project manager

project coordinator

associate project manager

service coordinator

senior project manager

BGIS

The main things I didn't like about BGIS was the mixed messaging on nearly everything and how inept, clueless and childish most of the senior leadership team is. You're hired as a subject matter expert in your field, but yet you're told how to do your job and your suggestions are ignored. Senior leadership says do X, Y, Z, so you do it. Don't talk back or question anything and be ready for interrogation on a subject they know nothing about. Just say, "Yes," and let the communication flow one way...straight down from the top. The amount of projects I worked on that failed or were a complete waste of time after I suggested a better path or warned about potential risks were too many. It got to the point where I stopped saying anything at all because it wasn't well received. I did see a lot of success mind you, but not without its headaches.

I saw good people chewed up and spit out because their direct reports were ruthless. They leave or get fired while management stays and gets shuffled around. I saw one leader get moved around to at least four different departments in my time after they failed to deliver on absolutely anything. I would have been fired for such incompetence, but politics prevail at BGIS.

They handle terminations so poorly and distastefully that it's down right laughable. They're sharks. If you don't make their half-baked ideas a reality, you're not going to last long because you're making them look bad in front of their peers. It's a vicious cycle. Bad ideas are simply bad ideas. So, you end up future endeavored under the guise of "restructuring" when, in reality, you're just being thrown under the bus. How many times in one year can a company restructure anyhow?

There's way too much silent politicking happening and the drama, wow. It's like a high school sometimes behind closed doors. Women are still talked over by men. Racial and sexiest jokes come out in meetings or under someone's breath that make people uncomfortable. People engage in extra curriculars before and after work instead of going home to family. You might get made fun of for something you don't feel confident about and you will definitely feel bullied for expressing concern. And this isn't coming from coworkers, it's predominantly management; the leaders of the company. Tone deaf, clueless and out of touch. Everyone is afraid of losing their job, so it goes uncontested, but boy is it ever talked about behind their backs. Don't report it to HR either. It gets filed under "Who cares". They don't even bother with exit interviews because ignorance is bliss.

Innovation is part of their tagline and their favourite buzzword, but I failed to see anything innovative on a daily basis. It was more of the same. Feed the idea that we're cutting edge to clients and staff, but operate like everyone else does. For instance, you're told that you can work from home because that's the image they portray through their marketing. Great in theory, but your direct report thinks you're doing nothing at home, so those opportunities are throttled. So, you come into the office with unassigned seating. First come, first served. Too bad there aren't enough seats in your department, so you overflow into other departments. Oh, you found a seat in another department? Well, your direct report will seek you out to give you grief for sitting there because they can't see you from their own desk. It's called micromanagement and this is why everyone has historically been disengaged at BGIS. If you're hassling your team that tells me you literally do nothing at this company other than delegate. Get off people's backs and get a 200k salary to play Solitaire or something. Buzz off. They can't seem to figure out why people are so disgruntled despite it being written in the surveys every year.

Everyone is using different technology, so if you don't get a seat that has the right docking station for your laptop, good luck. I watched people quite often spend the first 40 minutes of their day trying to get setup at a station that didn't support their machine. Then they didn't have a mouse, so they have to steal one from an empty desk. Same with a keyboard. Then the monitor doesn't display right, so they had to trade monitors with someone else. Every. Single. Day this seemed to be an issue. Management was told and asked to remedy this, but it fell on deaf ears. Lazy and unnecessary. Feedback was not welcome. You make due with what you have in times of war, not in an office.

More recently, the pandemic hit and they restructured yet again, using it as an excuse to get rid of a few more people. You're nobody there. You did some work for them, they paid you, good bye. Trim the fat for self-preservation. Reclaim those salaries and add it to the profit margins to look more impressive to investors because they're certainly not impressed by all the business that has been lost. Hey, it's just business.

The power sits in the hands of senior management and what they say goes. Nepotism is alive and well, maybe a little too alive because a substantial percentage of people who work at BGIS know an executive or senior leader directly. What those nepotistic hires don't know is how to do the job they were hired for.

If you have more dignity than I did, look elsewhere for work because everyone there has one foot out the door already just waiting for that new opportunity. And that's not the joke, the company is.

