ATCO Reviews

Pros

There is always something new to learn. The people are a key reason for my continued career at ATCO.

Cons

The workload is incredible. Recruitment and retention is a key priority for the company but it doesn't make it any easier to hire resources and take some of the pressure off those of us still working here.

Advice to Senior Management

Less work, more flexibility.

Pros

ATCO is a large company that appears to present many opportunities for its employees through all the sister companies, stable in terms of job security and not necessarily subject to (or impacted by) market trends and oil patch instability like many other employers in Calgary, employees all seem to be treated equally, and the company is very consistent in recognition and expectations for individuals.

Cons

Stand-out performers are not easily recognized or compensated as the same benefits (i.e. vacation) and salary brackets are applied to all employees regardless of effort level. There does appear to be small opportunities for recognition applied, but these are typically few and far between. Overall the company has a too middle-of-the-road mindset in terms of targetting salary and compensation, with the opporutinity for growth in either area limited solely based on years of service.

Advice to Senior Management

Look to your peers in the industry in terms of more creative options in terms of work-life balance, such as tele-commuting.

Review the overall mindset of fairness to identify better ways of rewarding performers, besides more work.

Years of service is not the correct benchmark for assessing someone's worth.

Pros

There is ample stability and opportunity with the diverse ATCO companies, allowing for someone to work in different industries and companies over their career. ATCO is a company that encourages and supports community involvement, and the people of ATCO always seem to have some initiative to raise funds for charitable organizations.

Cons

Often times the advantage of being in a stable working environment is used as an argument against receiving competitive compensation and attracting and retaining the younger generation is seemingly difficult. The culture is generally quite 'old school' and change can be slow and painful depending on the company or department you work in. Though people do move between companies quite often, the process of doing so is loosely defined and challenging to navigate.

Advice to Senior Management

Engage the people of ATCO and listen to what they have to say, it may promote healthy change.

Pros

Opportunity to learn new things.

Cons

The management and reporting structures don't make any sense.

Advice to Senior Management

Take into account the amount and quality of work that is done by someone instead of how long the person has been with the company. Do more to get rid of the ineffective people and more to keep the effective people.

Pros

ATCO has a wide range of companies and requires a diverse base of employees. There are few barriers to moving around within the company unless you are in a highly specialized position. ATCO is family run and therefore places a great deal of importance on family values of its employees. They are very active in the communities in which they work and that makes me proud to be an ATCO employee. I like that they promote from within before looking for new employees outside of the company. They remain competitive in their fields and I have a lot of confidence in where the company is going as a whole.

Cons

The diversity of the company can sometimes be a downside. With so many employees, its hard to know what is going on everywhere and sometimes you can feel disconnected. Because it is so family oriented and employee events tend to revolve around families, single people can feel left out of the loop on these. There isn't currently a vessel to find out what you might need to know about what is going on at the company either. And it takes a very long time for anything to change. That can be frustrating when you are used to how quickly the rest of the world changes nowadays.

Advice to Senior Management

I think Senior Management at the corporate level does a good job of participating in employee events. However, some of the Senior Management at the operating companies could be more visible.

Pros

The only reason someone would want to work for ATCO is money. Plain and simple. And in speaking to the money, it's not even that great. We are talking middle of the pack, never an industry leader. Always a follower and as of late, there are zero perks. I mean nothing. No external health subsidy (ie. gym membership), no flex time, no telecommuting, no nothing. Standard 3 weeks vacation to start and no increase until 8 years in. As recognition, we got a freaking ugly yellow jacket for the 75th anniversary of the company. The place just smacks of discontent.

Cons

Brutal management and no training whatsoever. They throw you in the deep end and expect you to swim.

Advice to Senior Management

Train people.

Pros

diversified company so there are many areas where you should be able to explore if there is an interest. Can start with one career and end up doing something completely interesting. There are really good people that work there and very talented individuals as well. There is never a shortage of things to do and if you are the type of person that wants to take on more and more this could be the company for you. It is an international company as well so there are opportunities overseas as well. Has a recognized name in the community for a number of reasons.

Cons

Senior management have worked thier way to the top for the most part which is commendable, the unfortunate side to this is that quite often they have forgotten where they came from and the power and position have clouded how they interact with those that they lead. Communication about the direction of the company and future is not clearly articulated. There is a lot of talk about how things should be but little commitment to put things into action. Sometimes decision making seems slowed because leaders are apprehensive to commit to a decision - or take the time to clearly give direction. It is hard to obtain the time required to get input to direct the expected outcome on projects.

Advice to Senior Management

Senior Management should get out into the field more, they should interact with those that do the work to gain a better understanding of the impact of decisions. Improve communication with those on the front lines. Saying thank you is not that hard and you dont have to spend lots of money to do so. Better leadership training for senior management. It is not the number of years that you put into an organization that makes a good leader. Just because you have been in a company for 20 years does not mean that you know how to manage people. Loyalty to the old guard can be detramental to the growth of a business.

Pros

They will give you a good start to get into the industry but they are only a stepping stone to real work.

Cons

The management are completely insular, they don't share any but the vaguest of goals for the company. There is absolutely no positive feedback and they make you feel like everythign you do is worthless. They also allow cliques to be formed in positions so that is can be difficult to be a team player.

Advice to Senior Management

TALK TO THE PEOPLE!!! Work hard to show people you care (fake it even) give feedback on projects completed. Respect that people on the bottom make you look good or bad...