Nepotism, bullying, and complete ineptitude from many senior leaders.
First and foremost, there will likely be a boilerplate copy/paste response from BHG to this review. It will come across as defensive, but also mimic the language of nearly every other Glassdoor reply. I sincerely doubt it will address any of these concerns. It will be yet another lifeless, dull, and uninspired response on Glassdoor.
This isn't the fault of the reputation management team, they are great, but instead it’s the lack of care by the executives who will just bury this review by asking their employees to create more positive ones.
I mainly want to talk about bullying and nepotism - but first let’s talk about overall operational failure.
BHG’s CEO loves to say “This isn’t North Korea, if you don’t like it then leave!”
But what the CEO doesn’t realize is that people complain because THEY CARE. They simply want more clear direction and communication from leadership. Something that has been severely lacking for years.
I gave this company nearly two years of dedication, despite the consistent chaos and abrupt changes - but I ultimately found out that much like North Korea, you can do whatever you want at BHG if you’re related to the dictator. ;)
Ultimately, I was removed from my position due to nepotism. This isn’t a claim I make lightly, it’s a reality that even the company admitted to prior to my “role termination”.
But more on that soon, because that’s an utterly BIZARRE story that really depicts the absurdity of this company.
My department had over 8 structural changes in my first year, and a mass exodus of co-workers. The company launches products or WHOLE NEW COMPANIES- without figuring out tone, messaging, and sometimes - how they even work! While things look pretty (we have a top-notch design team), many employees are ignorant to everything the company even does, and some products and even entire companies go live without being fully functional.
While carelessly launching products and companies is one (major) issue, they also carelessly hire new team members. I have had countless co-workers get hired despite having NO idea what their role really entails or how it plays into the larger picture.
These people eventually quit or get terminated because the role they were hired for was never clearly defined. In some cases, these employees get moved to new positions that have nothing to do with their skillset or expertise. They eventually leave with their talents and time wasted.
While the company has seen rapid growth, the company has also seen tremendous turnover.
The company loves to say things like “these are the pains of being a startup” - BHG, you are a TWENTY YEAR OLD company with nearly a BILLION dollars in revenue - YOU ARE NOT A START UP.
You’re a grown up now, you’re an adult, act like it.
You have massive operational, structural and identity issues. You also had at least 5 offsites to fix these issues, but to my knowledge, nothing tangible ever came from them.
Marching orders to marketing are often defined by executives (many of which are related) - so the marketing department is forced to base deliverables not on integrated strategy, but the desires and needs of disconnected executives.
Shoutouts are given for working on weekends for a last minute mundane, unnecessary request from executives. This doesn’t deserve a shoutout, it deserves an apology.
While there are claims of “cult” like behavior on Glassdoor - I can see where it comes from.
On the twentieth anniversary celebration, the whole ceremony wasn’t about congratulating the company on a significant milestone - no - it was a 3 hour event in which EMPLOYEES were thanking the FOUNDERS. The whole time. The entire 3 hours! Sure, they deserve major props, but… the whole ceremony?
In over three hours there was not ONE thank you to the employees who helped build BHG over the last two decades. It was just the CEO and founders reminiscing on appropriate and inappropriate memories - and then an employee would come up and thank the founders for creating the company. It was bizarre, and not the only occurrence of this type of dynamic.
The PMA motto is also easy to twist. The term was intended for sales - “have a PMA, don’t give up, stay positive!” Though it can also be used inappropriately and has deviated from that meaning. When you’re earnestly complaining about severe issues and lack of structure that make your job difficult - you get chided for not having PMA. It’s a well meaning phrase that’s easy to weaponize.
Let’s talk nepotism though. Nepotism is why we’re gathered here today.
I lost my job due to nepotism. I cannot go into detail due to Glassdoor community guidelines.
However, the long and short, I suddenly had formal complaints filed against me, seemingly out of no where.
HR claimed multiple instances of events that simply never took place, nor did HR or anyone have any written or tangible evidence of these events. Not to mention, my history of excellent performance reviews at BHG.
Finally, backed into a corner, HR finally admitted they have no evidence, but “someone” simply wants me gone or doesn’t like me. Which, fine - but how dare you try and claim I had two years worth of performance issues? If you’re writing me up because someone important wants me gone, just say that.
I gave this company my all and had the results to show it, not to mention the track record of excellent performance reviews.
I dislike the term “gaslight” - but to try and tell me I had a history of issues and complaints at BHG when I didn’t? Wow. Especially given how easy it is to disprove that. That’s textbook gaslighting, intimidation and bullying. It was also just unnecessary. They could have opened up by telling me the truth.
These meetings with HR were also questionable. I was also told by HR I shouldn’t be speaking to certain executives directly, instead speak to them through my boss.
My whole position at BHG revolved around direct discussions with execs and the C-Suite - none of them have ever had issues with how I spoke to them.
Telling me I can’t speak to someone directly because of their rank isn’t the “coaching” you think it is - it’s intimidation, and just foolish.
I told HR that these lies are obviously “someone” trying to get rid of me. HR ominously said, “..maybe you’re right, things change here all the time.”
A week later, I was terminated.
Despite an excellent performance review just weeks prior, and having my first direct report hired on under me - I was let go.
They say it was a role termination, however, a job opening with a slightly different name was already posted on their careers site.
This was all purely nepotism, to promote someone related to C-suite staff.
You forced me out of a role. And why? Because you were bored? Entitled? Because you were looking to fill some void?
I am not the only person to be negatively impacted by nepotism at this company. You can see it in other reviews. It’s just shocking how someone with a history of excellent performance could be suddenly ousted.
To my co-workers still at BHG who are reading this - get out.
If a company has “growing pains” consistently for multiple years, when does it cease to become growing pains? And when do you realize it’s poor leadership, sloppy execution, and overall ineptitude?
The company’s lack of vision, structure, and self identity leads to a shameful waste of such great talent.
If you’re waiting for it to get better - it won’t.
