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Farnsworth Group Inc

Engaged employer

Farnsworth Group Inc Reviews

3.5

55% would recommend to a friend

(101 total reviews)

Karen M. Jensen, PE

69% approve of CEO

51% positive business outlook

Farnsworth Group Inc has an employee rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars, based on 101 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Farnsworth Group Inc employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Construction, repair and maintenance industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

101 reviews
1.0
17 Nov 2017

Disappointed and Disenfranchised

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

There are a lot of good people at the grassroots level of this organization. The work can be challenging and fulfilling, the projects can be quite interesting. And the way the company is structured, with local offices (centers), fosters a strong sense of local community.

Cons

This is where there are numerous issues. 1. The company itself is top-heavy. Too many people with the title project manager, not enough people who actually know how to manage projects, from start to finish. It almost seems like people get hung up on title. 2. Too many decisions are made by committee, which means it takes a very long time to get any initiatives to move forward. In fact, most of the excellent ideas that people have never get considered because of the way decisions are made. 3. There is not a master strategy for working with the different operational groups amongst disciplines. This creates a negative competition between disciplines and groups, where they work against each other, rather than with each other. 4. While there are a lot of great people, there is a lot of politics at the company as well, especially at the management level. If you aren't part of the club, then you're perpetually on the outs, with little to no support. Many people find themselves not being communicated with when it comes to decisions that should involve their input. 5. The compensation across the board is below average for the different roles in the company. Additionally, though they give bonuses, there is a mystery as to how those are decided upon. Despite strong performance reviews, the effort didn't seem fairly rewarded. 6. The CEO seems out of touch with all of the "grass-roots" people at the company, never really making much of an effort to communicate with anyone other than who she feels she needs to interact with. 7. In a booming economy, the company is struggling to get work. After speaking with many potential clients with whom Farnsworth interviewed, the common theme for not choosing Farnsworth Group is that Farnsworth is a mid-size company that charges higher prices, (likely due to labor rates that are too high). Yet the breadth and depth of services they offer is small to mid-size level offerings that don't justify the premium price they place, often falling short of what they could truly offer. 8. HR seems to run the company, rather than the CEO. It seems like most of the decisions that get made happen from the head of HR. Unfortunately, HR looks after the company's interests, not the peoples.

2.0
9 Oct 2018

Not that great.... maybe to get some experience...maybe

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Pretty relaxed about life, can run a little late or leave early if need be without much issue.

Cons

Poor pay, Poor treatment, Poor raises, Poor advancement opportunities, Poor vacation time, Poor sick time, Poor management, insulting staff, ego trip owners, sexual harassment, terrible HR, etc.

2.0
19 May 2017

So much potential, sabotaged by ignorance and incompetence.

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

For the most part the people were nice. There are some very talented folks that work at Farnsworth, and they will support most of your desires for professional development, and will pay the associated fees that go along with certifications, registrations, exams, etc. The office was nice, you get as much free coffee as you want, and get lunch bought for you frequently for lunch and learns. The health insurance and other benefits were pretty decent.

Cons

There are quite a few cons, unfortunately. First and foremost, the pay is low compared to industry standard. I negotiated a little higher salary than the initial offer, but ultimately accepted because I was sold a good line and I thought there was a lot of potential there. Unfortunately it turned out to be a bill of goods. Not a single promise that was made to me was kept. From project types that I would be working on, massively underpaid bonuses, and career advancement opportunities that never materialized, everything I was told when interviewing turned out to be false. Second, the politics are out of control. You have grown men in leadership positions that act like children, but because they are stockholders, have mid level staff up to Senior Project Managers acting like mindless sycophants in a high school clique who eat up every word as if it were gospel. If you aren't a part of that clique, you aren't allowed to have an opinion, and if you dare challenge one of the many ignorant opinions of the ego-maniacal primadonna who is supposed to be setting the example to follow, you are effectively shunned and will get blackballed from any project that has even a minor degree of appeal to it. Third, fees. Wow...just...wow. I can see why Farnsworth gets projects...they will write agreements for 2% of total construction cost, which INCLUDES consultant fees, and consider it a "good fee". Then, when the project inevitably goes over budget, the blame is placed on production staff who have been working 60 hour weeks and weekends trying to hit the ridiculous schedules that are set. Not to mention, the product that goes to permit and to construction is garbage, and you spend more time answering RFI's in CA than you did producing the CD's in the first place because you didn't have time to put together a quality set. Last (well, I'm calling it last because I'm tired of writing), the adoption of technology and level of competence within the company is pathetic. For a multidisciplinary firm trying to play with the big firms (unsuccessfully), they should at least TRY to get some level of standardization into effect. Unfortunately they don't want to budget anything for training, and upper management is so out of touch with current technology trends that they still hold on to software that had it's heyday 20-30 years ago, and make zero effort to get with the times and learn something new.

Viewing 1 - 3 of 101 Reviews

Glassdoor has 110 Farnsworth Group Inc reviews submitted anonymously by Farnsworth Group Inc employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Farnsworth Group Inc is right for you.