DOWL reviews

4.2

93% would recommend to a friend

(134 total reviews)

Jeffrey Shoemaker, P.E.

92% approve of CEO

91% positive business outlook

DOWL has an employee rating of 4.2 out of 5 stars, based on 134 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an excellent working experience there. The DOWL employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Construction, Repair & Maintenance Services industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

134 reviews
2.0
Jun 12, 2018

Mixed Bag

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great employees and engineers Nice pay.

Cons

Management is hyper-focused on your performance, hours worked, utilization and project profitability. Your worth as a person? Not so much! If you're slow (even for a couple weeks), you WILL be laid off. There is no vacation policy- if you want to take 'X' weeks of vacation per year, you better work X weeks of overtime, or you're in trouble. There are a lot of over-paid, under-utilized "managers" in the company whose sole purpose is to seemingly tell others what to do. Very top-heavy...

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DOWL Response
8y
I concur with your assessment that we have great employees and engineers. Also, we have a very nice compensation package. Management is focused on running the business to be profitable and growing, and we try to give all offices and employees time to bridge over rough spots and use workshare to even out workloads. That mechanism has been successful at preserving positions in soft markets and assisting those that are very busy. The company is very patient. In my 25 years at the company we have always had an policy whereby salaried employees have an expectation of time commitment to the firm in any given year. We do not measure time away. That has worked at DOWL for almost 60 years and all of our offer letters clearly state the expectation and the freedom it provides. Many employees tell me this policy is the reason they stay at DOWL. In the course of doing business, I can say unequivocally that people are treated with dignity and respect and honesty. It is part of our Charter.
3.0
Nov 13, 2013

All about the numbers.

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Salaries are competitive. This place is for you if you are into corporate politics and working all the time. The people are nice.

Cons

Everything (promotions, training etc.) is based on utilization numbers. No real training provided although promised a lot. Tons of turnover. Horrible management. A dead end if you don't catch the management's eye.

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DOWL Response
10y
DOWL strives to be a place for all professionals, but we recognize that we are not the perfect fit for everyone. We have a turnover rate that has averaged about 10% over the last five years, which is a little bit below industry standards that we track. Over our 50 to 60 years in business in Alaska and the Mountain West we have run both a successful business (the "numbers") and we been good stewards of our employee's and client's interests.
1.0
Feb 16, 2019

Bad, bad and bad.

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Working in the mountain West.

Cons

Ethics and integrity, BAD. Quality of work, BAD. Work Life balance , BAD.

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DOWL Response
7y
I am not sure what to say. The part that is the most difficult to read is the negative comments regarding ethics and integrity (something we pride ourselves on). I wish we could talk so I could learn more from your perspective. I notice that you are a "former employee" of DOWL. I hope you are now in workplace that is better for you. DOWL wishes you nothing but the best and hope that you find peace and happiness in your life.
Viewing 4 - 6 of 134 Reviews

Glassdoor has 141 DOWL reviews submitted anonymously by DOWL employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if DOWL is right for you.