Stantec – “If your company is taken over, RUN”

Pros

In theory, Stantec should be a world-beater: one shop shopping for customers, you get to work on incredible projects, there are experts available to answer questions and bounce ideas off.

Benefits are as good or better than any other firm I've worked for; pay is market-competitive. If you're a young person and can curry favour , you can't beat it as a place to learn and advance.

Cons

To be fair, this review should be read in light of the fact I was fired after 5 years, with 30 years industry experience, so there is some bitterness. However, with time comes insight, and I'm in a much better place now. My only regret is that I didn't leave after 5 months.

As a publicly-traded company, the focus was 100% on short-term profitability. There was no consideration of "are we doing what's right for the customer?" or "are we producing a good product?". Policies were set by lawyers and made no sense in the marketplace.

Managers discouraged input and were openly hostile to ideas contrary to their own pre-conceived notions. The pressure and stress were incredible, with absolutely no management support or considerations. They definitely played favorites with work assignments, training, and bonuses.

To my review headline: I worked for a company that was taken over shortly after I joined. The new employees were made to feel like outsiders, to the extent that 3 years after acquisition all only 3 of 15 remained and after 5 years only 1 remains (I think).

Very little opportunity for meaningful development - the attitude seems to be that they will hire or buy their way into any market they want, rather than develop existing staff.

Advice to Senior Management

Cut through the layers and the politics - you have (or had) some really good people that have been turned off by short-term focus and petty politics.