ELM Companies reviews

3.4

61% would recommend to a friend

(43 total reviews)

Lee C. Graves

92% approve of CEO

55% positive business outlook

ELM Companies has an employee rating of 3.4 out of 5 stars, based on 43 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The ELM Companies 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

43 reviews
1.0
Jul 31, 2019
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Fast paced and demanding work

Cons

These people value production above all else. They just hired 10 new techs and guaranteed they will be laid off in the winter. All those people are pressured to skip lunches and breaks and to cut corners to get as much done as possible. They will all be fired soon enough when the work slows down. They all receive half working equipment and are advised to buy better stuff. These poor people spend their own money on this temp job and are told that if they do good enough, they might get to stay through the winter. ALL the supervisors and employees that have been here 6 months or longer are desperate to find a better company. The work car cannot be used for anything other than work so I hope you have extra parking at home because that is all it is to ELM, free parking. I have to walk several blocks first thing in the morning to find my work car. It's a 2 wheel drive as they all are and they will be replaced with 2 wheel drive Ford escapes in the future. What kind of company send people out in the snow in 2 wheel drive vehicles? Not Cascade, not PSE, not county or city, no one does that. And check this out, you have to use a virtual laptop on your cell phone to find your work orders and view maps. I'll say that again.. In a job where 60% of the time you will not have a cell signal, you will rely on your phone to remote link to a virtual laptop in another state. You cannot download maps. You will spend most of your career lost and incapable of viewing underground utilities and if you drive to get a signal, you will take to long and subsequently get fired for lack of production. I saw ELM just hire a bunch of guys and then tell all of them to wait a couple weeks later. Some of these people had jobs and quit to start work with ELM and then had to go two weeks without pay, and then buy their own equipment, and skip lunches and breaks. I'm training these people often and I always tell them all the same thing, "run".

1.0
Sep 10, 2013

Extremely unreasonable, unrealistic, and poor upper management.

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Guaranteed hours, usually 50 to 60 hours a week. Most direct supervisors seem fair and share the pain that techs go through.

Cons

ELM is a very stressful place to work. The upper management is extremely hard to work for. They set unreal expectations of their $12 an hour employees. They are hiring and running classes on a near monthly basis and they cant seem to understand why. If they keep half of the techs from a class, it is considered a success. Benefits are basically non-existent. If I recall correctly, you pay about $130 PAY PERIOD. Yes, every two weeks for just yourself. You will start with 1 week of vacation per year and pretty much stay at it. Your will get a hard time if your try and use vacation. Don't be surprised if you receive a call at 4 pm on Friday and learn that you must work Saturday or Sunday. If you have any plans for the weekend, be sure to put in for the time off. Also if you get in a vehicle accident and you are found at fault, you are required by terms of employment to pay the $2,000 deductible. Yes, two thousand dollars.

2.0
Nov 9, 2016

Contract loss

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

You work at your own pace with no one breathing down your neck. You can pretty much set your own schedule.

Cons

Took several pay cuts as well as started with there being 4 employees for my area. However shortly after that I was the only employee for several years and still could not receive a raise or compensation for money I put in myself. You are also expected to be on call 24 hours a day 7 days a week but receive no pay or compensation for such unless you're called out.

Viewing 4 - 6 of 43 Reviews

Glassdoor has 45 ELM Companies reviews submitted anonymously by ELM Companies employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if ELM Companies is right for you.