Advice to Management

Run a zoo if you want to treat people like animals. If you need to take a course on emotional intelligence and empathy to learn how to interact with team members then you might not be suited for management. HR is a big offender of this and I hope they see the irony in it.

BGIS is a great place to work for employees who are passionate about what they do and are able to maintain work-life balance while managing relationships with their management team and peers.  

Projects are typically challenging, in a good way, providing exceptional experiences and opportunities to learn and contribute in areas such as technology, environment, team collaboration; risk mitigation and contingency development; contract administration; tender process; relationship building; health and safety; integration of extensive elements such as: interior and exterior construction, furniture; leases; communications infrastructure, cabling, voice and data systems, applications and networks; artwork; security; use of new applications and systems; and continuous improvement.

Work-life balance is the responsibility of each employee and front-line management do not take a negative response to added workload well.
 
The executive and senior leadership are approachable and invested in providing the best possible customer service while valuing all of their employees, who they believe make them successful. 

Unfortunately there is a gap between leadership and front line management, and between Human Resources and front line employees. 

Most project and operations team members are passionate about what they do and are committed to contributing to the company's, their team's and their client's success. This makes the work environment energized, fun and collaborative. 

Employees are encouraged to spend their full training budget each year and additional funds can be found as needed.

The performance review process has potential to be very useful but is easily manipulated by management who choose to do so.

Compensation and benefits are 7 out of 10, definitely good in this day and age.



I recently experienced a highly toxic work environment characterized by oppressive micromanagement. The management's overbearing control stifles creativity and hampers employee autonomy. The pervasive atmosphere of distrust makes it challenging to thrive professionally, contributing to a disheartening workplace culture. It's crucial for the leadership to foster a healthier and more empowering environment for the team's overall well-being and productivity. 

While the majority of the staff demonstrates exceptional skills and dedication, the workplace is marred by the presence of moles strategically placed to monitor and disrupt. This infiltration undermines the positive contributions of the talented team, creating an atmosphere of suspicion and hindered collaboration. Addressing this issue is essential to fully harness the potential of the capable staff and foster a more cohesive and trusting work environment.

 Transparency Lacking: Closed-Door Meetings a Rarity

In the current work environment, the concept of closed-door private meetings seems non-existent. The absence of transparent communication channels raises concerns about decision-making processes and employee involvement. Fostering a culture that encourages open dialogue and clear communication would contribute significantly to building trust within the organization.


It was fine in the early days, when there were a few client companies and we had personal connections to a lot of the callers, and we would chat directly with the technicians and explained issues instead of just a written report. 

As they took on more clients and became more bloated things got away. They slowly changed things so routine friendly calls were all done online, technicians were contacted digitally unless it was urgent or emergency, so all we got was an ever increasing (because they kept taking on new clients) flow of urgent calls, and calling already stressed technicians about yet another urgent call (because they made techs cover more buildings than they could reasonably expect a person to handle). 

So the techs started blaming us for the volume of urgent calls that weren't really urgent but you know "the customer is always right!" So if a customer said their leaking tap was urgent, we had no choice but to mark it as urgent, and that only angered the technicians who were already swamped. We used to get cards and friendly messages from techs and friendly customers around the holidays, but that dropped off quickly when the business model changed to "all urgent, all the time".

Excellent company to work for. The Plant is kept in near impeccable condition, regular maintenance is done on a weekly and monthly schedule and major maintenance is done quickly and efficiently by contractors. 

Chief is great, truly cares about the well being and satisfaction of the operating team. 

Upper management also sincerely cares about the operating team as well as the success of the operation, which is reflected in their work. Quality Assurance is very important and great lengths are taken to ensure jobs are completed properly and safely, rather than quickly.

Excellent morale, little to no conflict between personnel.

Flex benefit package with option to renew yearly is very nice. RRSP matching by company is a good amount. 

Company phone makes it easy to stay up to date with the companies latest news. Upper management and HR are very easy to approach and available. 

Excellent shift rotation, not too quick between day/night switches.

Worst company I have ever worked for. Management will tell you what you want to hear to make you stay but won't follow through. 

