CH2M Senior Project Manager Reviews

Cons

Your success (and raise, promotion, etc) is 100% dependent on who in management likes you and is not related to your performance on the job or how good a job you do or what kind of client ratings you get.

Cons

This used to be a great place to work. Ralph P was about mentoring and thrived on the success of others. Now we have people at the top that only think of themselves. They have no idea what the "yellow book" is or care to embrace it. In my time at CH2Mhill I have never heard this many people talk about leaving the company. It is a real shame to see the culture change as fast as it has with Lee and Jackie involved.

Cons

Those in Sr Management and Leadership positions, especially the CEO. All the company is focused on is the result ($) and not the why (people). Recent reorganization now has 1 manager for every 70 people and they are trying to have staff believe that this is better for their career development (how bad was a 10/1 ratio) that you have now gone to a 70/1 ratio? The CEO, Jacque, has had 5 strategies in 5 years....there has been an outside investment of 300M (how close we were to actually not making payroll), purchase of a company in an industry that was already dead (Terra - Oil&Gas) and a stock price that has tanked (oh yes, 3rd quarter announcement is a month and a half behind plan and it was filed with the SEC that it likely won't be announced till the end of January because of an audit). It's time for the top 5 levels of management to be put to pasture and let them graze on the millions of dollars they've taken from the bank accounts of the staff.

Cons

CH2M is the "800 pounds gorilla" and have many offices, so sometimes one has got to do a lot of leg-work to find the right decision-making group. They can seem a little cold and impersonal - not for me, but I known others receiving it a little worse.

Cons

The people managers at the office (group) level are not given sufficient time in their schedule to do a great job managing people. That stifles growth of employees and success of the company.

Cons

Senior technical talent thinking of coming on board should run away and run away fast. Unsupported unless you are in a very small select group, management has given up on true innovation (despite what they claim), funding for conferences is minimal and focus is on next month not on long term growth. In addition, senior technical staff are expected to be highly billable, even when they had been given OH roles. Management cuts overhead and if you don't have enough billable work you are expected to use your vacation (I kid you not)-- note senior management has no problem spending OH dollars. I have been at CH2 for 18 years and it went from a phenomenal company, focused on its clients and people, to a company whose senior management focuses on themselves. Poorly run for about a decade. Project Managers basically dead end at a certain level due to lack of opportunity. The recent reorganization resulted in many very good people let go (not for performance or workload reasons) and done so in a classless manner. Basically if you were not politically connected you were at risk. Talent is leaving in droves (including senior VP level management who ended up on the wrong side of the reorganization). Various internal tools are a nightmare to work with and support functions outsourced over seas, resulting in massive time wasting. Losing money on some bad projects and senior management keeps telling staff at their quarterly propaganda meetings they have it managed. Unless senior leadership changes, this is a doomed ship. If you have 15 years or more experience avoid CH2M like the plague. Advice to junior staff-- get 2 years of experience and move on, unless you see significant change at the top.

Cons

Lack of leadership and vision at highest levels if management. Distancing from founders principles "little yellow book". No regard for people, no planning for development, all newly appointed leaders from outside. Have not had vision since Ralph departed. Very sad developments.

Cons

Inconsistent leadership across offices, upward mobility determined by how well you fit into the appropriate clique.

Cons

Big company that has typical big company bureacracy, difficult to repatriat into another position when coming back from international assignment

Cons

None at present though marketing needs to be agressive