A Pit Stop On Your Career Path - Senior Program Manager Franklin Energy Employee Review

2.0
Mar 19, 2022
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

You need a job, they're desperate for people.

Cons

Dear Prospective Franklin Employee, I want you to know what you are getting into so you can make an educated choice. First off, if you think you're "giving back" or "being part of the solution" or "saving the planet", just stop right now. You won't be doing any of those things at Franklin. What you'll be doing is keeping a roof over your head and food on the table while you look for a better company. Franklin Energy is private-equity owned. They exist to siphon rate-payer dollars out of their home service territories to line the pockets of wealthy investors. The investors want their money, end of story. Your checks will clear the bank, but if you want raises and promotions you'll be leaving the company like a large portion of the staff has already done. You'll also find your benefits squeezed tighter and tighter because the PE people want their money. Apply here if you've got to get cash flow happening ASAP, they're desperate for people. But don't expect to stay here for long, get in, stabilize your finances, and get out to a better company that doesn't treat their employees like cash machines and expect to balance the books by squeezing the staff harder. Your team will be perpetually understaffed and under resourced (oh, I'm sorry Jim, OVER SCOPED). Do what you need to do to take care of your family and then move on. This is no long term home for good people who do excellent work. PE doesn't want your good work, they want their money.

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Franklin Energy Response
3y
Yes, Franklin Energy, like 15,000 other US companies, is owned by a private-equity group. US private-equity-owned companies employ more than 8 million people and pay more than $600 billion in wages and benefits annually. Franklin Energy has been owned for many years by private equity. During that time, with that private investment, Franklin Energy has had a profound and measurable impact with the more than 100 programs it delivers for our US utility partners. In 2020 alone, our experts served more than 3.6 million customers. Over the lifetime of the water- and energy-efficient measures we installed, those customers will save 20 billion kWh. Also, on behalf of our utility clients, we distributed more than $32M in incentives to low-income customers. Across the US, our programs created local economic activity worth more than $1 billion, fostering some 4,800 jobs outside of Franklin Energy. All told, our work resulted in the reduction of 1,600,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide. Change doesn’t happen overnight. That’s why we’ve been working nonstop for almost 30 years to lower energy costs, reduce carbon and waste, and grow stronger communities and local economies. We are not perfect, but we believe in a brighter future where cities are electrified, energy and water are affordable for everyone, and career opportunities abound. Led by a team of industry veterans, our experts are passionate, ambitious, and dedicated to driving real change. We’re also committed to growing the energy industry as a whole, which is why we prioritize the creation of sustainable career opportunities and workforce development, especially in traditionally underserved communities. Our offices are located across the nation, keeping us in touch with community-level concerns, challenges, and opportunities, helping us grow our impact. And we have fun doing it. Please join us. We are making a real difference.

Explore other reviews about Franklin Energy

5.0
Nov 6, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Growing company Helping the environment Helping clients, customers, contractors, and team members Flexible hours Remote work for many roles Teams where everyone feels a part Creative and extremely intelligent thought leaders and industry experts Jobs for every personality and skillset

Cons

Contracted work so things change from time to time

1.0
May 15, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

* Some talented people that are seriously trying * You can say you work in sustainability

Cons

This organization is weighed down by a culture that prioritizes internal bureaucracy over actually supporting the people who drive revenue. Support functions like accounting, payroll, IT, legal, and recruiting consistently create friction instead of removing it. Processes feel designed for the convenience of those teams rather than the business as a whole. Simple things like expense reporting, travel booking, payroll, or accessing systems are unnecessarily complicated and slow. Training is another weak point. The bar for what qualifies as “training” or “subject matter expertise” is surprisingly low. Sessions often lack depth, practical relevance, and real industry credibility. It’s hard to take them seriously or apply much of what’s taught. There are also too many non-value-added processes: 1) You need to submit tickets just to access basic systems—even when no approval is required. 2) Benefits are overly complex and difficult to understand, with too many niche programs instead of focusing on strong core offerings. 3) The recruiting process is so convoluted it requires long training sessions just to navigate it. On top of that, the company talks a lot about values but seems to miss the basics - consistent, high-quality execution. There’s far too much emphasis on “big moments” and not enough focus on just doing everyday work well. Transparency is poor. When you ask why something is done a certain way, the default answer is “it’s policy” or “it’s how we’ve always done it.” That kind of thinking kills trust and makes it clear that improvement isn’t a priority. There is a lot of feedback forms and listening sessions but nothing changes. Also no communication on what is done with the feedback The biggest issue, though, is HR leadership. The Chief People Officer spent their entire career as a recruiter—and now they’re responsible for the entire HR function. What a joke. It shows in how disconnected HR policies and processes are from actual operational needs.

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