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Koch Industries Reviews
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    Koch Industries Reviews

    Updated June 22, 2017
    412 reviews

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    Full-time Part-time
    3.6
    Star Star Star Star Star
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    Approve of CEO
    Koch Industries Chairman and CEO Charles G. Koch
    Charles G. Koch
    136 Ratings

    412 Employee Reviews

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    Pros

    • Good Culture - Market based management is a powerful tool for people who actually believe it (in 15 reviews)

    • Great company culture, intelligent co-workers and development opportunities (in 19 reviews)

    Cons
    More Pros and Cons
    1. Featured Review

      Helpful (18)

      "Great culture & huge organization = ample opportunity"

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

      I have been working at Koch Industries full-time (More than 10 years)

      Pros

      Worked at Koch a decade in four separate Koch companies. Company culture is solid. Never once, in ten years, have I seen something I considered immoral or illegal. Good people - mostly midwestern. Koch doesn't recruit from Ivy League for a reason. People here care about their families and work good hours. Parking lot is nearly empty by 5:30 pm each day.

      With so many subsidiaries, there is ample opportunity to change companies, cities, and/or roles. Unless you're a Director-level role or higher, most people are moving around every 2-3 years.

      Koch is seeing a lot of baby boomer retirements, and a lot of millennials are coming in the door. Huge intern program (200+ interns each summer). Koch is responding fairly well to this and permitting individual teams/companies to be flexible as needed with millennial demands, however, this place is nowhere near a "start-up" culture. Dress is business-casual, most people are in cubes, there are no beanbags, no gym, no dogs at work.

      If you live in Wichita and work at Koch HQ: pay is higher than local comparables, and cost of living is dirt cheap. This is a GREAT combination.

      Koch cares very much for its employees. I've seen countless examples of Koch bending over backwards for people and their personal lives - illnesses, death in family, natural disaster, raising funds, charity work. It's really incredible.

      Open door policy - I have zero doubt that, right now, I could walk into Mr. Koch's office with a concern or idea and he would welcome me with a huge smile. Management here is so receptive and so kind. It's very humbling.

      Cons

      Very few.

      As I read through "cons" on Glassdoor, it's a shame to think that candidates may read them and presume the cons apply to Koch Industries overall. Koch has more than 100k employees, in hundreds of offices throughout the world. Most complaints seem pretty specific to one group or one disgruntled employee. If you're here more than a few months, chances are the problem will self-resolve. I've had more than a dozen bosses during my time here. Some were better than others, but none were terrible. HR and Compliance are extremely receptive to concerns and will shift things as needed.

      Koch Industries Response

      Dec 12, 2016

      Thank you for taking the time to share your experience. You are right that we absolutely value feedback from our employees, so thank you for sharing yours! Continue to foster all the pieces that ... More

    2. Helpful (1)

      "Awesome"

      Star Star Star Star Star
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Analyst in Wichita, KS
      Current Employee - Analyst in Wichita, KS
      Recommends
      Positive Outlook
      Approves of CEO

      I have been working at Koch Industries full-time (More than a year)

      Pros

      Easily the best place I've ever worked. It's an engaging, respectful workplace. And they really want you to succeed. They want you to learn and be successful. Charles Koch says that "anyone can make more than their boss at Koch Industries," and it's really true. A lot of jobs out there will try to steal your time and effort and not recognize you for it. Koch, on the other hand, wants to enable you to be successful and make money. The company's ideal vision for you is that you're a rockstar and they're just coming along for the ride.

      I saw a lot of reviews on here that were talking about bad work/life when I first applied, but those aren't true of most departments. This is very much an 8-5 and leave early on Friday type of office.

      I cannot stress enough how awesome it is to work here.

      Cons

      Dress code is a bit old fashioned (but I still kinda like it). Location is pretty rural.

      Advice to Management

      Keep it up - this is the best company I've ever worked for.

      3. Join the Koch Industries team
      See Our Latest Jobs

    3. Helpful (2)

      "Best of Breed"

      Star Star Star Star Star
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Program Manager in Wichita, KS
      Current Employee - Program Manager in Wichita, KS
      Recommends
      Positive Outlook
      Approves of CEO

      I have been working at Koch Industries full-time (More than a year)

      Pros

      There is no "flavor of the month" management philosophy at Koch. If you want to know what it's like to work here, read Good Profit - the company runs from the top down by Mr. Koch's management and leadership philosophy. Can you find exceptions? With many companies and many managers, of course some are better than others - but in general, those exceptions don't last too long.

      If you want personal responsibility, room to grow, constant challenges, and the means to meet those challenges, this is the place for you. Bring your work ethic and your intelligence - you'll need them both to succeed - but if you bring them, the company rewards real contribution and recognizes that contribution when they see it.

