HDR reviews

4.1

79% would recommend to a friend

(1,809 total reviews)
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John W. Henderson

89% approve of CEO

86% positive business outlook

HDR has an employee rating of 4.1 out of 5 stars, based on 1,809 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an excellent working experience there. The HDR 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

2K reviews
5.0
Jan 9, 2018
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

--Employee owned = generous benefits; opportunity to own part of the company. Every decision is made with employees' best interests in mind, not just maximum profit for senior management. Also, no outside investors to report to. --Supportive management (provides the tools you need, guidance for projects) --Experts in every field are easily accessible and happy to help --Generous vacation time (starts at 15 days PTO + 8 holidays, jumps to 20 days PTO + 8 holidays after 5 years of service or age 35) --Highly ethical; they truly value doing the right thing over making money (although we do make money too!) --Environmentally conscious - leader in sustainability --Invest in employees long-term (training, development, and progressively more challenging assignments) --Healthy balance of work and fun - numerous social events / parties scheduled throughout the year (Thanksgiving potluck, Holiday party at a fancy restaurant, cornhole tournament with prizes, pumpkin carving contest at Halloween, litter pick-up during Earth Week, etc.)

Cons

--You can get burned out if you never say no to anyone - you need to work with your boss to set limits and continually balance your workload so you don't get chronically overwhelmed. ("If you do good work, more work will flow to you.") Thankfully work is shared seamlessly across the company, so it's not a big deal unless you're a workaholic who always volunteers for new tasks even when you're already overloaded. --No paid maternity or paternity leave

2.0
Feb 20, 2017

Project Manager

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good benefits and salary. Good projects.

Cons

Although it's a national, and now global firm, it is weirdly provincially mid-western and upper mid-western in its culture. Very elitist. Most of the money goes up to the 435 partners. The titles are all nonsense. They dole them out to give people leverage in marketing situations, very few really have any management authority over any one. A director in one office is a project manager in another. It keeps everyone off balance as the money flows up.

3.0
Feb 21, 2016
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Tight-knit marketing groups that are highly motivated and strive for quality and excellence - to represent HDR's principals and expertise to their clients. Any need is quickly addressed - company resources are available within the same office floor. From printing needs, to special office supplies, to professional expertise and advice. However, as a highly creative individual, my passion is not within the engineering realm of business. If you would like to simply acquire a somewhat 'entry-level' career position within the marketing world, whether your background is in graphic design, journalism, or marketing - this job is a great stepping stone. You get to participate in business trips for training, face constructive challenges like presenting ideas and leading meetings and other opportunities for personal growth and skill building.

Cons

Lots of turnover. Not sure if its just the nature of the consultant business environment for engineers and other departments alike, or its simply due to unhappy employees. The job is a great start when it comes to marketing - but you quickly find that many marketing positions (mine specifically as marketing coordinator) have a life expectancy of 2 years and the managers make no real effort to encourage growth or upper movement. It must also be the nature of the business but marketing within an engineering company is tough. Engineers are difficult to work with when you must lead and organize meetings regularly and coordinate on a daily basis to finish proposal and related marketing work in a timely manner.

Viewing 34 - 36 of 1,809 Reviews

Glassdoor has 2,037 HDR reviews submitted anonymously by HDR employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if HDR is right for you.