Native Instruments reviews about "leadership"

goals are moving targets, constant change of leadership and staff, people are disposable

In my 20 years of professional career I have never worked for such a mismanaged company nor have I ever been subjected to such a toxic and unsafe workplace. I watched as managers and team members around me took multiple stress leaves to survive the day to day turmoil. I reported multiple HR compliance issues including discrimination, threats of violence, bullying and was met with an ill equpped HR team that failed to do anything. I don't even think the lack of action was intential rather they simply didn't know HOW to react. I appreciate the challenge NI is facing to cut high operating costs to improve profit margin and have worked at multiple companies in financial and organizational distress who had to let employees go but was shocked at how poorly prepared leadership was to react to these challenges. Just look at the canned response they are copying and pasting to each employee review. If they can't even afford creative and empathetic responses to their own employees how can you expect them to be able to respond to their user needs? They say in their responses that they are starting company wide Q&A but watch out, the last time they did this Danel Harver made cringe-worthy sexist comments again demonstrating how disconnected this leadership team is with reality. What is there to investigate? the evidence is right in front of you.

Majority of the employees responsible for creating the good products and marketing of the past are now gone. New C-level board was assembled to fire people or create circumstances that encourage people to quit. Any care or empathy for its workers is gone. After comically indecisive and clueless leadership in the face of how businesses adapt to new opportunities, they now are in deep trouble.

NI had acquired the best talent there was to build and deliver value to their product. So much so that they did the unthinkable and destroyed all of that with poor business decisions (if they made a decision at all), hiring incompetent managers and directors, and never holding themselves accountable. The level of incompetence is astounding because when asked a simple question of "why?" to a business decision or requesting data to inform, they run around like chickens with their heads cut off and then in the end, decide to get upset instead and do things like fire people to cover up their own lack of leadership skills. What's worse is that the non-manager folks who were hired on got reprimanded for simply doing their jobs. There is no interest of finding root causes nor resolving them. Leadership rules with putting fear into people so they can continue to elevate themselves because they don't understand that true leadership is to actually help those below and around them to rise.

Frequent changes in strategy, frequent changes in leadership

The leadership of the company is weak.

If you are developer looking for a job where you can unfold your creative power and make an impact - you need a certain environment. Intrinsic motivation is an inseperable part of production- and learning processes. Intrinsic motivation is the kind of motivation, you as a creative developer and learner have by yourself - because the learning and working process itself is pleasant and in best case perceived as entertaining. Work is done, because it is fun! This means, you will need a new kind of leadership. Leaders that do not crush your intrinsic motiviation but know that your motivation is way more important than what they have to say. Leaders that want you to communicate bi-directional and participate to exchange information that define the rules. Well, these leaders have left or are layed off. If you are looking for a work environment, where your intrinsic motivation is valued more than the power of upper managers and investors: LOOK SOMEWHERE ELSE!

I wont go into details of NIs past 3 months as everything has been said in detail. Shame on the management! Today you fired over 100 of your employees. Some working for this company since more than 15 years, many with family and kids. If you would have the tiniest bit of dignity you would step down and honestly apologize. You promised everyone that bringing investors in would not change anything for your employees. I don't know if you lied or if you are really so dellusional that you thought this would work out. You chose to ignore all consulting of your longtime employees, customers, artists and listen to a bunch of self-proclaimed tech gurus who know nothing about music, about NI, about social responsibilty. NI was something special: amazing people, amazing products, amazing customers, a great and fair place to work and you turned it into a profit, investor driven soulless company. I mean its ok... your experiences in the "real business world" are pretty limited your leadership skills just average. You could have simply admitted it and give the wheel to someone who knows how to really lead a company. But what you did now is just heartless and cold.