Steelcase Reviews

Current Employee – been working at Steelcase as an intern for less than a year

Pros – Everyone is extremely friendly and helpful, work environment is comfortable, relaxed, and fun

Cons – bureaucracy can be overwhelming at times, high competition for internal jobs

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at Steelcase full-time for more than 3 years

Pros – Training and development of people is incredible. Opportunity to work on special projects is a strong plus. Great product to sell. Good reputation product quality.

Cons – Need to be relocatable to advance. Merit increases are cost of living usually and no discussion of how to increase your base salary. Local teams can be a challenge as there are usually some long term employees that struggle with embracing change.

Advice to Senior Management – Make the path to monetary and career advancement more visible.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at Steelcase full-time for more than 10 years

Pros – Good place to learn.
You can learn a lot about your area and the system - if you want to. In Information Technology there is an opportunity to learn for the person right out of college. The company is very nice to Interns everywhere in the company. Interns can really learn a lot and they help interns too. The other people you work with are quite nice.

Cons – You can work very hard, be very productive, but there is no differentiation between you and the people who just sit there. This applies primarily to Information Technology jobs.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at Steelcase full-time for more than 10 years

Pros – Good pay for interesting work, not a lot of long hours, great discounts on modern, high-quality furniture. The culture varies depending on the group you're in, but is positive overall.

The company trusts its employees, and allows us to take risks. Not micro-managing, definitely a sense of empowerment and responsibility.

Generous vacation policy for salaried. Great facilities, sometimes even living in the ideas we sell.

Lots of different areas of business you can work in, a big enough company to get real-world experience at a 'big' company that's actually small enough to navigate. Plenty of talented people around to network with, learn from, and listen to.

Managers have been fair and responsive. I've received fair pay increases and have seen my responsibilities grow, at least within my job title.

Despite some flaws, I like it here overall.

Cons – Difficult 'modernizing' has been code for decreasing pay, headcount, and benefits; offshoring manufacturing and closing local plants; replacing experienced employees with low-paid temps. It's been bad for the vibe, and some of the ways they've done it have been held up in academic circles as examples of what not to do (such as the lay-offs in early 2000s.) Saying 'every company does that' doesn't make it suck any less, the erosion of what used to be a better place for employees and for the community.

What used to be 'attract and retain the best talent' is more like 'attract and retain good enough talent', including senior leadership. It's been $3B a year, year in and year out, since the 1980s.

No defined management training programs, and the few to no positions to land in are usually held by lifers. Nobody recruiting obvious talent within, you have to play the game and hope for the best with no guarantees. Nepotism and cronyism rampant. Have no idea how some of these people landed 'there'. Some middle managers run their own little kingdoms with little to answer for.

Declining incentive to work here for a long career, as retirement benefits no longer exist (you and your 401k are on your own), retirement contributions come and go, bonus is a moving target designed to never exceed ~10%, and vacation never increases again once you reach the 5-year mark. Come for the facilities, pay, and culture, stay for the...?

Advice to Senior Management – Give us a management training program, or at least a roadmap to follow that will actually lead somewhere. If I get an MBA, will Steelcase leverage it? Or pay me more? Or have a place for me to land? Or is there no incentive to develop, unless I plan on leaving?

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at Steelcase full-time for more than 8 years

Pros – - Management is generally very fair to employees, most despicable directors and managers that were there have been weeded out.
- Good communication from admin. to employees
- Very pro-family oriented, lots of flexability in schedules for family needs in most cases

Cons – - Frustrating to see the waste sometimes (in people, time and materials) and not be able to do anything about it
- Its a big company and the wheels mostly move pretty slowly

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at Steelcase full-time for more than 8 years

Pros – -Inspires employees to take ownership in company well- being, team environment
- state of the art computer systems and training
- many training opportunities, company paid
- most people are great to work with
- flexible for those with family issues
- excellent working conditions

Cons – Some get promoted based on relationships or friendships rather than ability which does not help the company at all

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Steelcase as an intern for more than a year

Pros – Friendly employees, supportive managers, interesting assignments, nice office environments to work in, pays well, many learning opportunities, opportunities to switch departments if you would like

Cons – Sometimes people can be set in their ways/processes

Advice to Senior Management – Keep hiring interns, and then hire them on full time! We put in a lot of work to get to know the products, processes, people etc and so it is disappointing if there aren't jobs open after we graduate!

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Former Employee – worked at Steelcase as an intern for less than a year

Pros – As an intern I contributed by working on real projects that contributed to the success of my team and organization. I never ran errands or got coffee for anyone, instead I worked on research and analytical assignments to enhance our presence in the market.
Pay, time off, flexibility, global company

Cons – Limited amount of hours available during school, no exact contract end date, limited interaction with my superiors.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Steelcase full-time for more than 10 years

Pros – From my first interview through my exit interview Steelcase lived up to its values. They encourage their employees to learn and grow and provide a great, professional atmosphere. I worked for Steelcase for nearly 20 years and loved it.

Cons – To really move up in the company you need to be open to relocating to one of their larger sites. For me relocation wasn't a option but had a great run with Steelcase anyhow.

Advice to Senior Management – Over the last 10 years we've lost some great people with irreplacable skills and knowledge to off-shoring resources. Its sad to see friends leave the company and the loss of their intellect has to have a financial consequence.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Steelcase full-time for more than 10 years

Pros – This is a company who lives up to its values. It was wonderful to work with other committed professionals and, over the years, many became friends. There are lots of opportunities for advancement, especially if you can relocate.

Cons – I can't think of any cons. From my first interview to my exit interview (17 years later) I had a great experience, opportunities to learn and work with amazing, smart people.

Advice to Senior Management – Don't lose your talent. Instead of lay offs everything should be done to keep talented people with the company!

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend