Abt Associates Reviews

Pros

Very professional atmosphere, mutual respect, family friendly, growing business, meaningful work with real world impact, wonderful colleagues, good benefits, and a great commute for me.

Cons

A siloed environment with deeply entrenched cultures. The warren of tiny individual offices can be impersonal. Too few opportunities for staff to bond outside their bubbles. Parking lot barely adequate, lots of long-term contract staff

Advice to Senior Management

Continue breaking down those silos and unifying systems and cultures!

Pros

Abt has some fantastic people. There are lots of Ivy's and top MBA and MPA/MPP programs represented. The work is interesting and Abt tends to pay better than it's competitors. The hours are also good because most of the projects are fairly long-term. Abt's focus on combining research with project management seems to be winning it a lot of contracts.

Cons

Hiring and personnel issues pose some real challenges. Some projects are flush with funding but have not hired nearly enough staff to perform at their best. A lot of PhDs are in management and some of them are really fantastic minds but not very practical managers.

Pros

Laid back. Good work/life balance.

Cons

No growth, low pay, and lack of development.

Pros

diverse research company with the potential for global impact

above average company 401K contribution, multiple investment options

regular performance reviews with employee contribution options

Cons

workload is inconsistent with company's professed notion of work/life balance

strong emphasis on productivity, without (at times) an adequate provision of staffing or resources

training can be poorly timed, lacking in forethought and/or clarity

Advice to Senior Management

provide multiple options for confidential feedback to the larger organization

monitor division attrition rates for indicators of needed company response

increase availability of healthy organizational initiatives outside of main corporate offices

Pros

Competitive work culture keeps people on their toes
Good pay if you can get it, including company shares (privately held)
Some flexibility in hours and telecommuting - but declining sharply
Appreciation of smart people and hard workers
does not fire its own people often

Cons

Lots of travel if in international division
Opaque compensation policies, especially for profit-sharing
Poor benefits, especially vacation time and health
Lots of dead wood in senior management
Company strategy not clear

Pros

Good work life balance, benefits have been improved and are more tailored to office location.

Cons

Many old timers who are unwilling to change and not many leaders willing to confront them about the lack of effort on thier part to help the company grow.

Advice to Senior Management

Stop allowing those people who have been at the company for many years and claim to be experts rule. The company isnt going to grow with dead wood.

Pros

Technically challenging environment where you work with the best
Compensation is average to above average
Good opportunities for field experience

Cons

Timid business approach
Compensation not necessarily tied to productivity
Frustrating business practices

Advice to Senior Management

Hire business-oriented managers

Pros

Salary/Compensation is equal if not greater than industry
Work/life balance depends on direct manager

Cons

Professional growth is limited for junior to mid-level staff

Pros

You're working on premier studies that have an impact on policy (eventually) with very smart people in a generally fun, rigorous atmosphere. I made great friendships and learned a ton about research and my mentors were very supportive in my moving on to new endeavors.

Cons

Most people think policy will be more stimulating than it is - much of it is drudgery of collecting and cleaning data and writing very dry summaries. If you are passionate about data and helping governments make decisions, you'll love it. if not, think twice.

Advice to Senior Management

The private sector consulting stuff was a bad idea, but you already know that. Keep up the good work where you are already strong.

Pros

Great benefits, good working environment usually.

Cons

Inconsistent communication from senior management, due to poor dissemination from managers.

Advice to Senior Management

Make all managers give same message from senior management.