      I've worked in IT in Fortune 500 companies for 30 years. I've seen absolutely nothing like this anywhere else, and I won't be looking for something outside Koch to finish my career. There's no short term thinking, no stupid antics to hit quarterly or annual numbers, and no bureaucratic nonsense that doesn't add value.

      Cons

      Koch is a challenging technical environment, if you're working in IT. The company is working hard to get into the current decade technically, so things are moving very fast, which means there's a certain amount of chaos in the environment. To be successful here, embrace the change and the chaos. It's definitely challenging, and not the place to work if you want to do the same thing every day.

      The high rate of change means that there's a lot of uncertainty in the environment. Lots of reorg to try to keep up with the changing technical landscape. That can be disruptive and add time to the day just to keep everyone on the same page.

      Another potential con for some people is that this is not a coastal style workplace. While there is some flexibility depending on what you're doing, in general you're expected to work from 8 to 5 and to be in the office every day. For me, that isn't a big challenge, but I've heard some of our employees who've worked at more liberal workplaces complain at times that the Koch environment is just a little bit 80s in terms of work practices.

      Advice to Management

      If you want to keep up this rate of change and innovation, you're going to have to run just a little bit less lean for a while. You don't get innovation out of people who don't have time to think. Throw a few contractors at run and maintain, and focus your employees on making things change at the rate you want to see.

    4. "Watch Out for Koch Energy Services (KES)"

      Star Star Star Star Star
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Market Analyst in Houston, TX
      Former Employee - Market Analyst in Houston, TX
      Recommends
      Negative Outlook
      Approves of CEO

      I worked at Koch Industries full-time (More than 5 years)

      Pros

      Overall, Koch Industries and many of its subsidiary companies represent most of the positive reviews reflected on this page. Stable, forward thinking, rewarding place to work in many portions of the company. MBM is a business philosophy I will take with me throughout my career. However, there are pockets and subsidiaries that do not reflect Koch's culture and give the company a bad name.

      Cons

      Leadership of Koch Energy Services:
      - President is always worried about the next management update, concerned if people disagree with him and is always trying to seek approval and total consensus before making a decision. This leads to painfully slow and poor decision-making.
      -Constantly trying to put out today's fire rather than thinking about the big picture.
      -Very little forward thinking, vision and authenticity displayed by KES management. Instead, they just recite corporate buzz-words and repeat themselves ad nauseam.
      -Extremely hesitant to make any bets or take risks that could make them look bad. Instead, multiple layers of analysis are expected to be performed that will add little to no value to the company. Always try to play it safe.
      -Koch's "challenge process" is not fostered at KES. Instead, any challenge that is put forward that is against KES leadership's agenda is quickly stomped out. This is successful because the president has put in place directors/managers under him who are "yes men" who always toe the line when push comes to shove.
      -Young analysts brought into the group are not given the same opportunities as analysts at other Koch companies. Very hesitant to let analysts travel, attend industry conferences, or network with other Koch companies. They talk about mentoring and coaching analysts but this is all hot air if you are someone who doesn't agree with management 100% of the time.
      -Insecurity displayed as micro-management. I was asked multiple times per day what I was working on despite having discussed my projects with my supervisor weekly.
      -If you disagree with them or bring up any of the problems listed above, you will be ostracized within the group and within Koch as a whole. Since your manager has complete control over your destiny at Koch, they will actively work against you trying to get a job within another Koch company.

      Mid-Level Management:
      -Often given supervisory responsibility because they are good analysts, not because they have good management skills

      Advice to Management

      Advice to Management:

      The KES management team needs to be removed and replaced. The micro-culture that has been created there is toxic and results in value destruction at Koch Industries. Look at how many people who have been recruited from other Koch companies to join KES only to leave Koch a few years later for other companies. Promote managers who have demonstrated managerial skills.

      Koch Industries Response

      Jun 23, 2017 – KII Human Resources

      Thank you for your feedback. We value your comments and have shared them with KES leadership. We define the challenge process as using the best available knowledge to continually question and find a ... More

    5. Helpful (1)

      "Not a good place overall"

      Star Star Star Star Star
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee in Wichita, KS
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee in Wichita, KS
      Doesn't Recommend

      I worked at Koch Industries full-time (More than 3 years)

      Pros

      Great coworkers for the most part. Everyone is really dedicated to getting the sale and working together to get the job done

      Cons

      Mgmt has a lot of issues, emphasis on speed over quality if work life. Don't care how many hours you have to work as long as you get the job done. Works out in their favor since most office employees are salary and it doesn't matter how long you work. Was working 80-100 hrs a week and it still wasn't good enough

      Advice to Management

      treat your employees better

      Koch Industries Response

      Jun 19, 2017 – KII Human Resources

      Thank you for your feedback! It provides a good opportunity for organizational learning and growth. One of our core Principles is for employees to find fulfillment and meaning in their work by ... More

