Downer Group Employee Reviews

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3.8Work-Life Balance

3.9Pay & Benefits

3.4Job Security & Advancement

3.6Management

3.7Culture

Found 215 reviews matching the search See all 296 reviews

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4.0

very professional company

Scaffolder/Rigger (Former Employee) – Port Hedland WA – 2 January 2019

A company I enjoyed working with due to the people and the integrity of the downer group, long term work was a bonus and the variety of work also, a company I would highly recommend. also opportunities for advancement and training.

Pros

good roster

Cons

nil

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2.0

About 3 years late to the party

Administration Officer (Current Employee) – Sydney – 17 May 2018

While a lot of companies have already experimented with outsourcing to offshore contractors, realised it doesn't work, and brought the roles back into local offices - Downer is only just beginning this experiment and there is very little job security.

The office in North Ryde is basically the same as any other North Ryde/Macquarie Park office, the pay is around average, sothere is not much incentive that separates it from the many many other corporate jobs in the area. Accept that it is particularly slow, offers very little in the way of growth (both salary wise and personal development), and offers zero perks.

I would say it's good for someone looking for short time employment, but even then it's nothing special

Pros

Flexibility (though not all departments are flexible)

Cons

Unsecure; no development; slow moving; no perks/incentives

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5.0

loyal bosses

scaffolder/yards person (Former Employee) – Barrow Island WA – 13 August 2018

I liked working with loyal people who knew their job. I was always busy a lot of different tasks involved each day stacking packing and putting equipment away loading and unloading trucks it was very physical work that's why I enjoy it so much I did learn a lot of different and ongoing responsibilities workplace culture was very good

Pros

kept busy at all times

Cons

being away from family

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3.0

Engineering company moving to Tier 1 Contracting

Administration Manager (Former Employee) – Townsville QLD – 13 March 2018

Downer's move away from construction and engineering to become a tier 1 contracting company managing subcontractors was at odds with the regional "hands on" offices throughout Queensland. (Not a criticism, merely an observation of a changing business.) Subsequently the regional Qld offices were drastically downsized.
Local management is a great support to the workforce.
Centralised management & systems were always heading in the right direction but never arrived.
Typically long days with great rewards both financially and in the sense of a job well done. Great camaraderie among the crews.
Hardest part of the job: Working within incomplete QA systems.
Most enjoyable part of the job: The people.

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4.0

Worked on contract in JV in Brisbane, in Perth, and in Sydney

SUNSHINE COAST PROJECT MANAGEMENT (Former Employee) – Brisbane, Perth, Sydney – 22 November 2017

Overall a good responsible company to work for from a contract point of view. A typical day at work would be a meeting with the team I worked with to update where the project or tender was ahead or behind schedule and put measures in place to meet schedule. Then head down and do what I was contracted to do.

The work was enjoyable as most staff were prepared to help when necessary.

The company had a good safety, environmental, and quality culture.

Pros

Always felt comfortable with staff and management.

Cons

No treal cons. My contracts with Downer were usually short duration so difficult to make comment.

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3.0

company lacks support and training

Site Manager (Former Employee) – Perth WA – 15 November 2018

company promotes its self as a tier 1 and is well structured but unfortunately this not the case. many personnel are struggling with the recently introduced systems however there is not support to train personnel.

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5.0

Accounts Payble Supervisor

Accounts Payable Officer (Former Employee) – perth – 20 June 2018

Great industry and wonderful suppliers.
Never a dull moment with a new challenge and project with each customer enquiry or request.
Fantastic corporate culture that is supportive and caring.

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4.0

Good company to work for

QC co-ordinator (Former Employee) – Queensland – 16 December 2017

Good company to work for, with a very professional management team. Very diversified with job opportunities. Downer has the ability to draw on staff and resources internally from other projects to assist with delivery of projects ontime.
Unfortunately, in my opinion, job security is not forthcoming in my chosen field, however, Downer does make an effort to find alternative opportunities.

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5.0

basketball

Intermediate Rigger (Former Employee) – Perth WA,Sydney NSW,Innisfail QLD,Townsville QLD – 12 April 2018

: continues work for 6 day's with overtime
: improvement of my knowledge to work with and to share my
: knowledge to my co worker
: always updated for what is going on and what was happening
: good environment
: is to be a part of it to finished the job safe

Pros

free ute as a transportation

Cons

long hours with overtime

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5.0

Productive enjoyable workplace

A-Grade Electrician (Former Employee) – Melbourne VIC – 21 March 2018

Good team environment, hard working however rewarding outcomes
Great working conditions with management willing to always lend assistance to achieve the best outcomes

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3.0

productive, challenging and learning experiance

Truck Driver/Labourer (Former Employee) – Windsor NSW – 7 March 2018

Fun place to learn and work with colegues.
Multiple jobs at different locations. Plenty of overtime and chance to work on weekends for special events around Sydney.

