One step forward, several steps back
Pros
Generally good work-life balance. Coworkers were very kind and easy to get along with.
Cons
The main issue with Antea Group is the high utilization expectation (at least 90%) with the simultaneous inability of managers to provide consistent work. In my last few months, a new compensation structure was announced that included a 3% annual raise if the employee hit their utilization goal and no raise if they missed the goal. In one instance, a manager used a "good utilization opportunity" to try and guilt newer employees into dropping everything and travelling across the country to fill a last minute field work gap. I very rarely hit my utilization goal despite asking several different managers persistently for work. Tight budgets. Pay is consistently $10k below industry standard, although managers/HR refuse to acknowledge this. I was told condescendingly "not to trust what you read on the internet" when I approached a manager with an informed discussion about compensation. Interestingly, a friend and former employee was told the exact same thing several years ago by a different manager, so the guidance to managers when dealing with raise inquiries is to gaslight the employee into believing that they are paid a fair industry standard wage. Unclear advancement steps/requirements. Feedback (positive or constructive) from managers is hard to come by. Christmas day was removed as a company holiday. There are superficial benefits, such as fitness devices, food, Amazon gift cards, but these amusements wear off pretty quickly. Most employees would much rather have a fair compensation and not have to worry about hitting an unrealistic utilization goal than free lunch every two weeks. Minimal diversity, but I guess that's suburban MN in general. By the way, the "unsolicited raise to offset rising inflation" mentioned in a previous review was retroactively added to the annual performance review so employees were essentially given part of their annual raise a few months early.