Allied Works Architecture Reviews

Extremely weak management from employees to resources to design. Let's start with design workflow: There's never time to do it right but there's time to do it over (they expect you to dedicate your life to the firm but strangely don't compensate well). Redoing the same job over and over again as a result. Rushing as a substitute for thinking, drinking as a valve for letting out steam. Everything (literally, every little detail) has to be decided upon or approved by the top guy but he frequently seems scarce around the office - an absentee dictatorship. Teams oscillate between too large and too small from poor division of labor. Those in charge generally don't trust the employees and it can take far too long to finally get any real responsibility. Money is handled extremely poorly - expect a very low salary and intermittent or non-existent reviews and raises. Additionally, expect to not have up to date, matching, or even complete software packages on your computer... if they have the money to supply you with one! Even if you like the work and absolutely must work here, don't plan to stay for long. There is very little opportunity for growth (they like to pigeon hole people), and you'll discover very quickly that the process isn't what you think.

Low pay, especially relative to other offices in Portland Poor benefits, no overtime pay, unreliable bonuses/reviews, disorganized/nonexistent HR Unprofessional and immature business management, irresponsible financial practices Upper management is out of touch and disrespectful towards employees, not present during design process, ego above all else No respect for work/life balance or family needs Unresponsive/unhelpful business management Project budgets were unrealistic, often incredibly over-budget and pursuing design concepts that everyone knew were too expensive from the start - principal likes to think they can always choose the most expensive option, although clients (even high-end ones) have very real financial constraints Binge drinking as a coping mechanism High staff turnover, especially among young/new employees – job security not reflective of performance Disorganized hiring process Pays the student workers poorly, they deserve an actual livable wage Little or no ability to progress or move forward professionally - poor support for licensure and professional development or continuing education Strange mix of micromanagement and lack of productive communication Saw talented employees fired without acknowledgment from principal Poor organization and time management - excludes lower level staff from meetings, rare that everyone is on the same page among project teams – leads to redundant work and unhappy project managers No feedback regarding work performance - performance reviews are promised, but rarely delivered The reality of the job is not reflective of conversations during hiring interviews, promises not honored Employees not trusted with responsibility or acknowledged for their contributions by principal Outdated software, disorganized and inefficient workflow, constant IT/tech problems with no consistently available support Poor staffing decisions - teams and workload are never allocated in a logical way