Interesting projects but weak job security and poor culture - does not care for people - Director Black & Veatch Employee Review

1.0
26 June 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

I had autonomy to do my job and my projects were interesting. There are some very kind people who work there and the culture in Kansas is "nice".

Cons

They laid many people off with absolutely no notice in January 2026. This timing was significant because they also didn't pay out bonuses earned the prior year, because the person would need to be on the payroll in March. They clearly do not care about people or the impact of sudden layoffs without bonus payout or even fair severance in lieu of notice. The culture is command and control and getting worse with their CEO and top leadership's style. Heavy Return to work mandate and declining flexibility. Overall job security is weak and people will be let go "at will" whenever they feel like it. The ESOP doesn't vest for six years so unless you stay for the long term that is not very helpful. The bonus is vague and discretionary as well and is below that of competitors. Employee ownership doesn't equal employee protection. There is a major problem with nepotism and many people name drop that their best friend is the CHRO, or they attended events with the CEO and other leaders. Limited to no transparency on strategy or reorganization decisions. It is very political and leaders are able to get away with bullying and intimidation if they are in the right internal club. Any leader outside of Kansas should actively keep their network open because KC is clearly the central hub and your influence and job security is limited if you are not in Kansas.

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5.0
3 June 2026
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Pros

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Cons

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Black & Veatch Response
3w
Thank you for leaving a review! We appreciate the feedback!
1.0
2 July 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Fair starting compensation, the team I lead is very dedicated, the onboarding process is very smooth, there are opportunities to mentor and be mentored.

Cons

The current performance management process is deeply flawed. Leaders collect ratings from managers and supervisors, then gather in a room with peers to “calibrate.” During this meeting, a predetermined percentage of employees must receive low ratings. At one point, someone referred to this as “forced ratings,” and the IT leader became visibly upset, insisting that it was not. However, I was present for the discussion: we lowered ratings, checked the spreadsheet, lowered more ratings, checked the spreadsheet again, and repeated this cycle until we hit the percentage the IT leader said had to be met. From conversations with peers outside of IT, this appears to be a common practice across the organization. Unfortunately, the approach often results in employees receiving ratings that do not accurately reflect their actual performance. These artificially lowered ratings directly affect merit increases and bonuses—even if the bonuses are relatively small—creating consequences that feel at best unfair. Regardless of what label is used, the experience felt undeniably forced.

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