Dewberry reviews

3.8

75% would recommend to a friend

(418 total reviews)
avatar

Donald E. Stone, Jr.

83% approve of CEO

81% positive business outlook

Dewberry has an employee rating of 3.8 out of 5 stars, based on 418 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Dewberry employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Construction, Repair & Maintenance Services industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

418 reviews
2.0
Apr 6, 2014
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- OKish benefits - There are some good people here that care about the work they do. You will find them if you are lucky, and like surrounding yourself with good people in general. - Office Location

Cons

Wish an upper limit on words was set for this section, but here goes fwiw: - Poor pay, and inconsistent and unfair employee performance review and promotion process. - Top heavy company with a pyramid scheme that requires the overworked staff to contribute tirelessly to projects, so the credit, financial benefits, and company focus is taken away by an incompetent middle and upper management. The ratio of managers to staff is very poor. - The company is slow to evolve to changing market forces and honestly, those with decision making power, and those hired to strategize are doing a very poor job. - Technology/ IT, and other administrative facilities are impressive on paper, but are poor on performance and delivering the support needed by staff. Marketing and HR are responsible for the Dewey comedy club and Dewey Circus respectively. - Scattered Company Vision: Dewberry seems to be into a lot of very many things and even traditional departments and specialists are into doing whatever remotely related work these days. A somewhat fuzzy vision has been handed down completely to middle management, while upper management manages the top-down numbers. Middle management uses weird and likely unethical practices to make the numbers, while killing the company from within on a daily basis. - The company promotes a culture of 'me first' and individualism. In fact, I was shocked to see 'Individualism' listed in the company's core values when I joined them! Given the scarce resources, salaries, and due credit, everyone is tempted and driven towards hoarding relentlessly for themselves. Selfishness and lack of a common big picture vision is missing at all levels of the company. They put up good honest sounding presentations, but don't buy it - it is all lip service. So, despite being in a niche area and having a long history of doing good work, a questionable chairman (original company founder's flaky son!!), a poor company vision and strategy, and a rate of positive change slower than fossilization, is likely to take this company down many notches from its glory days.

5.0
Apr 5, 2014

Opportunities for Independent Thinkers

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Being family-owned, there is very limited bureaucracy for a company of this size, and I have found that creativity and initiative are encouraged and rewarded. Company values are walked, not just talked. Leadership has been supportive through some tough times with clients/projects; if you know what you want and treat the company as your own opportunities abound. Salaries and benefits are good.

Cons

Overhead costs are strictly evaluated and limited. Do not expect frills or flamboyant spending at any level. Basic needs are met well and frugality is a highly valued employee trait.

4.0
Apr 3, 2014
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great experience for staff just starting out. During recession, they tended to cut mid-level staff, keeping the upper-level "rainmakers" and the entry level cheap labor. As a result, young staff are pushed into levels of responsibility uncommon for experience level. Good reimbursement policies for testing expenses, including study materials. New leadership in Architectural Practice has infused optimism and energy. Good flexibility and balance with personal life, but extra hours will be required from time to time. I don't minding trading the occasional 60-70 hour week for flex-time and a generally relaxed culture the rest of the time.

Cons

Very corporate, with nearly all leadership concentrated in Fairfax headquarters. Compensation and benefits are competitive, but relatively stagnant year to year. Typically expect a 1.5% - 2% "salary adjustment" each year. More substantial raises seem to only come once you have a competing offer in hand, but they are unlikely to counter-offer or match a potential pay increase. Paths of advancement are unclear. Typically, you will just loaded with additional responsibilities and "evolve" into role of PA/PD or PM, without appropriate compensation increase. True promotions to levels of "Associate", "Senior Associate", "Principal" etc tend to favor those that are out bringing in work, and come much later in career relative to other firms. They seems to try and keep people as long as possible for as cheap as possible. Rumored that corporate bonus policy is to never give bonuses to non-officer level employees (Associate or higher), which essentially means anyone with less than 20 years experience.

Viewing 379 - 381 of 418 Reviews

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