Leaderless company, no values and zero collaboration - Consultant Stantec Employee Review

1.0
Jun 29, 2020
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

You get a chair to sit at your desk.

Cons

Each business center (BC) operates like an independent company, and there are usually multiple NC's in the same physical office. BUT there is ZERO office culture, BC's rarely collaborate (if ever), and there is no feeling of actually working for a large firm. You will be judged every week by how many billable hours you log on your time sheet. And Stantec will set completely arbitrary and unrealistic targets for utilization for staff, which often varies from person to person doing the same function! Fall below your target and be prepared to get a nasty email or worse. Despite being a multi-disciplinary firm, all senior leadership roles are engineers. Excel at an engineering project and you are good, but excel at an allied discipline (architecture, landscape, etc.) and you will go virtually unnoticed. There is an almost unhealthy focus on safety. While safety is important, not every meeting, PowerPoint, teleconference, or interview has to begin with a "safety moment". Ridiculous. Also a very frugal company. Not much interest in investing in training, equipment, or people. IT support is quite amatuerish and some back-office functions are handled in India, which saves money for the company but is very client unfriendly.

Explore other reviews about Stantec

5.0
Jun 22, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

You will be working with great minds. People have their niches expertise and it’s wonderful to learn from them. Very professional and respectful behavior. Doesn’t feel like other consulting firms where you’re worked like a dog.

Cons

Sometimes it’s hard to build consistent work because people tend to hold on to their projects rather than transferring to junior staff and it’s mainly because the pressure to be billable is high.

2.0
May 15, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Hybrid Work and access to useful engineering tools

Cons

Projects are inconsistent in organization and structure (some good some bad). High (and strict) utilization requirements of >93% for entry level and mid level engineers results in overtime with overlapping work loads to avoid any downtime between projects. No development or mentorship strategy around work assignments, the main goal is to keep utilization up. Stantec has been very focused on cutting costs by offshoring, limiting conference attendance, reducing volunteer hours, no tuition reimbursement, multiple layers of approvals to attend in-office CPR training, etc. Very corporate environment and top heavy management with over 240+ “Vice Presidents” currently at the company. Difficult to get raises/promotions besides annual raise. Typical raise is ~3-5% with a good review depending on where your current salary is in relation to the pay range for your career level.

2
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