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A great large organisation to start one's career - Industrial Placement Student Atkins Employee Review

4.0
Aug 6, 2022
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great work-life balance and culture focused on employee wellbeing. Meeting free zones throughout the week to help focus on deep work. Flexible working hours that can be arranged around personal commitments. Friendly and welcoming colleagues. If you take a strategic approach to networking and take initiative, you can learn a lot and work on opportunities that interest you. Great development support and material to accelerate your career. Great travel for work opportunities around the UK. Possible to squeeze in some sightseeing with the business trips.

Cons

The benefits package is not worth much at all. I have not made use of any benefits initiative myself and they just seemed to 'sound nice on paper'. Sometimes there is a lot of bureaucracy surrounding simple tasks that make it hard to get things done. Poor IT support which can be a headache when you are expected to produce a deliverable but the software crashes and the IT team does not get back to you within the same day. You will receive pushback when proposing new initiatives or any other improvements as the corporate procedures make it difficult to introduce new things that would benefit the employee experience. The different offices have vastly different cultures. There is no way of knowing where you will fit in best unless you travel and interact with individuals from other offices. You might not fit in with the colleagues from your home office. The company has an expressed focus on Neom and other projects in Saudi Arabia and the UAE which makes me question the values of such an organisation taking money from controversial governments.

Explore other reviews about Atkins

5.0
Oct 13, 2023
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

A lot of work to be done Many opportunities to try different things

Cons

Advancement can be hard Working alongside underperformers

2.0
Nov 17, 2016
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Job and a paycheck but in a house of cards.

Cons

Wow, be careful! Atkins North America was acquired when Atkins in London bought a notorious US engineering based in Florida, PBS&J (Post, Buckley, Shuh and Jernigan). I didn't do enough research when hired and found out too late I was working for a company that has been prosecuted multiple times for serious illegalities, and some of the executives who participated but escaped prosecution are still there! PBS&J has been indicted for bribing government officials, illegal campaign contributions, and was a private company put on the chopping blocks to sell for being so poorly managed when several of the employees embezzled millions upon millions of dollars. As recent as 2016 the company was struggling financially because of legal costs and fines to the extent the focus became finishing out existing contracts rather than procuring new ones...an indicator they do not want new business and are likely to chop off the US engineering wing and spin those employees out to another company. Do your research before accepting a job there, the good old boy network that didn't previously get caught or prosecuted in the illegalities is still working there, and they haven't changed much in being secretive about what they are doing!! Get everything in writing as they are all about the bait and switch.

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