Pros
The hard working people that show up every day and work their butts off. Some of the smartest and most talented you will ever find.
Cons
North American Senior Management, especially Regional CEO. The business has evolved away from a commercially-led and growth minded organization to a tactically driven organization driven by numbers and short term results. The current NA CEO is no more than a glorified Project Manager implementing the ROI priorities dictated to her by Global management and the private equity investors. She is in way over her head, and is incapable of an original or strategic thought. She has surrounded herself with status quo people just like herself squandering the brainpower brought in through acquisition and outside hires. As a result, internal optics and management appeasement rule the day at the expense of client and people priorities. I can't comment on the Global CEO - he was brand new when I left. Seems like a decent guy but clearly brought in by the PE team to drive ROI. Other cons fall under the people category. Compensation is generally below industry standards while productivity expectations remain high creating a sweatshop type culture. Benefits are fair but not great. Also, technology and innovation is way behind competitors. With respect to the Sustainability brand, ERM has done a decent job around that but what gets hidden here is the fact that the vast majority of the revenues come from old school environmental services like remediation and EHS with a client base built around carbon-intensive and extractive technologies like Big Oil and Mining. On one hand, they promote saving the planet while cashing big checks from those who are destroying it.