Pros
I have never written a review like this before, but I am writing now because I believe what the two people below posted was dishonest and motivated by personal spite. I have worked at The Howard Group and called it home for the last 19 years. As the full charge bookkeeper, I have been in a position to observe the behavior of the company and its owner for many years. I have always been treated with the utmost respect and I know firsthand about the successes of our employees as well as the issues that can lead to terminations. I recognized right away, the two reviews below based upon the unusual circumstances they described in their posts. In both cases they were very short-term employees; one did not even make it through her 90-day probationary period and the other left after just under 4 months to go on a 30-day European vacation and was surprised that he would not be able to continue as an employee. Both of them had longstanding significant issues that they knew would prevent them from being able to do their job and in their first 90 days there were multiple weeks where they simply didn’t show up to the office for more than 20 - 30 hours. As far as their personal attacks made against the owner, they are simply not true. I saw how he treated them both and he was more than fair to them both. I have worked here for 19 year and I have seen him bend over backward to help employees both personally and professionally. For me personally he was wonderful. When my mother who was living with me began to have serious health problems, Kevin came to me with the option of working from home to better care for her. He understood how important this was to me and for over a year, he provided me with a wonderful gift of spending this time with my mother until she passed. Over the years, I have seen him help employees with personal loans, medical payments, debt forgiveness and even legal issues. We have over 300 full and part-time employees and I believe he has always tried to look after them with a great deal of care and understanding. We are an event planning company, a lot of seasonal work. Many employees come back year after year to work with us because of how they are treated here and the work they get to do. Some people might think that I am biased, after all 19 years is a long time, but this not just my opinion: The Howard Group and Kevin have received multiple awards over the years, and the one that speaks best about how employees are really treated is the Better Business Bureau’s: Small Business of the Year. This award is given out to only one Washington business each year, and honors their commitment to ethics, integrity and building trust. Kevin and The Howard Group have received this award not once, but twice. I believe they do things the right way here, I found that they treat people fairly, and they are honest to a fault. That doesn’t mean the company is the perfect place for everyone, and it doesn’t mean they always find and hire the perfect employee. But this is a great place to work for honest, dedicated, and fun-loving people who want to make a difference.
Cons
No break room for the employees