    6. Helpful (3)

      "Koch Business Solutions Review- Intern to full time"

      Star Star Star Star Star
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - IT Employee in Wichita, KS
      Current Employee - IT Employee in Wichita, KS
      Recommends
      Positive Outlook
      Approves of CEO

      I have been working at Koch Industries full-time (More than 5 years)

      Pros

      Everything going on from a technology perspective is very exciting (moved everything to the cloud, HCM implementation across Koch, RPA COE, Data Analytics COE, etc.) Seems like it all started with the acquisition of Molex and then from there the company has invested a lot both internally and externally through the investments in Infor, acquisition of Birst, EFT Analytics, I360, etc.

      I came through the internship program and have had several opportunities to move from Wichita and to other companies. Their focus on emerging technology and the company culture is what has kept me at the company. I have a lot of other friends that talk about their work experiences and I am truly lucky to work at Koch. Market Based Management when applied well, is a VERY powerful tool.

      Cons

      From a work practices perspective Koch has fallen behind the market even in Wichita. Employees of all ages want work flexibility, just for different reasons. My understanding is that KBS HR is working on a project to bring change in this area. I look forward to seeing the positive impact this will have!

      Advice to Management

      Listen to the market and put more focus on certain benefits like work flexibility, vacation, maternity leave, etc. This will help ensure we are attracting and retaining entrepreneurial and innovative talent.

      Not everyone practices MBM well. Just making sure that when that does happen, feedback is given, and if we don't see change that tough decisions are being made. MBM is what makes Koch so great, so when it isn't practiced well it can be destructive. Luckily, I have seen these issues taken care (even at the leadership level) pretty quickly.

    7. "Great Salaries but......"

      Star Star Star Star Star
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Senior Recovery Analyst in Wichita, KS
      Former Employee - Senior Recovery Analyst in Wichita, KS

      I worked at Koch Industries (More than a year)

      Pros

      the salaries are great and the downtown locations are accessible via public transportation if you choose not to drive

      Cons

      the MBM principles are not evenly used across the board

    8. "Maintenance"

      Star Star Star Star Star
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee in Tulsa, OK
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee in Tulsa, OK
      Recommends
      Positive Outlook
      Approves of CEO

      I worked at Koch Industries full-time (More than a year)

      Pros

      Great atmosphere, great products, comfortable environment. Wonderful vision and purpose with a product that really makes a difference in the world.

      Cons

      Very corporate, rigid and stuffy.

      Advice to Management

      Do what it takes to grow and expand the business. Become more employer friendly. Participate in community projects and be a better corporate citizen.

    9. "Would not recommend Koch"

      Star Star Star Star Star
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Client Technologies Technician II in Atlanta, GA
      Former Employee - Client Technologies Technician II in Atlanta, GA
      Doesn't Recommend
      Neutral Outlook
      No opinion of CEO

      I worked at Koch Industries full-time (More than 5 years)

      Pros

      Newer technicians will be able to learn new technologies
      You are able to learn while working if you have the drive
      You will be able to travel occasionally for projects.

      Cons

      Too much change in a short period of time, I had 3 managers in less than 1 year.
      No diversity or cultural diversity (if you don't use MBM buzz words or Jargon, you suddenly become unprofessional)
      Not allowed to challenge the status-quo or you appear to be a renegade.
      Pay is considerably low when comparing to the market and despite the MBM incentives.
      No real incentives when accomplishing a project. As a technical resource on several projects I found out the project managers receive the incentive while the resource who is physically doing the work receives nothing.
      No advanced notice about being let go when restructuring occurs.
      Footprint in Atlanta is being reduced to nothing as they appear to be continually expanding roles in Wichita.
      If you aren't in Wichita, your work will go unnoticed
      MBM is inconsistent and has various interpretations to various leaders.

      Advice to Management

      If you are laying off an employee, please consider giving them a notice so they can have their affairs in order.

      Koch Industries Response

      May 26, 2017 – HR Recruiter

      Thank you for your feedback! When applied well, Market Based Management is a very powerful tool in creating value for society. An integral part of its framework are 10 Guiding Principles that help ... More

    10. "A good place to work. Bonuses can be very generous for good performance."

      Star Star Star Star Star
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Portfolio Manager in Wichita, KS
      Former Employee - Portfolio Manager in Wichita, KS
      Recommends
      Positive Outlook
      Approves of CEO

      I worked at Koch Industries full-time (More than 10 years)

      Pros

      Benefits are good, there is a pension, and incentive compensation can be very high. Generally the work environment is very collegial.

      Cons

      Work hours can be be very long at times. Stress levels can often be high when trying to meet deadlines.

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