Koch reviews

3.8

67% would recommend to a friend

(1,838 total reviews)
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Charles G. Koch and Dave Robertson

79% approve of CEO

64% positive business outlook

Koch has an employee rating of 3.8 out of 5 stars, based on 1,838 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Koch employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Energía, minería e infraestructura pública industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

2K reviews
2.0
Feb 1, 2019
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Compensation is decent at the manager level at some subsidiaries Use of robotic technology makes some processes more efficient, innovative Principled

Cons

In the Corporate office, a handful of minorities hold position of manager+ (out of almost 3000) Employees strongly encouraged to adopt Koch's political beliefs (conservative, libertarian) Many employees do not abide by guiding principles Difficult - if not impossible- to advance if you are a minority Promotions are far and few between if you don't know the right people Frameworks often lead to red-tape and become bottlenecks to progress Culture is cult-like Expected to wear multiple hats, no work-life balance and can be very stressful Terrible vacation policy Telecommuting discouraged in vast majority of corporate positions

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Koch Response
7y
Thank you for taking the time to express your candid thoughts and advice about diversity at Koch. We are currently sharing your feedback with our businesses as a reminder of why it’s important to hire, develop and retain team members who are aligned with our culture and offer diverse perspectives. This approach is essential to discovering new opportunities to achieve better results.
1.0
Jul 22, 2018
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Competitive salary relative to the industry. A lot of freedom in tackling a problem, but you're on your own.

Cons

I would not recommend anyone to go work for KS&T in Switzerland and London because of: - Stress on new employees is extreme and turnover rate is high. - Upper management's very disconnected from what is happening on the ground and is seldom seen. Lower management takes great care in managing up, but not down and there is a serious lack of proper leadership/vision (a great example of Peter's principle). - Political games are very present and backstabbing occurs frequently. - Dysfunctional HR department. HR serves as a way to enforce control of management over lower tier employees rather than a soundboard for employees. - Evaluation is not anonymous leaving little chance for an objective evaluation. - Lower tier employees (e.g. analysts) often carry the blame when things go wrong, I have witnessed this first hand several times. - People generally don't like to share information, instead, often, a vague narrative is shared. Knowledge is not institutionalized and relevant information is often not shared (read very often) because 1 there is no incentive to do so 2. a general distrust between desks and 3. political rivalry. Don't expect to learn a lot from colleagues, unfortunately. - IT infrastructure is dated. - Incentive compensation is very much a function of your manager's preference (and whether he wants to share any of it) and there are no rules. - Projects venturing outside of the "usual" realms of the company are usually met with little support, this makes experimentation very difficult. The company seems to be stuck in ideas which were successful 10-15 years ago, this is why it feels like a sinking ship. Mr. Koch's MBM framework (which I think is a great tool) is used as a corporate backstabbing tool rather than a codex and basis for corporate culture and thinking. It is unfortunately not a surprise that this company is currently hemorrhaging talent, leaving behind dead wood.

1.0
Mar 26, 2018
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Work really hard; stay late - learn a lot about commodities

Cons

lots of layoffs for last several years at multiple Koch companies; they do not practice what they preach in regards to MBM. Charles Koch (everyone's benevolent leader) gives a lot of lip service on MBM but it is rarely followed. You have to fight in order to get a raise. Christmas bonus??? forget about it!!!! there is no such thing as a bonus at Koch industries unless it is written into your contract...even then, they will whittle you down as far as they can... do yourself a favor and do NOT work at this company. You can literally hear the 'white noise' they pump into the building sucking the life out of you...

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Koch Response
8y
At Koch, we strive to compensate employees in a way that is competitive and reflects the value that each individual creates. Beyond base compensation, incentive pay is also available for employees who create additional value. Rather than apply a standard formula to all, we seek to reward each individual for their unique contributions. We encourage all team members to speak directly with their supervisors or HR leaders to identify possible opportunities for earning greater rewards.
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