utility line locator

driver

survey technician

area manager

locator

Gridhawk LLC

I started gridhawk in early January. You have to go through a three week class where if it’s more then an hour away from your home they will provide a hotel which was nice but the classes wasn’t you would be there at 8 am to 3 pm have an hour and 15 min lunch in between which is also nice but the fact that we would just sit in the class and joke around the whole time even the trainer. Talking about all kinds of off topic things inappropriate,other companies all kinds of off topic stuff just a waste of time really I felt like I didn’t learn a thing from the class told my trainer I didn’t and she said it would help to pay attention in class. Well it’s not that easy to watch the modules and listen and read them to understand them better when the half the class is talking about all kinds of stuff including the trainer. Then they have you take test even after saying your not ready and you have three times you would think after the second time of failing maybe they would sit down and talk with you go over it a little more instead they have you wake up at the butcrack of dawn to drive 2 hours to there main office to sit in a room and do the same thing everyone’s just talking then when you fail the third time it’s automatic termination. Also not to mention how the pay isn’t always right you have to watch that multiple from my class had issues with there pay being wrong and was never reimbursed the money for it and me as well I’ve told three different managers about my pay being messed up and my trainer said to tell the boss I did he said to tell the trainer he doesn’t work with the pay lol so now I’m on my 4th time trying to get my pay fixed… overall this company doesn’t seem like a great company to work for like I’ve seen a bunch of other people say go in get some training use that training and go somewhere else better because this place isn’t a career a place to get your feet into the door for another place….

A typical day at gridhawk is a 10hr shift 5/10s and now 10s on Saturday and volunteer Sunday. I have learned a lot from in field work being new to this industry it can be overwhelming/ challenging. Management- overall trash management team they give 0 thought about employees and will force you to work crazy hours and be on call upwards to a 26hr shift. All they seem to care about is profit and promoting their friends or friends of operations managers. I’m lucky my area manger is one of the better ones but some will manipulate employees or lead them on for raises and promotions just to get certain work from individuals. They are very authoritative and basically scare every one of the possibilities of being fired for small things. The work is not bad a lot of walking and driving but on nice days it can be fun and you meet some cool contractors/Homeowners. The hardest part of the job is dealing with management having no clue what they’re doing breaking labor laws just to see a profit. This is literally the worst management I’ve been employed under. At the end of the day if you want to be worked 60-80hrs a week and have all of the responsibility of poor managements ticket volume/Time management on your shoulders while being told your not doing enough then you would like this job. If you value yourself or personal time over a few overtime  hours and want an employer to value you and build you up this is definitely not for you. 

Good Job to get introduced into Gas & Electric. But pretty much everyone will lie about the job just to get you in, then you realize how un-prepared you will be for the field. Not to mention you will be walking in all weather marking paint that will disappear in 5 mins in bad weather then have to come back and do the same job over and over and over again. Doesn’t sound bad until you realize contractors call in the same 1500 ft tickets for a mile or two every couple of days. Since no one wants to stay employed here you’ll have to do it by yourself. Also the amount of time/ tickets you do will make you want to regret life after 6 months. Plus you only get 5 days of PTO and insurance is practically unaffordable. You must physically not be at home and be able to complete more than a normal amount of tickets to get recognized. If you have a family I would not recommend this job due to you being home only one day a week for majority of the year (unless you call off sick which a lot of employees do due to being burnt out). They push Quality over Quantity but will constantly complain about ticket completion. Just a lose/lose job 

Good company to gain experience other then that 
There’s nothing good about it. I have concerns regarding the management and leadership practices at GridHawk. There have been situations where I felt management and lead staff spoke negatively about me behind my back instead of addressing concerns directly and professionally. This creates an uncomfortable work environment and affects team trust and communication. In addition, I believe the training process has been inconsistent and insufficient for employees to perform their responsibilities confidently and safely. Proper guidance, communication, and support are important in any workplace, especially in a field that requires accuracy and teamwork. Instead of receiving clear instruction and constructive feedback, there have been moments where expectations were unclear, making it difficult to succeed and improve. I believe a more respectful and transparent approach from leadership, along with better structured training, would greatly improve morale, productivity, and overall employee performance within the company.

-ChatGPT 

With different positions, comes different responsibilities and advantages. Executive leadership works incredibly hard, in an incredibility underrated profession to provide for their locate technicians. Each demographic comes with different challenges and you will not always meet everyone's wants/needs. 

