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CH2M Project Engineer reviews

2.2

28% would recommend to a friend

(10 total reviews)
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Jacqueline Hinman

Not enough data to show CEO approval

Reviews by job title

10 reviews
2.0
Nov 18, 2016

Ok...I guess

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Not many. Big company with some opportunities if you know the right people and clients. Otherwise it's just like AECOM and Jacobs.

Cons

Plenty. Flat management style in the trenches, with no one able to make any improvements. Any real decisions are made at such a high level that 99% of the people have no say in the matter. Also the company is sending work to India and Poland as quickly as they can to boost the books in the short-term. After being in the business for 25+ years and working around the U.S. with many different firms, I can see this company not being around in the next 3 years. Really too bad for a firm with such a good rep in the industry.

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CH2M Response
9y
We really appreciate your feedback. To keep CH2M healthy, we need to be efficient and cost-competitive. We’re focusing our design efforts in strategically located design centers in the US and across the globe, allowing us to achieve greater standardization and consistency, which benefit our clients.
1.0
May 24, 2016
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

There are still some great people left working there. But they are trying to hold up a sinking ship. It used to be a good place to work, with a leadership that was focused and supportive. The "Little Yellow Book" way of life used to be real and people mattered. Sadly not any more. Pay and benefits are industry standard which is decent.

Cons

Management is too top heavy and there is absolutely no communication down from the top. Workers get pigeon-holed with no where to grow or advance. Questionable pay and time reporting practices - if you are "salaried", you only get paid hourly for the hours you work and they take your vacation to make up the balance. And you can't stop them. No overhead, no help looking for work from management, no support, and the saddest part - no loyalty to employees.

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CH2M Response
9y
Thank you for the feedback. We are committed to creating a culture that is respectful, collaborative and positive so we are disappointed to hear about your experience at CH2M. We value and consider all feedback and we’ll continue to find ways to improve. Our culture is a key differentiator, and we always keep an eye out for behaviors that don’t add to the strong, vibrant culture we’ve created. As a company we are communicating with a greater level of transparency than ever before. Are we perfect? No, but communication is one of our highest priorities as we continue to evolve and adapt to the marketplace and the stakeholders we serve. Thanks, Matt
1.0
Jan 8, 2016
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Variety of internal training courses to educate yourself. If you're lucky, you get to meet and work with truly nice colleagues from other parts of the world.

Cons

CH2M is very American centric. All the "great" things that you read about CH2M only happens in the US or maybe Europe. Offices outside of these regions do not have a shred of the company culture found in the US and are lacking in both technical and business support from the US. The Little Yellow Book is nothing but propaganda against its own employees and a marketing tool. In terms of business, there is a general lack of direction and support for offices outside the US. CH2M does not know how get work outside of the States, which is why international offices have low work loads. The various business groups operate individually and hardly collaborate with each other to offer holistic services, even if they are located in the same office. There is an obvious lack of effort from the top management to integrate the business groups and function as one in the international offices. Furthermore, the international business development directors have no idea how the business works at other parts of the world, while local business development staff are tied down by company rules which are not applicable outside the US. As such, CH2M is also extremely risk adverse outside the US, preferring to try and keep international employees busy with low value jobs, rather than accept an appropriate amount of risk and have the guts to move forward and bid for game-changing jobs. Talentwise, there used be a huge amount of extremely talented employees who have spent 20 to 30 years with the company, building it to what it is today. In an effort to cut costs and make up for huge project losses, CH2M asked many of these senior employees around the world, with decades of experience, to leave on a "voluntary retirement program". As such, hundreds of years of combined experience are now lost to the company. Many other employees who have worked with these senior employees are also disillusioned and have left the company. Outside the US, employees that joined CH2M from other companies for less than 5 years are now tasked to run the international offices in place of the senior staff who left, but have neither the experience nor the foresight to push technical boundaries or raise the offices to new heights. Instead, offices are now just limping along, trying to deliver work without the strong technical support CH2M was previously known for, hoping that the clients do not notice. CH2M is a pale shadow of its former self and as it is now, nothing but an empty husk. All it has is the glitter from its rebranding efforts but no substance to go with it.

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CH2M Response
10y
Hello, thank you for your review. We appreciate your insight to our international offices and business. We pride ourselves on being a global company, and we do our best to make sure all of our team members feel connected and appreciated, no matter where they are. We read the issues of cohesion and management that you have brought up and we’ll make sure to share your feedback with the appropriate teams.
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