interaction Design Intern (4) , Coordinator (3) , Design Director (3) , Design Researcher (3)

What are the pros of working at IDEO according to real employee reviews?

"people and projects are amazing" ((in 74 reviews)); "Offers designers a great culture and the chance to work on interesting challenges in a range of industries." ((in 54 reviews)); "Exciting work, smart and creative colleagues, fantastic facilities and tools, socially open, lots of trust for each employee." ((in 15 reviews)); "Great work life balance." ((in 13 reviews)); "Great benefits, talented co" ((in 6 reviews))

What are the cons of working at IDEO according to real employee reviews?

"At same time, the company has not been having great local talents and leadership unlike other locations." ((in 21 reviews)); "Low pay compared to big tech" ((in 20 reviews)); "Salary feels low for Silicon Valley" ((in 10 reviews)); "but lacks an edge in monetary compensation." ((in 6 reviews)); "cExtreme nepotism" ((in 5 reviews))

What are employees saying about IDEO redundancies in 2026?

Explore Glassdoor’s employee reviews to understand what current and former employees are saying about IDEO redundancy and their outlook for job security at IDEO in 2026.

IDEO Reviews

Compare reviews

4.0

79% would recommend to a friend

(289 total reviews)

Mike Peng

100% approve of CEO

53% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

4.3

Culture and values

3.8

Diversity and inclusion

3.8

Work/Life balance

3.8

Career opportunities

3.5

Senior management

3.3

Compensation and benefits

IDEO has an employee rating of 4.0 out of 5 stars, based on 289 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The IDEO employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Management and consulting industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

289 reviews

2.0

24 Mar 2021

Disappointing experience

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business outlook

Pros

- People are nice. - If you're a designer looking to learn about other disciplines, then it's good.

Cons

- Work is disorganized. It is not uncommon for people, even in senior positions, to not honor deadlines or refuse to have a clear plan of doing things with the excuse of "let's just prototype it". - Leadership procrastinates decision making while asking emplyees to be patient. - People are somewhat illusioned about what IDEO can or cannot do, and very complacent and defensive when put in competion with other studios. - People are quite entitled, often condescending towards vendors and partners in execution roles. - Leadership is not in tune with technology due to lack of interest, which leads to 1) mostly accepting work from clients that are really behind, and 2) "human-centered, innovative solutions" that aren't new to people who really work in the industry.

5.0

26 Aug 2020

Great place to work

Senior communication designer

Recommend

CEO approval

Business outlook

Pros

collaboration, impact, learning, self-fulfillment, company culture

Cons

intensive workload, always 'on', self doubt, compensation, client management

2.0

18 Nov 2016

A Heartbreaking Experience

Support

Recommend

CEO approval

Business outlook

Pros

IDEO holds such a strong reputation as a firm that's written the language and framework of modern company culture that it continues to draw amazing talent. The mid and lower level staff here are amazing; full of energy, enthusiasm and hope.

Cons

After about six months here you see the trends emerge that many have mentioned in previous reviews. The hardest part is when you realize there is no desire within leadership to change anything that doesn't directly affect the lives or salaries of the partners. -cInconsistencies between what is promised and what is offered -cCliquey, high-school level politics -cExtreme nepotism - No growth track particularly for anyone not in traditional design roles. - Elitism of designers vs. everyone else despite the company's love of saying "everyone is a designer." - Complete lack of leadership engagement with mid and low level staff. - CEO acts more as figurehead for the brand myth of the company, while almost never engaging directly with studios and staff. - Unusually high attrition rates. - Huge spending on things like partner meetings while other staff are kept at baseline salaries

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