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      GAI Consultants

      Engaged Employer

      GAI Consultants reviews

      3.8

      70% would recommend to a friend

      (135 total reviews)

      Kevin Leadbetter, PE

      87% approve of CEO

      53% positive business outlook

      Ratings by demographic groups

      GAI Consultants has an employee rating of 3.8 out of 5 stars, based on 135 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The GAI Consultants employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Construction, Repair & Maintenance Services industry (3.6 stars).

      Reviews by job title

      135 reviews
      1.0
      Dec 2, 2014

      Thrilled to be away

      Project manager
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      I am trying to find one. Really, it was one of the worst experiences of my professional career. I met my sales goals/billing goals/multiplier goals, but was still told I lost money. ???? Management was terrible and they beat on the managers day and night. I feel sorry for those I left behind. The atmosphere was terrible in our office.

      Cons

      They don't care about the employees. We are like cattle to them. There is little to no support from corporate. The corporate management structure is that of a giant company like AECOM (another former employer of mine, who treated us great), but with a much smaller company, your multipliers have to be too large. When you meet your billability goals, your sales goals, your multiplier goals, and you are told that your projects lost money, you have to question their competence. I met every goal that you set, and I lost money? I was so happy to turn my notice in. It was wonderful.

      1.0
      May 15, 2018

      GAI has fallen off the wagon

      Environmental manager
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      Lots of good people all over the company still, but most of the best talent has now left in the past 4-5 years. They are flexible with your schedule. The pay is competitive, not great, however you will not get more than cost of living increases, ever so it makes a good stepping stone to a better company. The MBA program is nice, but be careful because they will use the payback obligation to trap you. If you don't mind paying for the whole thing (GAI pays about $10k and so do you up front deducted from your paycheck, you have to pay GAI's $10k if you leave within 5 years of graduation). This USED TO BE a GREAT company. They have sacrificed their values to make a buck.

      Cons

      They sell the ESOP as being great, but it owns a progressively smaller piece of the company each year because the earnings are given to senior management in the form of stock bonuses. 95% of staff are getting diluted by senior managers in both ESOP and Direct stock. They use the direct stock ownership agreement as a form of entrapment because they will not buy your stock back immediately. They hold onto it for up to 5 years. Same with the ESOP. They use non-compete agreements, the shareholders agreement, the ESOP program, and MBA agreement as forms of contractual obligations to penalize you if you were to ever leave rather than carrots to reward you to stay. They don't use them as incentives like they say they do. Be CAREFUL if you ever go work here because they will use every bit of leverage to try and crush your life if you try to leave. They absolutely DO NOT CARE about you or your family. They care about the dollars in their pockets. They stopped saying they were 'not a bottom line company', so maybe they have enough of a conscience they can't tell that lie anymore. DONT trust these people. DONT sign any agreements with them.

      avatar
      GAI Consultants Response
      8y
      Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts. GAI is currently experiencing unprecedented growth, and we recognize that ongoing achievement requires a commitment to continuous improvement by our company and staff. We encourage engagement and feedback, and firmly believe it helps support this commitment. We absolutely agree that GAI’s people are some of the best in the industry. We want our employees to enjoy long, fruitful careers with GAI, and our increasing success helps fund the ways we invest in their professional growth and reward their contributions. The feedback touched on our Employee Stock Ownership (ESOP), Direct Stock Ownership (DSO), and MBA programs. Like any structured program, these benefits are guided by formal policies, and we seek to be transparent in how our guidelines are communicated. The post-employment buyback of GAI stock from our DSO programs is phased over a period of time to spread out cash flow and help maintain a healthy stock value to the benefit of all GAI stock owners. The ESOP payout is phased in accordance with Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) guidelines, and any observed dilution of ESOP value is primarily due to the addition of new employees, a function of GAI’s growth. With regard to concerns about our corporate MBA program, GAI covers a portion of each participating employee’s tuition fees, and in return the employee agrees to a 5-year commitment to GAI. Those who leave GAI sooner are indeed required to repay the company’s investment. We hope the degree earned with the help of our MBA program will benefit former GAI employees wherever the future takes them. We hope this helps illustrate how some of GAI’s employee benefit programs work. Thank you again for your feedback, and as GAI grows, we will continue to explore ways to enhance each employee’s life both inside and outside the GAI workplace.
      1.0
      Oct 26, 2016

      A Small Company with Unrealistic Goals

      Anonymous employee
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      My coworkers are a diverse group of people with technical backgrounds. The CEO is a good person but the upper management under him will destroy all his hard work.

      Cons

      Management, it's that simple. Upper management does not accept the fact that GAI is a small employee owned company and act like this is AECOM or HDR, etc.There is a constant emphasis on growth instead of strengthening the company as is. With that said, there have been so many layoffs that the proof is in the pudding. Upper management does not respect the employees or the clients that make them money, yet they expect GAI to grow. The middle management is also set up like a large company. There are so many managers that do nothing except milk the budget and then the highly skilled staff gets the axe. At this rate there will be lots of unskilled managers with no designers and therefore GAI will continue to sink because all the skilled employees will be working for the competition. Shame on you for your giant egos. Management continues wasting money on new offices instead of broadening their potential clients and working with realistic goals. Once again this is a SMALL company.

      Viewing 4 - 6 of 135 Reviews
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      ReviewsGAI Consultants reviews

      Glassdoor has 143 GAI Consultants reviews submitted anonymously by GAI Consultants employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if GAI Consultants is right for you.