KeyW Reviews

3.9

77% would recommend to a friend

(129 total reviews)
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William J. Weber

82% approve of CEO

63% positive business outlook

KeyW has an employee rating of 3.9 out of 5 stars, based on 129 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The KeyW employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Aerospace and defence industry (3.6 stars).

Reviews by job title

129 reviews
1.0
29 Sept 2018
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

**All opinions are based off my experience and my specific contract as an intelligence analyst.** Benefits package is good. Ability to flex hours within a pay period. PTO is good. Provided me the opportunity to get my foot in the door for my field. Made some long-lasting friends. I enjoyed the work I did for the client.

Cons

**All opinions are based off my experience and my specific contract as an intelligence analyst.** Overall negative environment. Most of the other KeyW employees in leadership positions had a clique mentality. Usually anything management or leadership employees has to speak to you about was something you were doing wrong. When I discussed with management a couple issues I had, they turned it back onto me and did not take any accountability for issues the contract and/or corporate had. I don't know if I would say management had favorites. But, it was made very clear if management did not like you or if you made management personnel mad. Very unprofessional. Promotions are all about who you talk to. If your friends with or considered "cool" by the "in-crowd" you'll get the promotion. Otherwise, they will just keep passing you over. VERY LOW RETENTION. People are continuously leaving. In turn, this creates a large backlog of work which leads to management putting pressure on us to get everything done. UNDER PAID. Unless you make a leadership position (lowest starts around 65k for my contract), expect to start at 50k regardless of education or experience. Security personnel at the corporate office is very incompetent. I tried submitting a referral and they continuously dropped the ball to the point where I just told the referred individual to just drop it cause he/she would be better off. This is just what I can think of. I was a Sotera employee and was integrated into KeyW through the acquisition. I was hoping my experience would improve but it did not.

2.0
17 Jan 2018
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Keyw enabled me to work on a gov't contract that provided substantive long-term work.

Cons

Keyw has changed significantly in my 5+ years, I believe for financial reasons. This is the risk of working for a company that is working for the shareholders. Stock is currently very low. Retirement benefits have been cut back with no regard for tenure. Raises are minimal. Bonuses come once or twice a year, and effective 2% raise.

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KeyW Response
8y
Thanks for your review- the more we know, the more we can make sure we're focusing on what really matters to employees. I value the opinions of folks who have been "on the bus" for 5+ years, so I don't take this review lightly. But I'd like the chance to respond to recent changes in benefits implemented in the last quarter. First, our benefits are above the market across the board. By that, I mean that our 401(k) match, our health insurance premiums and Health Savings Account contribution outshine our competitors. Do we have the absolute best of all benefits available across the board? No. There are some small, specialized shops that can do more... but they can't offer the stability, job opportunity, and growth that KeyW can. In my experience in our industry, I've often come up against some of the smaller "mom & pop" shops that offer some really cool benefits. But I hope that the diversity of the type of work we're doing, combined with the footprint in many customer spaces, the stability and career progression that can offer, and the employee mobility team that manages that movement, all help put your mind at ease. I think we all want the very best benefits- I know how important it is to me that we offer benefits above the vast majority of our peers. And as we move forward, I'd like our company to spend time and attention each year making sure that we are aware of what other companies are doing. I love new ideas, new ways to make an impact for our employees. That said, it's responsible, and the right thing to do, to make sure our company is healthy and competitive. And when we as an executive team saw things in our past that were potentially unsustainable over the long term, we took steps to make sure we're in a good place to remain highly competitive in our industry. Which, of course, leads to winning business, providing stability for our workforce, etc. Again, thanks for being honest about how you feel. I hope that as we move forward as a company, we re-gain your trust. --Marion Ruzecki
2.0
11 Feb 2016

Be Wary

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Truly is a great company as far as salary and benefits. There are also good people working here. Upper management is more concerned with the budget than the people, but lack the intestinal fortitude to tell you to your face.

Cons

I am honestly at a loss to not simply sound like a complainer. Hired for a specific division that was disbanded two months after my hiring date (a fact that higher management was aware of. I was a fully qualified employee with a ton of experience and was force moved into a division that conducted business that was outside my area of expertise. On top of that, the gaining division lacked the funding for me. It was their way of moving me out of the company without recognizing the fact that they made a mistake in the first place. In fairness, I believe this behavior was isolated to my sector and doesn't necessarily reflect the conduct of the entire company.

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Glassdoor has 133 KeyW reviews submitted anonymously by KeyW employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if KeyW is right for you.