employer cover photo
employer logo
employer logo

SRF Consulting Group

Engaged employer

SRF Consulting Group Reviews

3.9

68% would recommend to a friend

(48 total reviews)

David Montebello

83% approve of CEO

70% positive business outlook

SRF Consulting Group has an employee rating of 3.9 out of 5 stars, based on 48 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The SRF Consulting Group 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

48 reviews
2.0
15 Mar 2019

Could Be A Good Company

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Flexible work schedule (when not under project deadlines) which is a major benefit to families.

Cons

SRF has a number of problems due to: (1) inter-departmental communication issues, (2) little desire to change and update processes and platforms in line with industry best practices, and (3) lack of respect for its employees. The company is also very much a good-ol’-boy’s club and women and minorities tend not to be found in very many managerial or executive positions within the company. Inter-departmental collaboration and communication at SRF is virtually non-existent. The various departments act as little islands and will make design changes, or even complete designs, without checking in with designers in cross-functional departments. This leads to massive cost overruns and morale-depleting working hours as designs are completed in isolation and then re-worked several times on a compressed, high-stress schedule. Even as technology is rapidly changing the industry, SRF retains a strong aversion to any change to familiar but outdated and time-consuming design processes. Someone else’s Glassdoor review from 2015 states that “advancement is viewed as a threat to long term historic employees who are unwilling to implement change.” In 2019, this still holds true. Leadership’s actions also show that they care very little about being transparent with and open to listening to their employees. Recently, the leadership team overhauled the benefits package with very little warning and no opportunity to provide feedback. In the process, sick time, which can be converted to vacation time at a 2:1 ratio if left unused, was significantly reduced. A successful and respectful ESOP runs on transparency and respect for its employees. Leadership’s pointed refusal to involve SRF employees in the decision to reduce benefits could have been forgiven but for the fact that the updated employee handbook actually reduced benefits even further than the changes as outlined in the original benefits change memo. In a blatant attempt to hide this conduct, the link to the benefits change memo was deliberately broken to hide the discrepancy.

avatar
SRF Consulting Group Response
7y
While receiving feedback such as yours is difficult, we appreciate the opportunity to be able to respond to your review. We take your feedback seriously and as such want to offer you our perspective on the concerns you raised. Your first concern, inter-department communication, is something that we agree is a critical component to project success. I can gather by your comments that you must not have had a positive experience with respect project communication. Typically, our teams hold regular meetings to discuss project changes and impacts to already completed work and if necessary work with our clients to address extra work issues. Sometimes, our teams encounter complex changes that are unpredictable and out of our control. When these changes occur, our goal is to address and communicate them quickly and address them efficiently. While we can’t say we’ve never had an issue with communicating a change, we do have processes in place to ensure that communication happens often and as early as possible. SRF has a high number of repeat clients; we have this because we deliver a great product, we deliver it on time and we meet budget expectations. As a company, we manage over 500 projects a year and of these there are very few with significant budget issues. Regarding technology updates, SRF has undertaken major changes to its civil platforms within the last couple of years. These changes have included shifts to the most advanced and up-to-date software including “Open Roads” and “Concept Station”. We have also upgraded all our networks and are in the process of converting systems to the most advanced Virtual Desktop Integration (VDI), which will give greater capability and flexibility to all staff. These types of changes do challenge staff as projects often cross multiple platforms due to the fact that projects are in different stages of development. Your perception of lack of respect for employees at SRF was troubling to read. Without employees, there is no SRF. We try to give employees a voice in our processes through a variety of ways; holding meetings that give employees access to leadership, incorporating a staff-led engagement and retention committee, and issuing engagement surveys where we require managers to incorporate changes /goals based on employee survey responses. In addition, we try to also build relationships between staff through numerous social events and outings as well as sponsorship of numerous teams in a variety of sports/activities. While we can’t involve all employees in every decision, we do incorporate employee feedback regularly. To your example of the changes to the 2019 benefits, I agree the initial communication could have been better. However, we did listen to feedback from our employees on the initial benefit changes and made further refinements to our benefits to address key concerns. While we are proud that our benefit offerings are some of the best in the industry, we understand that employee input is an important part of the benefit planning process. We are committed to considering that input as we plan any future changes. Finally, I’d like to speak to your concern around diversity at our organization. Our goal is to have our staff reflect the diversity in the communities in which we serve. While this goal is challenging because there can be a lack of diversity in the candidates applying, we are committed to increasing diversity at SRF. With that in mind, we have formed a Diversity and Inclusion Committee focused on hiring and retaining a diverse array of employees. I am proud of the fact that SRF has two women on our Board of Directors and two women on our Executive Team. I am also proud to say that this past year we promoted the greatest number of women to leadership roles than we have in the history of the company; the female promotions outnumbered those given to men. We’re excited about the progress we’ve made, but recognize more work needs to be done. I invite you to reach out to me should you wish to speak through any of these topics further. Dave Montebello
1.0
28 Mar 2022
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Nice, new building with a gym. Benefits are average.

Cons

First, we need to address short reviews by other staff. After 6 months at SRF, HR asks new staff to review SRF on Glassdoor (HR forwards them a link). That is why there are so many short reviews without much detail. There is no work / life balance. Project managers constantly pushup deadlines or forget to communicate important project changes. My coworkers and I frequently had to cancel or reschedule our lives (for example, picking up kids from daycare or cancelling on our family, friends, and sports teams). My coworkers and I routinely worked 12+ hour days during our busy season. We communicated this issue to our supervisor and project managers. Improvements were never made. SRF is very hierarchical. If you are not the most senior person with your skill set you will not get a chance to grow professionally by taking on more challenging work. The most senior person will get the first pick of projects and clients. Wages are average. During the pandemic, SRF had some of its most profitable years. Did they provide bonuses, meaningful wage increases, additional time off, or stipends for purchasing work-from-home equipment? No. Equipment and software is outdated. SRF refused to upgrade to the newest software, so old computers have to be used to run outdated programs. SRF also does not purchase enough licenses or shared equipment. This choice results in wasted time waiting for a license / equipment to become available. Non-engineering departments are basically treated as sub-consultants. Budgets we proposed were regularly cut by a third to one-half of what was required to complete the job. Some project managers would shut down billing codes so we could not continue to bill our work. Multi-faceted projects are run by engineers who do not have a good understanding of the project outside its design. Communication from project managers is rare. Non-engineers are not invited to project meetings and are not updated on project changes. This results in low-quality, last minute changes to client deliverables.

avatar
SRF Consulting Group Response
4y
As we seek to provide outstanding service to our clients, we know that our employees are critical to our success. To engage and retain talented professionals at SRF, our goals are to provide them with: 1. A high level of collaboration and communication in everything we do. 2. The proper tools to be successful and efficient while allowing for self-discovery and personal investigation. 3. Career growth and development opportunities for long-term success. 4. Life-work balance which allows them to feel a sense of accomplishment and value while enjoying time with family and friends or simple peace and relaxation. We will continue to be open to constructive feedback on how we can better maintain these goals. Todd Polum, President/CEO.
2.0
14 May 2023
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Exposure to several different types of projects and all were very interesting. Salary and health benefits were also above average.

Cons

I want to recommend SRF, but cannot. Very low team morale, which did not foster a positive work environment. My superiors were constantly juggling several projects and were more focused on providing quality work to clients, instead of focusing on the needs of their team (which is equally important).

Viewing 1 - 3 of 48 Reviews

Glassdoor has 53 SRF Consulting Group reviews submitted anonymously by SRF Consulting Group employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if SRF Consulting Group is right for you.