Consideration for other roles is solely based on merit while at RC and not tenure, experience, education - do not look for roles within this company if you have experience and education as it will be tough to be compensated/promoted as you should be. Be mindful that Gilbert has positioned RC as a place where the unskilled worker can find a good paying job without an education or experience. While this is great for the city, it may not be a great fit for you.
Feedback from associates (non-leadership level) is highly respected and acted upon - there is a strong focus on the associates' experience and to appease them without regard to validity of the feedback provided. In a leadership role, you will be expected to focus more on your ability to keep associates happy than you will be of producing tangible results that positively impact business performance and profits
Lax atmosphere - highly marketable to 20-30 year olds because of snacks, slushies; almost like being in a dorm with your best friends from college. This also allows for vague company policies surrounding conduct, unclear job descriptions/expectations, procedures for termination/employee discipline (a lot of "gray area")
Bonus structure - as with all commissioned roles, payout structure will ebb and flow with the business. All positions, associates to middle management, are hourly roles with commission. My yearly income was 60% commission and 40% hourly with overtime. Being paid this way makes financial planning very difficult as there are two months out of the year where there is not a commission check. Senior leadership, who is not commissioned, does not know why pay is set up this way either.
Long hours - Leaders will work overtime, but overtime will not always be offered to associates. Overtime is often spent on peripheral duties such as creating presentations for monthly meetings/training, time at internal leadership development conferences, developing and documenting coaching sessions with associates, etc. The majority of your day will be spent babysitting associate behaviors and addressing concerns such as bathroom breaks, attendance, quality improvement, and playing jester for your associates to take their mind off of the tough job that they have.
Strong focus on development and promotion from within - Development into, and within, a leadership role is intended to mold you into the leader they desire you to be. Promotion into leadership roles is purposefully internal and mainly used to hold on to good talent with the "promise" of growth. Whether intentional or unintentional, promoting from within also preys on the naivety of young professionals who might not be able to recognize possible red flags within a company's structure, policies, procedures thus allowing the company to create the "culture fits" they need.