Benefits are competitive; a great 401k with high employer contribution (employee is 100% vested from first contribution), 3 tier medical benefit plan (cost efficient.. need do your research on which is most effective for your needs, not the cost), great dental and disability coverage, and buildable/flexible PTO. 
Do not forget garage privileges with a company funded vehicle (insurance, gas, maintenance/repairs), employer provided equipment, tools  and PPE. Fully paid training and qualification.

A job is what you make of it and the effort you put in! 

Thankful for a great company and co-workers who all work hard to make it happen in an industry that continues to evolve and is impacted by need/decisions of federal and state commissions as well as utility providers daily. 

The money is ok, the job can be stressful. It's production at the end of the day so numbers matter more than safety. Even if you get through year after year moving up, or around is nearly impossible unless you're buddies with someone that matters. Insurance is expensive, it's also terrible. Don't get hurt here, you'll be expected to work through it or risk not being paid. There's always an excuse as to why you never met expectations, even if you on paper meet or exceed expectations. The supervisors delegate their responsibilities on the techs, stay home and complain about why you didn't do more while make 2x as much as you. Everyone is miserable, while pretending they love the job with hopes of finally getting the carrot after a year of chasing it. The carrot being 2x the responsibilities for .60 cents. For a job that works for 811 and NIPSCO, and dangerous, serious as it is, the will always seem to be less that what you need to survive unless you work more than 10hours a day 6 days a week on top of the on call. Stepping stone company, take the class get the experience, and apply at a better locate company if this is the field you want. 

Spent 2 years for this companies start up in a new state. Had numerous problems with HR getting correct information in system both years. Management is do as I say not as I do. Would not recommend working here if you have dependants. Taking time off is sin to this company. Work, work, and numbers is the game. If you show up every day, out perform, never have anything wrong, they will reward you with more work. Pay is 3-7% increase once a year. Very hard to get the 5 or 7% option. Turn over is bad as well. 9 months straight 10 hour days, 6 days a week due to management not filling in roles to fill their footprint of work for county. If you make a mistake, fail an audit, or get a damage, the company will pretty much blacklist you. Mandatory 2-5 day unpaid suspension, and toxic environment with Management afterwards thinking you are less of a human for making a mistake.

Alot of responsibility for very little pay. Managed $19/hr starting, and after two years $21.67/HR and got terminated for awful attendance policy. Even with excused absences. Good Riddance. 

What is the best part of working at the company?
1.) Consistency in the volume of work.

- Thats it! -

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
- wondering on a daily basis if your area manager is going to get too bored and try to pick on any given employee to just try to stir the pot - ( this actually happened every other week for almost 3 years ) -

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
- I have worked at 3 different utility locating companys in the past 15 years and managed one of these 3. This by far is worst managed utlity locating company i have ever worked for / or heard about after research - The operations manager is a snake in the grass and cant be trusted. Thats a 110% fact that will be proven sooner than later. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
12 tickets per 8 hours shift.  at first... / then the management will single out the stronger performing locators and push the 12 tickets per 8 hours too 15 in an 8 hour day.

I’ve always liked being a Locater so going into grid hawk I still had that motive and drive. Shortly after getting hired I was placed under a very stressful supervisor. Then I got moved to a different supervisor who was amazing work was still a little stressful but not to the point of wanting to quit. But I sooner realized that if your not in the higher up groups aka in crowed there is no chance of getting moved up. I watch a girl with no experience in locating go from starting out as a Locater to a trainer in two months. And I watched another girl fresh from training to doing projects and 5 tickets a day while the rest of the team is working harder to pick up the slack. It’s sad to see that in a company with so much potential would allow that. But I also did see a supervisor show great leadership and an open communication with his crew. He was able to not only lead the team but also help in the files knocking tickets out right along with us. He knows what it takes to be a leader. 

My dinner table stays bare while those in conditioned offices stay full. The more you do the more they want but offer nothing back. You can have a perfect locating record but miss an extra day of work and your entire annual review is shot. They demand more than your title requires yet when asking fir more money you're told just work more hours.  I don't even know what my kids look like anymore because I can't afford to take off. This isn't just gridhawk, it's rhe entire industry. Everyone says how hard can it be but never consider 50+ tickets due within 48 hours, 10s of thousands of linear footage, and 7/10 of the contractors won't work with you on a schedule because they have their own. And God forbid something gets hit you didn't have time to get to, now your annual review has just reached 0% increase. Great way to get rich quick, bad investment for career. Unless of course you're in with the top guys with clean shoes. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Utility line locator 137 salaries reported	$20.57 per hour
Driver 21 salaries reported	$23.19 per hour
Survey technician 32 salaries reported	$21.00 per hour
Area manager 39 salaries reported	$60,256 per year
Locator 52 salaries reported	$23.85 per hour

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