Pros

combination of jobs and locations

Cons

no communications between management

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2.0

Working 60-80 hours per week and getting paid ok

Contractor (Former Employee) – Brisbane Central Business District QLD – 8 April 2018

My experience was below average but it was because of the nature of the role. A typical day was 8 am - 6 pm plus some work at home. Weekends typically 5-10 hours of work.
The manager was fly in and fly out manager and he did not have any intention to develop me.
The workplace was isolated from the company because of the nature of the role.
Hardest was to get criticised for things that were not my responsibility
One weekend day of free over 6 weeks was the only enjoyment.

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4.0

A good company with good equipment and support.

Pre-strip haul truck operator (Former Employee) – Moranbah, QLD – 15 September 2014

Shifts were 12.5hrs. As I was on a traineeship I went through a steep
learning curve and did learn a lot. It was not easy at first and re-
quired a great deal of concentration to absorb everything. I found
it all come together after about 10mths and could really then hone my skills. It was a large prestrip operation with great equipment
like the Komatsu 930E,830E and Bucyrus 4400.
Management was supportive and if advice or help was needed it was never a problem. There was some really good people working for the company from a wide diversity of backgrounds. The best part
is the people of a company and I felt Downer did well in recruiting
a people friendly work force in general.

Pros

Accommodation meals and transport provided

Cons

Long hours

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5.0

Boilermaker/ welder

Boilermaker/Welder (Former Employee) – Nt – 12 January 2018

The job on Groote would have to be a highlight of my career , bar none... the comraderie was great.. though the work was tough.. we got through it , we had a great leadership team.. and really kicked some goals.. i would go back there on the next expansion...

Pros

Absolute paradise

Cons

Pretty rough old plant

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1.0

Toucher chamber

Project Manager (Former Employee) – North Sydney NSW – 13 February 2018

Nothing works its all fragmented lots of chiefs and parasites that thrive in broken environments beyond repair. There's good people but they dont last long.

Pros

Pay

Cons

Long hours, work overloading

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1.0

Worst company, terrible management.

Electrical supervisor (Former Employee) – Barrow Island WA – 26 November 2017

Downers don't care about their workers it's only the dollars they're concerned about.
On Barrow Island it was amazing the continuous lies they kept telling the client to get themselves out of trouble and to make them look good.
Safety was all smoke and mirrors. I don't know how many times they turned a blind eye just to get the job done.
Unless you're mates or enjoy kissing the managers or superintendents butts there is no future for you.

Pros

Good guys in the same boat

Cons

Management

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3.0

Downer had a great work culture, fixed any problems that arose on job sites and cares about the safety of its employees.

NBN Hauling technician (Former Employee) – Melbourne VIC – 9 September 2016

A typical day work for Downer was installing NBN cables through the pits and fitting them off on PCDs. I Learned nearly all there is to know about hauling with a few minor exception; there is always room for more learning. Management at downer were organized as they gave our future job site plans in advance which made our job easier. My co- workers we brilliant I loved the people I worked with. The hardest part of the job was working after it had been raining. The thing I liked most about the job was is didn't interfere with my personal life too much. The work life balance was excellent.

Pros

Never work in the same place for too long.

Cons

Unpredictable hours.

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5.0

Great company to work for

Electrician (Former Employee) – Perth WA – 23 January 2017

Long hours but worth it!

- I learned to work well in a team environment

- Management was fair

- Diverse workplace culture which is a plus

- Being away from home for long periods is the down side to this kind of work

- Socializing and using the recreational facilities was on the up side to the job on the mine

Pros

Recreational facilities

Cons

being away from home for long periods

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2.0

Mushroom management, lots of tiers of power hungry maniacs

Anonymous (Former Employee) – Anonymous – 27 October 2016

Good workers, staff however, unsupported by layer upon layer of senior management who are definitely not "for the people".

Not far from slavery, long hours and management don't like to listen so best to just shut up and get back in your box, do your job and take the pineapple.

Lots of emphasis on making money, little investment in people or tooling.

Don't bother asking for new machinery or equipment even though it is causing you to be delayed and stressed fixing broken tools constantly. Get used to being blamed for delays due to the company providing inadequate equipment which doesn't enable you to do your job and wastes hours each week.

Summary: Good workers and lower/middle staff who are bled dry by an uncaring senior management more interested in chest beating, employing even more useless senior management and producing fancy intranet pictures.

Pros

You do get paid.

Cons

Work hours, support, equipment to do the job

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1.0

lousy

transport co-ordinator/purchasing officer (Current Employee) – perth – 9 April 2013

would never recommend this company to anyone..have no respect for their workers even after being with them for 25 1/2 yrs...was told by a staff member of another department that workshop site was shutting down...management didn't even have the decency to come down and let workers know what was happening...to find out from another source in my books is an absolute disgrace....turnover of workers for this company is colossal because of their pay and work conditions...company also has a cashflow problem so there is no guarantee you even get your pay on time...have lost count of the number of times i have not been paid on time......DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES WORK FOR THIS COMPANY, YOU WILL LIVE TO REGRET IT.

Pros

there is none

Cons

long hours 6 days a week

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5.0

great place to work

Peggy/Cleaner (Former Employee) – Australia – 5 February 2018

Productive and great workplace with friendly staff, good hours, close to home and great benefits.

started working as a peggy/cleaner and also filled in as a trades assistant and a store person, learnt a lot about tools on the job

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