PCL Construction reviews

4.0

80% would recommend to a friend

(1,284 total reviews)
avatar

Chris Gower

91% approve of CEO

74% positive business outlook

PCL Construction has an employee rating of 4.0 out of 5 stars, based on 1,284 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The PCL Construction 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

1K reviews
1.0
Mar 15, 2018

A lot of these reviews are correct - and not the good ones

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The health insurance is the cheapest I've ever had. That's pretty much it.

Cons

Where do I start? The person who wrote that PCL stands for People Come Last is spot on. Here are a list of cons: - People Come Last unless you are the boss's favorite. - Unless you completely toe the company line, brown-nose constantly, & agree with everything management says, they won't like you. I've seen people with less experience get promoted over people with more experience just because they are the boss's favorites. - When management is done with you, they will treat you poorly to try to push you out. If you don't leave on their "push out" schedule, they will fire you (make sure you negotiate a good severance). - If you are a woman with children, this is not the place for you. They expect work to come first, 100% of the time. There is no work/life balance. All of management's wives are stay-at-home moms, so they expect the same from all women it seems. - Diversity is basically non-existent. Expect to see a lot of white males. - Forget about going to HR for anything - they are there to protect the company, not care about the employees. - If you are having any personal issues outside of work, make sure to not let it show at work because they really don't care about anything that's going on at home or with your health. - The share program is a joke. The offerings are way too expensive to purchase so you have to get a loan so it doesn't actually pay off for about 7 years because you have to pay down your loans. I've never heard of having to get a loan to make an investment. And they don't tell you this in your interview, they just make you think you're going to make all this extra money immediately. - You get no feedback on your work performance so you have no clue if you are doing a good job or not, until they just fire you out of nowhere. - Don't try to talk to your co-workers about anything other than work or you will get the dirtiest looks from management - it's all work all the time. No room for water cooler talk. - They preach that it's the "PCL family" - if that's true, this is one dysfunctional family.

avatar
PCL Construction Response
8y
We are disappointed that you had a negative experience during your time at PCL. Due to the confidential nature of your concerns, we would like to continue this conversation with you offline. Please reach out to us via glassdoor@pcl.com so that we may discuss these areas further.
1.0
Jan 28, 2017

Checking The Box

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

We used to be a company where it was like family. That is what made it a pro. The only other pro is the amount of vacation you receive but only if you can take it.

Cons

All they care about is the bottom line. You have to be a chosen one to move up. It is still a good ole boys club even though they preach diversity. Hence the title of checking the box. Favoritism is rampant from upper management. We no longer care about the people. Absolutely no work life balance.

avatar
PCL Construction Response
9y
Wow! I am really surprised by this feedback, but want to thank you for sharing it with us. I am not sure if what you are experiencing is a symptom of the growing pains from all the new work that California Buildings has gotten, or it's deeper than that. I would encourage you to talk to a member of the management team that you feel comfortable with whether it be the VP, DM, or HRPD Manager. If that isn't an option for you, I would encourage you to talk with your manager about your career progression if you are not where you want to be. Also, I wanted to share that as a member of the US head office leadership team, I am actively involved in the Diversity & Inclusion effort and I do know we are making slow and steady progress on that front, particularly with recruitment.
2.0
Jul 12, 2016
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

General philosophy is good - mirrors the parent company entity in Canada. Some good employees who make it bareable.

Cons

Long hours. I have worked in Construction for a while and sure hours happen, but they usually happen at critical times in a project and people on the team usually help you out on slow days by letting you go early. Not here. They schedule projects with the assumption you will be working 14 hour days, 7 days a week, with absolutely no flexibility/compensation. They have weak staff that they retain. Slow to discipline the incompetent, and they do not reward the hardworking. It's a locals club. If you do not fit in, you are not going anywhere. Safety goes out the window big time when schedule requires it to.

Viewing 1 - 3 of 1,284 Reviews

Glassdoor has 1,716 PCL Construction reviews submitted anonymously by PCL Construction employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if PCL Construction is right for you.