Foster Wheeler Reviews

I worked at Foster Wheeler full-time for more than 7 years

Pros – 9/80 work schedule allowed for a good amount of time off. 3 weeks PTO for new hires. Good 401K and medical insurance programs. The building and furniture are above average.

Cons – Upper management likes to micro-manage and monitor its employees. They ask for opinions from their employees, but they don't seem to want to implement any change related to employee satisfaction. When the previous CEO left for another office, bonuses and incentives diminished or disappeared. It's pretty difficult to get recognized for your achievements or hard work at this company. It's also hard to advance in the company unless you are buddy-buddy with someone with power and influence in the company.

Advice to Senior Management – Listen to your employees, and try to trust them to be honest on their own.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

I have been working at Foster Wheeler full-time for less than a year

Pros – Salary is decently competitive and their 401k matching is comparable to a state worker's TRS.
9/hour workdays with every other Friday off

Cons – To really know FW requires knowing the history from various other workers. Many workers are fairly new due to turnover and the boom and bust of unstable business due to projects. Management seems to care most about upstream divisions, but has poor attention and does not assist in departments outside of engineering. The guidance from the corporate HQ office is poor and there is a severe lack of operational maturity. FW loses business to competition due to poor planning and effective monitoring of operations. Various departments outside of engineering have many high-level managers and directors with poor and lazy attitudes. Many of them are just not used to having to be competent at their professions like FW's competition. Had I known the entire history and been able to interview with others outside the department hiring manager; I would've never come here.

Advice to Senior Management – Implement TCO mentality from top down and provide global guidance to offices in a singular effort. What good is upstream without staff to properly support them?

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

I worked at Foster Wheeler as a contractor for more than a year

Pros – get very good knowledge and work style,

Cons – little gap of communication and can't say more,

Advice to Senior Management – make trans perncy with employee

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

I worked at Foster Wheeler full-time for more than 7 years

Pros – None that I can think of.

Cons – A company that works in low margin industries can't be generous to their employees. Terrible raises, delayed raises, 4 in 5 years, etc. Suggest working for a company that makes a lot of money. They can treat their employees better. This is a while back, put I doubt much has changed.

Advice to Senior Management – None

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

I worked at Foster Wheeler full-time for more than 3 years

Pros – Lots of talented people on projects.

Cons – Those talented people on projects always frustrated and dissatisfied. Corporate management very disconnect from project people and very bureaucratic. Lots of procedures and rules that don't quite work or make sense. Overhead management is about 10 layers, and you are lucky if you get to talk to your immediate line management once in several months; and you have no chance to ever get to meet and talk to managers beyond his level.

Advice to Senior Management – Dear upper management: cut your numbers by half and make the company more competitive pn the market. Stop spending all your time in endless corporate meetings and get to know your projects and people who execute those projects. You keep losing talented people because they do not feel valued. Quite on the contrary, most professional, talented and free-spirited people in your company feel they are treated like schoolchildren who always need to be told and disciplined.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

I have been working at Foster Wheeler as a contractor for less than a year

Pros – Complete database to execute any jobs within the industry and a very good platform to experience and learn.

Cons – Prefer contract employees and any extension is done at the very last days. May not sit well with many who like to continue working instead taking a break after a project.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

I worked at Foster Wheeler as a contractor for more than 3 years

Pros – Very good technical experience gained at the company.

Cons – Company stuck in old ways with no new inovations. Management reluctant to see that employees are unhappy. Midrand office located in a very unpleasant and unsafe location.

Advice to Senior Management – Engage with and listen to your people - you sell manhours. Without experienced professional employees, there is no business.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

I worked at Foster Wheeler full-time for more than a year

Pros – A great to place to learn and develop.

Cons – My ability to learn and grow was limited because the company is not diversified.

Advice to Senior Management – Expand the types of jobs to included chemical and other refining processes.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

I have been working at Foster Wheeler full-time for more than 3 years

Pros – Wide areas of exposure
Employee oreinted as core values

Cons – Litlle slow in decision making
Cost effectiveness to be more stringent

Advice to Senior Management – Need to fasten up the belt on decision making and groom better leaders at managerial level

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

I have been working at Foster Wheeler full-time for more than 10 years

Pros – Relaxed, good engineering computer systems, Flexible working hours, so much good hard working individuals trying to give the company a boost. very good FEED projects including Lump sum pricing. good PMC projects

Cons – Management have lost the plot, The old guard are hanging on a straw,too much Gossip. bad relations between departments.poor benefits. We have lost too many excellent processionals due lost confidence in management and management not listening.
.

Advice to Senior Management – I would focus to winning new projects, draft every living soul in our proposals group. shake middle management a bit.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company