GEI Consultants reviews

4.2

89% would recommend to a friend

(192 total reviews)
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Scott Wallington

99% approve of CEO

72% positive business outlook

GEI Consultants has an employee rating of 4.2 out of 5 stars, based on 192 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an excellent working experience there. The GEI Consultants employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Construction, Repair & Maintenance Services industry (3.6 stars).

Reviews by job title

192 reviews
5.0
Feb 12, 2019
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Challenging and interesting work. Multi-disciplinary offering from industry experts. Diverse backgrounds in a collaborative environment. Culture of providing best value with emphasis on the quality of the work product. Great benefits. Great company culture and office dynamics.

Cons

It's consulting and deadlines are unforgiving. There are some long days.

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GEI Consultants Response
7y
I am very pleased to hear you describe your experience with us as collaborative, technically challenging with a focus on delivering value to our clients. You highlighted some of the most important components that contribute to our company’s culture. It’s what we strive for when it comes to our employees and clients. We seek to hire and retain the top talent in our industry and connect them with our clients and projects that are highly engaging and rewarding to both. As we continue to grow our talent at about 10 percent per year, we seek an ever-diverse skillset of individuals with unique backgrounds, perspective and experiences that allow us to deliver value added services that exceeds our client’s expectations. It’s true that it takes a lot of effort and individuals who are self-motivated to be successful in our industry. As GEI engineers and scientists, we are committed to delivering value added solutions, on time and on budget to our clients. It’s my hope that those sometimes long days are filled with fulfilling work, alongside colleagues that are equally as engaged and that you learn from each other as you work on projects that are unique and offer a meaningful experience. I’m glad to hear that you’ve connected with our wealth of knowledge in our senior and principal leaders. They are here to guide and mentor you as the future leaders of GEI. I believe listening to and interacting with our clients and employees is critical to the continued success of GEI and will remain unchanged regardless of our size. I appreciate your input and feedback.
3.0
Feb 10, 2019

Good benefits, low pay, needs work on diversity

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

They treat their employees relatively well. The benefits and PTO are generous. They give tuition reimbursement, which is a great program for new grads wanting work and a continuation of their education. F or the most part the people are great. They have a decent mentorship program and plenty of people who will help you when they have time. They have a D&I committee that is made up of passionate people who want to improve the culture of the company.

Cons

Poor communication from management to lower-level employees. Low pay and they expect you to keep utilization up, even when there is no client work. Promotions and bonuses are dependent on billabilty. Taking care of the necessary work that is not billable is expected to be done for free on your own time. Tech and temporary employees are sometimes viewed as incapable of anything other than following SOPs, and their work is consistently devalued. I've overheard project managers bad-mouth employees in front of everyone but the employee, and they rarely put the work in to communicate to those employees their expectations or concerns. If a manager has a problem with you, you'll never know unless you overhear them bad-mouthing you, by that point they've already made up their mind about you and your capabilities. Some will act petty, doing things like giving you the silent treatment. Some managers seem over-burdened with their work load, and will put off even the simplest replies to emails because they're so busy. Some managers seem threatened by new ideas, or questions about the way things are done. Some PMs are territorial over work, and discourage employees who express interest in acquiring new skills. There is little investment in training. Certain managers are blatantly sexist, telling female employees to "smile" and making fun of employees in front of others about how some female employees will "never get a boyfriend." Other examples are subtle, sometimes it happens in the hiring process, and I've never felt comfortable going to HR with my concerns. Despite the company having a great D&I team in place, they really could be a more diverse environment. Lastly, there are few opportunities for advancement, especially if you're at the tech level.

