AECOM Reviews

Pros

Guidance to get a start, especially useful for fresh grads.

Cons

Employees are expected to make sacrifices and expected "be thankful" for it. The HR even mentioned that the high number of employees leaving is normal as "everyone can be replaced". The Finance and Corporate Management are stepping on the employees neck and trying to squeeze every ounce of resource to the company's benefit.

Well the benefits are terrible. Even our contractors are insured at a greater price than we do. I was promoted, with no pay rise for the promotion. Given extra work, with no extra pay. And we are always given "friendly reminders" that we should be grateful for things and so-called benefits that was already written in the contract anyway (i.e bonus)

Advice to Senior Management

Change the management.

Pros

Wide variety of challenging projects.
Looks good on the CV, when you want to move on.
Generally a friendly atmoshere in the offices I was in.

Cons

Reduced leave entitlement.
Longer working hours for no more pay.
The timesheet system.
Round after round of redundancies.
Atmosphere of fear - if your utilisation wasn't near 100%, you could well expect the chop in the next round of redunancies.
Having said that, many people had far more work than they could actually do.
Corporate management deceit e.g. when our hours were incresed for no more pay, the email basically said that they were doing us a favour, and that it was what everyone wanted. Also after each round of redundancies you could expect another email from John M. Dionisio saying how marvellously the company was doing. Not good.
No training.
Some people would stab you in the back to more more money for their cost centre, or to shift blame on to you.

Pros

company is employee oriented and tries to keep staff busy

Cons

managment tends to be aloof and not communicate unless questioned

Advice to Senior Management

spend more time training and developing staff and less time worrying about budgets

Pros

Benefits are at least comparable to other companies.

Cons

Top heavy management that has no clue how the actual work is done, and makes decisions without any knowledge, thought or consideration as to the implementation of their cumbersome policies. Executive and division management are totally incompetent - some have had absolutely no prior management experience and have no idea how to manage or grow the business. The matrix management structure is a dismal failure. Opportunities are lost because numerous people are involved in the decision process, yet none will take responsibility for making a decision to pursue the work. The work environment is toxic and morale is the lowest I've ever experienced. The working employees are constantly laid off, yet multiple Executives are hired each month. Immediately after the last layoff, we received one of the numerous corporate e-mails describing how the company values employees. Obviously, AECOM's management doesn't credit its employees with intelligence if they honestly think anyone believes any of their self-serving propaganda. This company is corporate America at its worst, and has taken advantage of the poor economy to treat employees as if they are worse than nothing and expendable at any time. AECOM's philosophy is Management By Fear.

Advice to Senior Management

Get rid of two thirds of the upper management and Finance people. Try a little honest communication with employees, rather than multiple e-mails telling employees how important they are to AECOM - we all know it's a lie.

Pros

Relax work environment thats about it

Cons

Below market average salary.
poor management
no recognition

Advice to Senior Management

Appreciate your employees and there work and compensate them well!

Pros

It is a job with benefits.

Cons

Have been looking for a job for the past few months as business is bad and they keep hiring new employees at either my position or higher so there is nowhere for me to go in the company. I have a bachelor's and two master's degrees and since AECOM took over they just don't care. I am confident that I will find something better than working 55-60 hours a week without the benefits of those many hours. Before AECOM, I was on the right path, however, no longer.

Advice to Senior Management

Keep the good employees and if you let people go because "of the economy" don't go out and hire someone else to do the work that those left behind will now no longer have to do.

Pros

Met some great & smart people in the various business lines

Cons

All this company cares about is winning projects, making a profit, and acquiring more companies. They do not seem to care about their employees. There is no proper leadership; no structure; lack of proper policies/procedures in place; upper management & HR leadership seem complacent and seem to put up with incompetence; no career advancement (don't even think about it here); no one wants to take ownership & responsibility and things takes a long time to get done. People seem unhappy (low morale) and I have heard some say they are just waiting for the economy to change to escape this place. That is not good for AECOM but upper management don't seem to care (live for the moment I guess)

Advice to Senior Management

Hire consulting firms to help integrate into one AECOM; develop proper systems/procedures to get this company running like an established global company. Start valuing your great assets, i.e. Employees

Pros

On paper one would think that integrated design works, but this is the furthest thing from the truth given givent the high levels of incompetence and nepotism that is prevalent in the company.

Cons

The Abu Dhabi office is fittingly run like a Banana Republic and is yes, perhaps even more disfunctional than its American counterpart - actually much worst than the US groups. Upper management only promote those with the least skills/capabilities and qualifications and encourage an environment of back stabbers and YES men. One cannot point out one group that could be said to be on par with widely accepted industry standards. The funny part is that most clients are becoming wise to this too. The best words to describe this regional office and its senior management is INCOMPETENCE, LACK OF VISION, NO UNDERSTANDING OF THE DESIGN BUSINESS and NO UNDERSTANDING OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT. I might add that the endless forms inclusive of performance review make it seem like you are in the cast of the great classic movie "Office Space". See that movie and you will know what AECOM is. Even better is that they have you do performance reviews with managers that cannot get you a raise or promote you - and there is no follow up by the useless HR Group. DO NOT WORK FOR THIS WRECK OF AN ORGANIZATION - you will regret it, run, run, run!!!. This is the worst firm that I have ever worked for in over 15 years of my professional experience. AECOM should be a shame of themselves - they have no vision except for their next quarterly earnings - very shortsighted indeed. Best of all they are completely disconnected from their US headquarters - so no synergy or common strategy, which shows why they are laying off half of their staff.

Advice to Senior Management

Stick to engineering and stop stating that you do architecture and landscape architecture as you are a discredit to those professions. At the rate that you are going no one will want to work for you as the word on the street is that you are a bad employer and bad for the business of architecture.

Pros

when i first joined we were separated in 4-5 offices but we moved into one great location where the coffee is great.
the junior staff are friendly and enthusiastic

Cons

the senior management reward each other with large epic bonuses and raises while team leaders are informed that there are no funds set aside for rewarding their team because the business is not meeting plan.
most of the better staff rapidly become frustrated with the lack of opportunities and recognition and move onto another company.

Advice to Senior Management

practice some of the core values that you preach - in particular, the efforts of your junior employees should be recognised and rewarded and not just those of the senior leaders.

Pros

good experience on projects- good technical abilities

Cons

glass ceiling for advancement of technical staff

Advice to Senior Management

career progression need to be inmproved