Zero discipline for poor workmanship or actions by other plumbers. The plumbing division has a very poor reputation with its clients. Property managers/contract managers who work for BGIS are under no obligation to use BGIS technicians so they use sub-contractors that they have more control over. As a result, you often have 25-30 hours a week. Only get paid for what you bill. Make sure you have "guaranteed 40-hours pay" built into your hiring contract. 

The electronic work order and receipt system is a disaster. So you will inevitably be required redo documentation for free. Are expected to perform truck maintenance, cleaning, team safety training and meetings for free. 

Zero truck policy. Downtown Toronto and you need a fill valve for a toilet. Drive 30 mins to the supplier than drive back. Charge 3 hours for the call. The subcontractor charges 1 hour because they have truck stock. Who do you think they use?

I recently started with this company and only lasted two days due to a very disappointing experience.

From the beginning, there was a serious lack of communication, organization, and training. On my first shift, I was left confused with little to no guidance, and when I reached out for help, I struggled to get any clear answers.

On another shift, I was locked out of the building with no way to get inside. I had to text management, unsure of who I was even supposed to contact, and although my message was read, I didn’t receive a response for over an hour. Later, I received a call and was expected to immediately answer, despite having been left waiting without support.

What was most concerning was the overall lack of coordination within the team. A QA representative was sent to me but had no knowledge of the building and did not provide the walkthrough I was told I would receive. It was clear that even staff were unsure of what was going on, including around onboarding a new cleaner.

Overall, the level of confusion, lack of communication, and absence of proper training was extremely unprofessional and disappointing. Unfortunately, this made it impossible for me to continue in the role.

During my tenure at BGIS, I had two roles. My first role was working with Hardware, changing passwords, Downloading information from computers and uploading the information to the Backup Server. My second role lasted a bit more than one year answering telephone, emails, and MS Teams messages to troubleshoot a whole host of issues.

Management, and colleagues taught me, and were very patient. We would all help each other. Working with most people was a pro. 

The hardest part of the job was the fact that all issues were urgent. Executives' issues came first in the hierarchy. Working with different systems, especially when there were transitions from one type of software to another, was also difficult. For example, during my tenure, we moved from PXE Booting computers in order to reimage them, to using a whole other process provided by Microsoft using information on USB Drives. 

The most enjoyable part of the job was interacting with people who respected you. Once you build a rapport with someone, it made the job easier.

Working at BGIS was one of the most frustrating jobs I’ve ever had. The management is completely disconnected from reality and has no idea what’s actually happening in the field. They pile on work, ignore any problems you bring up, and then act surprised when everything falls apart.

Communication is a joke—nobody answers calls, schedules change without warning, and you’re constantly expected to fix their mistakes. Training? Nonexistent. You’re basically thrown into the job and blamed for anything that goes wrong.

Equipment is old, broken, and unsafe, and the company refuses to replace anything. They expect you to get the job done with whatever junk happens to be lying around. Safety clearly isn’t a priority, unless it’s something they can put on a poster.

The pay is nowhere near worth the stress, the disrespect, or the chaos. Employees burn out fast, and management doesn’t care because they know someone else will walk in the door desperate enough to take the job.

Save yourself the stress—this place is a revolving door for a reason. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.

Unorganized. No real team leaders. Lack of process control. This sums up life at BGIS. The job work/life balance is okay. Salary is well below what is typically a project management position and benefits were cut this past year. Once you are in your position, likelihood of gaining promotion or career advancement is almost zero. Senior management and directors do not understand how to train individuals or teach them concepts since they are rarely sure themselves. The office environment is very poor. Employees asking valid questions are questioned back for asking the question in the first place. An example, during a boardroom meeting an employee asked their senior manager to shadow a stakeholder meeting as new concepts were introduced. The senior manager quickly turned down the request and suggested a less than pleasing alternative while shaking their head in front of all the employees. Not the type of culture one wants to be a part of. You will spend most of your time finding and filling out a document than actually doing project management work.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Project manager 5 salaries reported	$93,600 per year
Project coordinator 3 salaries reported	$57,333 per year
Associate project manager 3 salaries reported	$72,667 per year
Service coordinator 3 salaries reported	$50,000 per year
Senior project manager 5 salaries reported	$106,200 per year

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