Powell Industries Reviews

Current Employee – been working at Powell Industries as an intern for less than a year

Pros – Great employee relations, Good pay.

Cons – Had to go to work at 5 in the morning.

Current Employee – been working at Powell Industries

Pros – - They have work
- 10% of people are talented

Cons – - Poor uneducated management
- Poor uneducated labor force
- Too many people want to keep the business like it was in 70's even though it's growing
- No room for advancement unless you are a yes man or friends with an old school employee
- More and more benefits are being taken away
- Salary is at the bottom for Houston
- Poor quality! No lean or SixSigma thought structure
- Overworked people to the point of mental and physical break down
- Safety program is a joke
- Engineering and Operations management is a joke!!
- Company is divided internally
- The good and educated people are leaving
- HR group is horrible to work with and don’t have a clue!
- Very micromanaged environment
- No communication

Advice to Senior Management – Get a clue! Upper managment needs to hit the reset button. Listen to the outsiders who are trying to save this business!! Powell is on a path of failure!

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at Powell Industries

Pros – Competitive benefits package. Depending on the location and position, there are opportunities to obtain invaluable experience in oil and energy industries.

Cons – Human Resources is into everything, they practically run the place. Pay and pay raises are sub par with industry standards.

Advice to Senior Management – Do not allow human resources to dictate how departments are ran. Get rid of the Oracle database, or find something new that actually works.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Powell Industries

Pros – The co-workers were nice I guess

Cons – Companies a mess,backbiting, too much politices.Lot of H1B's in company.
 the interviewers (Mech dept manager and supervisor) were confused since what they wanted and what was posted on the job board was different.

Manager expected that I know everything from day one even though I clearly stated during the interview I was a recent graduate.

Wanted extensive unpaid overtime.

Salary is abysmally low.

Manager did not bother to train.

Overall a crummy experience.

Weak technically. Little interest or priority given to distributing knowledge

Advice to Senior Management – Don't come to conclusions without collecting the facts and managers & supervisors are not always right ,Keep an eye on them they are not being productive.
for mech dept supervisors----Value your employees. Open the lines of communication and be receptive to feedback. Don't be afraid to hire someone who knows more than you their performance can make you look good

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Powell Industries

Pros – Relaxed atmosphere, No pressure
Good place to learn about manufacturing and equipment design

Cons – Sometimes work is not challenging enough

Advice to Senior Management – Keep up the good work

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Powell Industries

Pros – - Good place to work for to start your career
- Their benefits for the employees are great
- Pretty much laid back as long as you do your work on time

Cons – -Too much politics involved. You have to say "yes" to your boss to get a promotion
-Employees are underpaid but given so much work
-Management tries to squeeze out every penny out on everything
-Does not recognize your achievements or giving you a decent raise when necessary

Current Employee – been working at Powell Industries

Pros – Good entry level job for someone with a career change or looking to change industries.

Cons – Old school, still run like a mom and pop company from the 80s. Backward looking rather than proactive and.

Advice to Senior Management – Take the advice of your engineers, Look at your old management and old school supervisors....they are running your business into the ground. Turn the lights off at night. Hire from the outside.

Current Employee – been working at Powell Industries

Pros – Flexibility in dealing with personal issues for office employees, good feedback from superiors (in most cases), Great medical benefits

Cons – A few managers at NCD do not treat their people with respect.

Advice to Senior Management – Some division managers should treat their employees better, but overall the level of respect is above average.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at Powell Industries

Pros – - Generally good people to work with
- Has loyal customers
- Products are in a nitch market

Cons – - No lean processes or a good understanding on lean
- Very micromanaged. From Ops manager and especially the MFG ENG Manager. You will never have your own thought
- Lead times on projects are way to agressive and are set-up for failure.
- Old business with no room for internal growth. You can move in the company if you are friends with upper managment.
- Most managers should not hold there position. Most are uneducated for the task and dont have the social skills to deal with people.
- No work life balance (Your world is heavly micromanaged!)
- HR is horriable to deal with.
- Internally the company is very divided and looks to past instead of the future.
- Labor force runs the shop which leads to process issues that effect lead times and process flow.

Advice to Senior Management – I have given loads of advice to managment......They dont listen.

The only advice I have is for the new CEO......Look at your current managment staff. Get rid of it! You and the company will be better off.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Powell Industries

Pros – quality products
customer-focused
loyal repeat customers
steady and controlled growth for many years
loyal, experienced and technically-competent workers
focused on profitable market segments

Cons – poor communication
unskilled, poor management
living in the past

Advice to Senior Management – remove walls and sell/work as Powell Industries...complete offering to customers