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DOWL

Engaged Employer

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

Ratings by category

4.3

Compensation and benefits

4.3

Career opportunities

4.2

Senior management

3.9

Culture & values

3.9

Diversity & inclusion

3.9

Work/Life balance

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).

Ratings by demographic groups

Reviews by job title

134 reviews
2.0
Jul 6, 2018

Engineer

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Employees I worked with were good people and you’ll get to work on interesting projects. I think most of upper-managements’ hearts are in the right place (although I don’t believe most of the lower-level employees think that).

Cons

Bad vacation policy for salaried employees. To “earn” a vacation or take time off for a federal holiday, you pretty much need to work that equal amount of over-time hours. Not a family friendly policy if you ask me and I personally think it burns out a large percentage of employees over the span of a few years. Honestly, I haven’t heard of one other company that uses this policy. I could be wrong…….who knows. For a small company, it has the corporate feel of a very large company. Not a big fan of that.

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DOWL Response
8y
Yes, the DOWL company has some great employees, terrific clients, and interesting projects. Your comments about the vacation policy are not new - we have a number of employees that love the existing system (we have survey responses that show that), and some that struggle with it because they want the company to tell them when and how much they can be absent from work. DOWL treats our exempt employees as professionals that are in control of their own schedules as they work with their teams to serve our valuable clients. I will be the first to admit that this system does not work for everyone, and that this system is different than some (or all?) of our competitors. But DOWL's charter has never been to "be like everyone else". We want to be an orange in a world of apples! Management at DOWL views us as a professional organization that provides high level services to great clients. There are no little or big people in DOWL as far as I am concerned. Our family roster must be filled with passionate contributors with a desire to be part of a special team.
4.0
Jul 3, 2018

Absolutely thrilled to be at DOWL!

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Friendly and helpful co-workers and a variety of interesting projects to work on. Competitive salaries, excellent work environment, very generous 401k plan. All in all a great place to work!

Cons

Very high deductible insurance plan takes some adjustment, but maybe typical these days for smaller companies. Still a little perplexed by the leave policy for full time employees. I understand we all work over time and while it is nice to have that acknowledged in a form of comp time, (which actually forms one's paid leave for the year), I still believe full time employees should be entitled to federal holidays and not have to earn leave for them.

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DOWL Response
7y
Welcome aboard and thanks for the positive review. DOWL constantly examines our benefits program and that includes our open leave policy for exempt employees. This policy has been in place for the legacy DOWL company since its inception almost 60 years ago. Depending on a which employee you ask, it is either a great way to recognize professionals that allows them to personally meter their work, or it is an atypical system that should be scrapped in favor of an accrual system. We have invested much energy in crafting a new policy/plan with the help of employee focus groups. Hopefully we have struck a balance that bridges the gap between the two philosophical camps - at this point we intend to roll it out in January 2019.
5.0
Jun 13, 2018

Strong Company with a Bright Future

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The company is focused on growth and punches way above its weight in markets big and small.

Cons

Company is very patient with under-performing assets and employees. Everyone is given 2nd, 3rd, and 4th chances to deliver.

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DOWL Response
7y
Thanks for the review. We are a company that is dedicated to growth and prosperity, but our foundation is built on great people and ethically serving great clients.
Viewing 88 - 90 of 134 Reviews
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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.