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    Kansas City Southern Reviews

    Updated February 28, 2018
    39 reviews

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    2.2
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    Rating TrendsRating Trends
    Recommend to a friend
    Approve of CEO
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    David L. Starling
    11 Ratings

    39 Employee Reviews

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    1. Helpful (5)

      "Good Place To Start"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Customer Service Analyst in Kansas City, MO
      Current Employee - Customer Service Analyst in Kansas City, MO
      Recommends
      Positive Outlook
      Approves of CEO

      I have been working at Kansas City Southern full-time (More than 3 years)

      Pros

      Hire in with little experience, learn the railroad in and out, get to know all KCS's customers. Advancement Opportunities for all.

      Cons

      I have not had a con yet. Management Benefits are not as good a Union Employee's. Can be challenging if you do not want learn or push yourself to learn more.

    2. "Revenue"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee in Kansas City, MO
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee in Kansas City, MO
      Doesn't Recommend
      Positive Outlook
      Approves of CEO

      I have been working at Kansas City Southern full-time (More than 5 years)

      Pros

      Some benefits. Pay is good. Lots of Holidays and work from home of need be.

      Cons

      Very corporate environment and not in a good way. Its about whose your buddy and not the quality of your performance.

      Advice to Management

      Doing good with the $$.

      3. Join the Kansas City Southern team
      See Our Latest Jobs

    3. Helpful (1)

      "Hard work no recognition"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - I T in Kansas City, MO
      Former Employee - I T in Kansas City, MO
      Doesn't Recommend
      Neutral Outlook
      No opinion of CEO

      I worked at Kansas City Southern full-time (More than 3 years)

      Pros

      Good people overall. Good bonuses and benefits.

      Cons

      Mid-level management is clueless. Lots of overtime weekends and evenings expected with no recognition or comp time. Working from home was frowned upon.

      Advice to Management

      Work to gain an understanding of your area. Thank your staff and recognize hard work. Make a decision and stick with it.

    4. "Working at KCS"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Recommends
      Positive Outlook
      Approves of CEO

      I have been working at Kansas City Southern full-time (More than 8 years)

      Pros

      KCS is a good company with good people.

      Cons

      This is good pay for a hard life. Don't apply if you don't want to work.

      Advice to Management

      Hire more people to fill in the gaps created by retiring Baby Boomers.

    5. "Unable to innovate, thinks they can operate trains like they did in the 1800s"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee in Kansas City, MO
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee in Kansas City, MO
      Doesn't Recommend
      Neutral Outlook
      Disapproves of CEO

      I have been working at Kansas City Southern full-time (More than a year)

      Pros

      Stable company with a long history, less chance of being bought out. Good benefits and bonus scale. Employee funded pension. Laid back environment.

      Cons

      Weak senior management with no clue how to drive accountability down and influence across. Every business unit is busy their own thing without holistic collaboration. Outdated technology being run by monkeys which operations could care less about. Who needs technology to run trains, they have been doing it since the 1800s without it. Things getting better but still has a lot to ask for.

      Advice to Management

      Do what is best for the organization not what is best for your pension plan. Hold vendors and service providers accountable, fix your process, upgrade your technology and promote innovation. Bring in seasoned leaders from technology focused organizations not look for old timers from other railroad or is the hiring mangers pal. Also promote the same south of the border, instead of repressing them.

    6. "It's ok"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Mechanical
      Former Employee - Mechanical
      Doesn't Recommend
      Neutral Outlook
      No opinion of CEO

      I worked at Kansas City Southern full-time (More than a year)

      Pros

      Good benefits and that's about it other than a feed every so often when you reach an almost impossible goal

      Cons

      Don't care for you as an employee all you are is a number in their eyes. Pay sucks starting out

    7. "transportation"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      Current Employee - Transportation in Kansas City, MO
      Current Employee - Transportation in Kansas City, MO

      I have been working at Kansas City Southern full-time

      Pros

      ok company to work for

      Cons

      could be more applicative toward workers

      Advice to Management

      none

    8. "Run from KCS as fast as you can!"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      Former Employee - Conductor/Engineer in Shreveport, LA
      Former Employee - Conductor/Engineer in Shreveport, LA
      Doesn't Recommend
      Negative Outlook
      No opinion of CEO

      I worked at Kansas City Southern full-time (More than 10 years)

      Pros

      pay is decent for the industry

      Cons

      Management at all levels is horrible to work for. There has been a lot of very good managers fired and replaced with sub standard employees to say the least. The unions are weak don't do very much to help. every railroad i've worked for since leaving KCS has been better then them. There is alot of good employees with college degrees working in train service that can't move up into management for what ever reason. If your thinking of railroading for a career do yourself a favor ask any employee of another railroad what they think of KCS before applying.

      Advice to Management

      get rid of all mid level managers and start over. There are good long term employees with college degrees that KCS actually helped pay for that can't get a job in management. why don't you do an actual undercover boss experiment and see for your self whats wrong with your comapny

    9. "Conductor"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Doesn't Recommend
      Neutral Outlook
      No opinion of CEO

      I worked at Kansas City Southern full-time

      Pros

      Got good experience with people and management

      Cons

      All different kind of hours

      Advice to Management

      I was in management from 2003 to 2005

    10. "STAY AWAY"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Doesn't Recommend
      Negative Outlook
      Disapproves of CEO

      Pros

      Salary is Good - But it is not enough

      Cons

      Management at all levels calls at all times of the day. When they say 24/7 they mean it. You will have no life. Management lies to their managers about their staff.

      Advice to Management

      Learn IT before you try to run it.

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