Surprisingly Awful - Animator Instrument Employee Review

2.0
Oct 9, 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

They paid me quickly, the other freelancers were decent people.

Cons

Poor communication. Ridiculously complicated workflow. Overworking. I never had such a bizarre and disrespectful experience with an agency in all my years of freelancing before this one. They underestimated what they actually needed and are horrible with communication and organization. I would never want to work for them again. They provided very limited tech support for issues, no one knew what was going on. Resounding cluelessness. One of the producers was particularly inexperienced and totally tone-deaf on how to approach problem-solving. Onboarding was rushed and missed steps that prevented me from properly coordinating with the team. They left it up to the freelancers’ to figure out technical needs amongst themselves. Not even a central server protocol to attempt to keep things organized. Astounding.

Explore other reviews about Instrument

5.0
Jun 26, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great company with great people. Seamless life, work balance, and a very nice company culture.

Cons

No big cons as far as my concern. The pay can be slightly better, but it's okay compared to other agencies' standards.

3.0
Jun 24, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The people here are great. Every team feels fairly connected, even for a 250+ person agency. Work/life balance is the best I've experienced at an agency so far. Pay is fair and scales depending on where you live and your experience overall. Work has the potential to be interesting, but most clients we bring in are not looking for ground-breaking work.

Cons

The benefits are not extraordinary, other than generous PTO. Recently removed a sabbatical program. Layoffs that come as a surprise, with scrambles only months later to fill the eliminated roles. Freelance hiring is hit or miss. Publicly-owned with a parent company that doesn't align with Instrument's morals. Leadership feels fairly disconnected and not genuinely interested in resolving the low morale amongst the larger team. Seemingly more interested in advertising themselves and using AI than in focusing on craft and high-quality projects. Constant leadership departures create anxiety.

See reviews by: Helpful|Rating|Date|All