Good bones with abysmal management structure and poor organizational intelligence - Mid-Level Instructional Designer i3 Employee Review

1.0
Mar 31, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Full of innovative professionals, who--given the right structure and guidance--could make a powerful impact on their industry. Good day-to-day culture (pancake days, lunch and learns), but it can be superficial.

Cons

Abyssmal organizational intelligence. The management structure (particularly in Training and Development portfolio) is weak, unfocused, and oblivious of serious inefficiencies and stress cracks in the production layer. Software developer teams are respected but siloed, non-developer teams are ignored, pay/promotion is not commensurate with talent or work ethic, and the agile framework is used as an excuse for lack of business analysis. Skill levels are all over the map, and skilled employees are routinely asked to clean up poor quality work of peers with little reassurance that the quality will be addressed. Instructional designers are ignored and dismissed, lack advocates in middle management, and are treated as akin to data entry.

Explore other reviews about i3

5.0
Oct 21, 2025
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

i3 is a wonderful company. They have a great culture, amazing mission, and awesome people. Teams all work well together from my experience, and there is little to no friction or animosity between departments

Cons

My 1 drawback is that regardless of the companies growth or scaling, i3 seems reluctant to put on their "big boy pants". They insist on acting like a tech start up in many regards, maintaining lacks rules and accountability, resisting changes that impose even the slightest inconvenience, and formal policy and process that may impede innovative practices. The result is a company with little to no standardization, many preventable errors in processes, and messy products that reflect poorly on the company as a whole.

3.0
Jun 29, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

I enjoyed the people a lot.

Cons

Culture was fake and a show.

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