Great company, People Ops team needs work - People Operations Zendesk Employee Review

3.0
Jul 2, 2019
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Zendesk is an amazing company, great product and the leadership at the very top is smart and passionate. There are a lot of really awesome people that work there that care a lot about doing a good job, as well as being good to each other. It has grown a lot, but still has a great culture.

Cons

I would not recommend working in the People Ops team. Things were great until more recently. New leadership was brought in that never worked at a company of our size, and is trying to make it corporate and "operationalize" everything. You can't automate every process, and the focus has changed from taking care of all employees to only management at the top and whatever their pain points are. There has been massive turnover in every team under People & Places and they are continuing to lose good people. Every week I hear of another friend who is leaving or getting ready to leave. Nothing is being done to try to keep people, they just replace them and hope the new person stays around longer. They tell a story that people are leaving because they have better opportunities, but people are just unhappy and leaving for the same job somewhere else, or leaving without even having a job lined up.

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5.0
Jun 30, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great place to work and great benefits

Cons

None so long as you like working for a large company

1.0
Jun 29, 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

There is a strong concentration of talented people who bring valuable external experience and perspective to the company. Compensation and benefits — including time off — are competitive. Work‑life balance is reasonable in some areas, but if you’re not based in San Francisco, you often have to advocate for it more actively.

Cons

The company operates with a level of indecision that makes long‑term planning nearly impossible. Role creation shouldn’t be treated as a short‑term experiment, yet decisions are made and reversed quickly. In several areas, the degree of micromanagement is counterproductive — you can’t hire strong talent and then prevent them from actually using their capabilities. Whether the root cause is insecurity or lack of competence, the outcome is the same: people aren’t empowered to do the work they were brought in to do, and it’s a real organizational issue.

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