employer cover photo
employer logo
employer logo

Interaction Design Foundation

Engaged Employer

Interaction Design Foundation reviews

4.1

78% would recommend to a friend

(66 total reviews)

Mads Soegaard and Rikke Friis Dam

83% approve of CEO

72% positive business outlook

Interaction Design Foundation has an employee rating of 4.1 out of 5 stars, based on 66 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an excellent working experience there. The Interaction Design Foundation employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Educación industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

66 reviews
5.0
Mar 24, 2021
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- A place that offers tremendous fulfillment and exponential personal growth, if you have the inherent and innate drivers to fuel your success. - Autonomy in how and when to execute your responsibilities. - Great progression opportunities. - Opportunities to try out cross-functional roles and take your interests for a spin. - Opportunities to influence and shape how things are done in the company. - Opportunities to deliver real impact to the business and the world. - Inspiring teammates who will motivate, challenge, and help you. - Independent thinking is encouraged, but collaboration and consensus are necessary. - Polished, professional, and kind communication across the board. - Minimal bureaucracy = maximum efficiency. The daily operations (e.g. there are very few meetings; we learn about what each other are doing by taking the initiative to read up on their updates via a communication platform; when we take on a new responsibility, we learn about it by reading documents prepared by our team members.) are fueled by every individual's commitment to excellence, plus autonomy and trust among teammates. Generally, the work process here can be defined as a form of self-service backed by a truckload of self-sufficiency (although your teammates are always there to help you when you ask). As such, it's pertinent that every team member believes and exercises self-accountability, discipline, integrity, intellectual curiosity, a spirit of excellence, empathy, and attentiveness. That also means this is a workplace that needs a personal commitment above the norm.

Cons

Not exactly cons but here are some potential challenges you might face: - Every role here demands digital dexterity and cognitive agility. - It does not have a legitimate organizational principle, which means you must appreciate (and thrive) in ambiguity and be open-minded about receiving feedback from everyone. And really, you can learn something from each and everyone here—even about your own specialty. - You need to be absolutely sure that your values and attitude are aligned with the company. Otherwise, you are going to struggle... very hard. - People here work in small and flexible teams and handle fluctuating workloads, shrinking time frames, and intense flurries of information exchange and coordination over online communication platforms. So it's crucial that you have a high level of organizational skills and enjoy doing 'the dance of agility' at work. There are also some shadowy aspects of a decentralized company with a team of highly motivated members that work remotely: 1. There's a tendency to overwork and burn out. 2. There's a general lack of social relationships in the workplace that can lead to issues of loneliness and stress—especially now, when team trips are thwarted by the pandemic. That said, the management is constantly working on this point and trying to strengthen the social fabric of the company.

5.0
Mar 23, 2021
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The main aspect that struck me working at the Interaction Design Foundation is the amount of trust they give you from the beginning. Each member understands their own responsibility inside the organization and strives to be a leader. It's inspiring to work alongside professionals from so many different fields, working towards the common goal of doing better, learn something new everyday and offer help for any of their peers.

Cons

You don't get to chat with your peers so often, which is a shame because everyone has so much knowledge to share. However online events make up for it.

5.0
Aug 15, 2018

Ideal - if you’re ambitious and self-disciplined

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

1. The complete trust and freedom we all enjoy. We work 100% remotely and management has to trust us 100%. That works really well if you’re ambitious and self-disciplined because if you really love what you do you, you will thrive in an atmosphere of trust and high ambitions. However, if you don’t truly love what you do, or if you have difficulty motivating yourself or staying motivated, then it will be almost impossible for you to fit into the culture of the IDF. 2. You’re empowered to make decisions without a management hierarchy. It’s a completely flat hierarchy so you don’t spend any time on negotiations, asking permission, or corporate politics or bureaucracy. You’re given autonomy and trust and can take ownership of your own work and schedule. 2. The colleagues: They are *very* intelligent and *very* ambitious about their work - without using their elbows. We help each other grow and learn.

Cons

1. Although we have daily video-based meetings with a lot of laughs and positive energy, you’re still alone most of the time. Some people (like me) love that because it allows me to concentrate on my work and fully focus. If you don’t enjoy to work in complete focus, then remote work is not something for you. Whenever I feel that I don’t have enough “human contact”, then I fix it by prioritizing to be more with friends in my spare time instead of watching TV or being on facebook. 2. It has been a bit exhausting to onboard new colleagues and then find out that they don’t fit into the culture.

avatar
Interaction Design Foundation Response
7y
Thanks SO much for for your kind words. That means a lot to all of us! You hit the nail on the head by using the word love. When someone loves their job in an environment of colleagues who also love their job and who also are ambitious and self-disciplined, magic tends to happen. As you know, we invest heavily in our workplace culture since we are certain that it is the foundation for personal happiness and productivity. Someone once said, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast” which means that a company must have a great workplace culture before it can realize any or all of its strategies. A great culture is the foundation for success. That’s what we think, at least. And I’m so glad that you seem to agree and that our efforts have an impact.
Viewing 34 - 36 of 66 Reviews

Glassdoor has 73 Interaction Design Foundation reviews submitted anonymously by Interaction Design Foundation employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Interaction Design Foundation is right for you.