Equity Residential reviews

4.2

79% would recommend to a friend

(1,118 total reviews)
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Mark Parrell

87% approve of CEO

74% positive business outlook

Equity Residential has an employee rating of 4.2 out of 5 stars, based on 1,118 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an excellent working experience there. The Equity Residential employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Real Estate industry (3.6 stars).

Reviews by job title

1K reviews
3.0
May 22, 2019
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The company offers competitive salaries for new employees, ample PTO/sick time, a standard employee discount of 20% and, most importantly, they are owned and managed by the same entity. This creates a consistent level of customer service for the residents and prospects. Equity's changing culture places value on resident satisfaction and work/life balance for its employees. Most of the Regional and Community Managers truly care for their charges. The message delivered by 2 North is positive and employee-centric.

Cons

Equity has not combined their PTO to include both vacation and sick time, so employees who are not ill often lose these hours when they leave the company. The bottom line-driven operation style of the company creates a "no money to do that" mentality for its employees and residents. Smaller communities are given an inordinately small budget for resident functions and prospect refreshments. Managers often have to get creative and solicit vendors to fund these events, which can come off as cheap and uninspired. Capital projects are often scaled back so far from their original concept that site staff members are confused and unprepared on how to share the message with prospective and current residents. Human Resources team members are not in place to protect team members, but rather to protect the company. Exit interviews are held sporadically without a real intention to resolve issues. Instead, they are mere formalities and an opportunity to scout for detractors. Renewal conversations can be difficult with existing residents, because Equity often asks for higher increases than market conditions would seem to allow. Property Manager's opinions are footnotes to the greater conversation on pricing and it is rare that your thoughts create change. Managers are responsible for a budget that they do not help to create. You are only allowed to make suggestions or requests.

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Equity Residential Response
7y
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback and advice. We are glad to hear that there are some positive impressions you will take with you as you move on to your next endeavors, but are disappointed to hear of the concerns and challenges you raised. Please know that we take feedback like yours seriously, and your comments have been shared and discussed with our leadership and HR. We thank you for the years you spent with Equity, and we wish you the best.
1.0
Oct 1, 2017

Micro Management

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The company parties are wonderful.

Cons

Depending on your department you will be micro managed by your manager, expected to work long hours and you have no creative license in the work that you do.

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Equity Residential Response
8y
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience, although we regret it was not a more positive one. We recognize that many managers have different styles and that all leaders have ongoing areas of opportunity. We will continue to do our best to offer more support and training to our managers to help them effectively lead and delegate without micro-managing, and to promote and support a work-life balance for themselves and their teams. We wish you the best.
1.0
Apr 5, 2017
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

For the big names in the industry, EQR pays well to those who come with experience. They are also very transparent with their pay and how much room you have to grow your salary. Good resume and salary booster if you don't care about sticking around for too long.

Cons

The culture of this company is poor. Morale of employees is very low as many feel spread too thin, burnt out, and not cared about. At times it was almost toxic how negative everybody was. The rate of employee turnover is insane! I saw other reviews describing the company as the "walmart of property management". Couldn't agree more - this company is cheap, cheap, cheap. They will cut everything they possibly can from the budget and scrutinize every dollar spent without any concern to the impact on the revenue these poor decisions can have. If you are lucky, capital projects will eventually get approved but they will drag their feet forever to get them done. I couldn't believe some of the safety hazards at my property! Support from facilities leadership is a joke. The corporate culture seemed more like some words on a poster than anything anyone actually tried to live by. Messages from Senior Leadership came across as robotic and ingenuine. They try to implement a one size fits all approach to their management style and on-site employees are not empowered to make any decisions on their own, micromanagement is an understatement.

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Equity Residential Response
9y
While we disagree with your characterization of our overall culture, management style, and business practices, we are very sorry to hear that you feel this way and that you regret your time with us. We are committed to seeking ongoing feedback from all of our employees in an effort to improve areas of opportunity and to maintain strong engagement and retention; our senior leaders are currently in the process of doing just that by holding Town Hall meetings in each market, designed to empower our employees to challenge authority, ask questions, and be heard. We hope that if others have the same concerns, they will come forward and share examples to help us improve. We wish you all the best.
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Glassdoor has 1,163 Equity Residential reviews submitted anonymously by Equity Residential employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Equity Residential is right for you.