American Water reviews

3.6

64% would recommend to a friend

(617 total reviews)

John Griffith

65% approve of CEO

58% positive business outlook

American Water has an employee rating of 3.6 out of 5 stars, based on 617 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The American Water employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Energy, Mining & Utilities industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

617 reviews
4.0
Jun 24, 2015

Work conditions

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Stability, Fair wages, Good people. Good organization to work for. Depth of knowlege is tremendous. Customer oriented

Cons

Demanding due to the business, Dealing with the weather and seasons. Extended hrs required but overall fair company to work for

2.0
Jun 20, 2015

Fix the Culture and Leadership Issues

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good benefits and wonderful co-workers.

Cons

Used to be an employee-friendly environment - this is no longer. Culture is severely lacking due to poor leadership and multiple realignments. Did a culture study last year and no actionable plan to address issues has been compiled. Employees are frustrated by performance management system, lack of career development, and clear lack of leadership skills from the managers. This has and will continue to produce excessive turnover.

3.0
Jun 19, 2015
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Salary is competitive if you come from the outside. Great 401k match. Great medical benefits. Great stock purchase plan. There's always something interesting to work on if you apply yourself.

Cons

Management - Most low level managers have no idea how to manage people. Some will just delegate most of their work and take credit for their employees ideas. Middle management does not associate with low level employees. They claim to care, but nothing has been done to improve the culture. Your manager generally will not go out of their way to help you move up in the company. Managers in general just show a lack of respect for people that report to them. Training - there is no formal training for new or current employees. Everyone is too busy after the layoffs to devote their time to training new or current employees Internal advancement - it is incredibly difficult to get promoted in this company, finance especially. The best way to get promoted is to know someone important and brown nose. That's just the way it is here. If by some chance you do get promoted, the compensation they offer you will not exceed a 10% increase in what you already make. The system is overly complicated - any accountant or finance analyst that currently works here will tell you that the way the system is set up is incredibly inefficient. Between SAP and PowerPlant, it is incredibly difficult to perform even the simplest tasks. Peer employees - most of the people that work here are great, but there are those that have been with the company for years that have such a negative view about the company that are impossible to work with. They complain more than they work, and complain that they never get promoted. Human resources - I'm really not trying to be mean, but HR is completely incompetent. Overall - if you just want to come to work, do your job, and go home, not more or no less, this is a great place to work. If you want to advance your career this is not the place you want to be.

Viewing 514 - 516 of 617 Reviews

Glassdoor has 675 American Water reviews submitted anonymously by American Water employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if American Water is right for you.