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GEI Consultants Response
7y
Thank you for your feedback on our company. I’m glad to hear you feel that we treat employees “relatively well.” At GEI, we work hard to create a consistent experience for all employees that is one of fairness, support and encouragement to develop and grow. It’s disconcerting to me that we could have leaders who are not aligned with these goals. You highlighted a number of concerns that we would like the opportunity to resolve. Please speak with your supervisor, branch manager, Regional Operations Manager, our Chief Operating Officer, Vasan Srinivasan, or me directly to raise the specifics about your concerns so we have an opportunity to discuss and address them. We would like to hear your feedback and work with you to resolve your concerns. As you point out, we proudly have a Diversity + Inclusion Committee in place that is focused on supporting our operational leadership in continuing to cultivate an environment of leadership and creates opportunities for our talented and motivated employees to develop. We continue to evolve as a firm to engage multiple generations in our workforce, which includes succession planning, leadership development and a wide range of other learning and training opportunities for junior staff within our organization. Again, if there are any leaders not aligned to these efforts, please talk with anyone in operational leadership and provide details so we can address it. You are welcome to call me personally as well. Thank you, Ron Palmieri President & CEO
5.0
Jan 22, 2019
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

GRADE II STAFF GEOLOGIST. RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA There are three words that come to mind when I describe GEI to people: Technical expertise and Community. From day one when I walked in the door I listened to numerous high-level design, remediation, site characterization, conceptual site model and hydrogeology conversations; which as a new hire was stimulating and exciting. I knew then that I struck gold with GEI. Most Junior staff members at other environmental consulting firms are essentially field technicians (agree to disagree; but be honest with yourself that’s how it is). At GEI, that isn’t the case. Of course, we perform most of the field work, but we come back to the office: process, analysis, evaluate and report the data collected in the field for review by Senior staff. We are trained well and given an abundance of responsibilities early in our careers to develop our character, knowledge and confidence. I have discussed the wide array of project types I have experienced thus far at GEI to colleagues in the industry and their envious responses leave them desiring more. We as a company are involved in: environmental and geotechnical investigations, environmental design and remediation, construction oversight, geotechnical design (transportation, dams, deep foundations), water resources, storm water management and design, and ecological and wetland delineation services. The best way to find out what we do and how we do it; is to apply and join our team of technical professionals. The community at GEI extends far outside of Raleigh, NC branch. While I could write a 3+ page monologue about how well I, and others, have been treated in Raleigh it will suit you all best if I describe the company’s culture as a whole. We have offices across the United States; however, the way multiple offices share project workload based on a person’s expertise is incredible, and it shows in our work product. We all want each other to succeed professionally and in life outside of work. We challenge one another with additional roles, and responsibilities, knowing that if we need anything, from anyone, within the entire company all we have to do is ask. For instance, GEI’s President and CEO recently came to our Raleigh, NC office for one of our company’s new initiatives. I knew he was coming and made a point to introduce myself and welcome him to our office; rather than exchanging a few words we had a 20-minute conversation about my goals and how to achieve those goals. He provided insight into some of his experiences, throughout his career and how they developed him into the consultant he is today. He told me, “if you need anything call me, seriously”. I couldn’t have felt more at home knowing that throughout our company’s organization we are all here for one another and to make each other better and more successful. I recently read a statistic that claimed 75% of the work force stay at a company for 18 months before moving on to progress their career elsewhere. I can confidently say that I see myself starting and ending my career at GEI. I cannot imagine working for another company and losing THIS sense of community and leadership.

Cons

I have not experience anything within my 2 year period here that would qualify as a "Con".

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GEI Consultants Response
7y
Thank you for your detailed feedback on your first few years at GEI. Its wonderful to hear about your experience with us, which has been rich with talented individuals who are dedicated to our clients and your growth. As a new employee and recent graduate, your experience of being plugged into existing projects and connecting with more senior staff is exactly the environment we cultivate and encourage. We are focused on supporting and mentoring future consultants that have the skills and capabilities to expand what we offer to our clients and support their future success. You highlight all the things that your local branch and regional leadership are doing right to fully engage everyone on project teams to create an exciting, learning environment where people come together to do amazing things for our clients. As the President & CEO, it was a pleasure to connect with you during a recent visit in your office and hear first hand your experience at our company. Whether it’s stories that support our clients and employees in alignment with our strategic plan or concerns that are barriers to them, I want to hear about it all so I can serve our company in a way to leads to everyone’s success. Thank you for choosing GEI to invest in your career and development. We hope you continue to find fulfillment in our company. Thank you, Ron
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Glassdoor has 212 GEI Consultants reviews submitted anonymously by GEI Consultants employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if GEI Consultants is right for you.