HKS Reviews

4.2

91% would recommend to a friend

(483 total reviews)
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Heath May

90% approve of CEO

78% positive business outlook

HKS has an employee rating of 4.2 out of 5 stars, based on 483 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an excellent working experience there. The HKS 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

483 reviews
5.0
Jun 29, 2019

Designer

Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

As a designer, there is job satisfaction.

Cons

The work-life balance can sometimes be difficult to maintain.

1.0
Aug 12, 2018

Don't

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Like anywhere you might work, there are some truly lovely people here, committed to helping each other and very nice. I agree with another review here that Marketing and Research are great departments to connect with, and the xChange program does a good job of connecting offices (though you'd better have an in with someone to get into it).

Cons

There's no way to outline it all here. Stifling hierarchy. Unrelenting favoritism. Good employees constantly being forced out of the firm by someone who feels threatened and has the "power" to get you out. "Utilization rate" is king and nothing else matters, no matter what they say. If you are in a branch office (anything other than neck-deep in the good 'ol boys club in Dallas) you are highly expendable. Diversity is a joke. Constant issues with firm communications being tone deaf to all types of diversity and inclusion perspectives, to an absolutely laughable degree. Health insurance is absolutely awful--expensive and pays for almost nothing, so you'd better hope you don't get sick. A cap of 3 weeks on leave, ever, so hope you don't have much of a desire to have a life--between that and the overtime you won't have one. If you bring any issues up, there will be total denial and they'll start crowing that their diversity, benefits, design, whatever--is the best in the industry, and they certainly won't listen. Constantly culling to "fit the culture", meaning if you don't think like us and kiss butt, you're out.

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HKS Response
7y
We appreciate your comments and thoughts, but are also disappointed with the culture and experience you’ve described. The topics you mention are all vital to the success of our firm and we’ve made intentional strides to continue to improve and be mindful of how we progress in the days ahead. Important areas such as diversity, culture, insurance, growth, structure, relationships, and others, require a great deal of leadership, work and careful thought. We are dedicated to making HKS an outstanding place where everyone can feel fulfilled. I would strongly encourage anyone who would like to express their feedback to find a trusted leader that they can vocalize their opinions to and be prepared to be a part of the solution. Thank you again for sharing your thoughts. - Billy Hinton, Principal, Director of Architecture
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Glassdoor has 565 HKS reviews submitted anonymously by HKS employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if HKS is right for you.