PCL Construction Employee Reviews about "employee owned"

Pros

Employee-owned company, very friendly working environment, and interesting projects

Cons

Corporate structure, some would not like it

Pros

PCL is probably the Best Company I have ever worked for in my 30 year construction career. Being employee-owned means that when you are working long hours during busy periods, away from your family, in the office some weekend, you know it will come back to you through the share ownership program. Compare that with other companies where the profits go to others and your long hours merely dilute your income and reduce your hourly wage. Health benefits are top notch, nothing is missing here plus you get to choose how much coverage you want. The retirement plan is great, they match what you put in up to 5%. There are also other fringe benefits for gym memberships and personal activities. Technology and IT systems are state of the art, you get whatever you need to do your job, and do it well. Internal training is amazing, plus you can get reimbursed for external training. It's like getting paid to develop your career! There are lots and lots of projects to stretch your career legs on and grow, as much as you want. You can work on small $1,500 projects or projects in the $Billions plus everything in between. The sky is truly the limit. Bring you positive attitude, leave your preconceptions at the door, be prepared to think of yourself as a business owner as opposed to just an employee and you will go far.

Cons

Coming into PCL mid-career was a challenge, I wish I had started with them much earlier in my career. I had to take a large hit to my base salary but as I accumulated more shares over the years this became a moot point. I guess the lesson here is, the base salaries are quite low so if you want to work for PCL know this going in. You need to own a piece of the company and think of yourself as a business owner, not an employee. PCL is a massive Corporation so yes, you will feel like a small fish in a really big pond. More like a small fish in a bay, in a lake, next to an ocean. But this does give you a lot of room to swim! PCL really pushes mobility. Relocating to different offices is the quickest way to move ahead. Great for those who are portable, not so great for those who aren't. For those who simply can't relocate, career growth may be slow and this may prove to be a Achilles Heal for some.

Pros

As an employee owned company, there is an inherent interest for all senior staff at PCL to take an interest in your professional growth and progression. Additionally, due to the ownership structure staff turnover is low, resulting in a wealth of experience and knowledge to tap into. This leads to a culture that is built on years of professional experience to nurture the next generation - Senior management taking an active role in entry level career development, is a unique aspect of PCL.

Cons

Not necessarily a 'Con', but something to note - Years of service to the company is seen as a more important basis for advancement, than any educational accreditation's or experience gained outside of PCL. This can lead to a fairly rigid career ladder based on time served as opposed to merit.

Pros

Employee owned, great share offer plan to make up extra compensation.

Cons

Very little career move upward. Very competitive.

Pros

Employee owned, mentoring is a core part of the company culture, defined career path.

Cons

There are currently no down sides.

Pros

employee owned company which significantly increases your pay overtime.

Cons

not for you if you don't like construction

Pros

-Employee owned (annual share offers to salaried staff) -Well structured and long term employees offer great support -Great internal processes for managing (PM3, Scheduling, Excel based estimating) -Lots of events on the company dime (open bar christmas parties, hockey tournaments, project wrap ups etc.) -Pension matching and flex benefits -Amazing building projects

Cons

-Severely underpaid project engineers and coordinators ($60k ish to start - $70k within 5 years.) If you have a 4 year engineering degree, check any other company and start at 75k+ and move to 90K within 5years -Declining share return over the past 5 years -Declining share offerings -High performers are expected to take on the role of 3-4 jobs and are only paid for 75% of one (ie. field coordinator, junior superintendent, surveying, estimator, PM all on the same project) -High demand in time (min 10hrs/day) -Hard to move up with all the older shareholders owning the bulk of the good ol days -I promise you would make more as a labour foreman on the working crew, with less responsibilities, than you would as a FC of PC....and probably work less hours too

Pros

This company is 100% employee owned

Cons

For big private companies like this, you're just a number

Pros

Paid vacation and a comprehensive flex benefits program. Being employee owned is a plus however this is not always a perk.

Cons

Employee owned is nice but having shares is not the answer to being encouraged by management to work long hours with unpaid overtime. Overtime is always expected and pay levels are below average. Again, shares are the answer to this pay level discrepancy. Training is not provided to new workers on company specific software. Company has a thrown to the wolves method of on-site learning in this case. Tendency for other departments, such as the materials group, to push their work onto others rather than support the overall team effort is typical of all projects I have been a part of.

Pros

It's employee owned, there are good share offerings and good benefits. Interesting work - always learning something new despite getting stuck doing the same thing sometimes.

Cons

Easy to get stuck doing the same thing for years. Long hours, unbalanced workplace. Some within the same area within the same position are totally overworked and stressed while others have a lack of work and seem to be on YouTube all day for the same salary. Compensation (share offerings,salary, bonus) is based on seniority, NOT hard work. Too many "chief" roles have come into play. Too many executives making too much money, and too many new employees getting screwed.