1. The positive reviews all have the same tired, regurgitated language: “It’s not for everyone!” “Work hard, play hard,” etc. They are all so scripted – so just take them with a grain of salt. And while employees aren’t forced or incentivized to write positive reviews, someone from Communications does reach out individually requesting that you leave a review AND send them a follow up email once posted – so there is certainly pressure and a removal of anonymity. I also recommend looking at Google reviews of individual properties they own and doing some digging outside of Glassdoor, as well as looking at Glassdoor reviews from years ago - most of them say the same things that negative reviews are saying now, showing how deep these issues really run.
2. The turnover rate is extremely high. They would hire roughly 40-50 people every 45 days, which is 320-400 people/year (the company has less than 500 employees total). This is not just people quitting but getting fired. I saw too many people to count get fired within their first 30-90 days for “not being a culture fit” or “not buying in,” when in reality a lot depends on whether or not your trainer/manager likes you. I also frequently saw top-performers get recognized at awards ceremonies or in email shoutouts be terminated just months later.
3. I became very concerned that the company wasn't doing as well financially as they said they were. Partners aren't getting their payouts, the 3rd CFO in 4 years quit after just a few months (but don't worry! They still have their old CFO of 20+ years who has been trying to retire for like 5yrs...), they started cutting cellphone allowances and sign on bonuses, and they drastically decreased the compensation ranges on job postings. They bit off more than they can chew when they bought a lot of properties for super cheap in 2020-2022.
4. The discriminatory practices in the hiring process were shameful. The comments made both verbally and in writing by hiring managers and department heads were incredibly discriminatory, especially based on age or familial status. Recruiters were taught to do social media checks to make sure people had the physical “look” they wanted, disqualifying candidates based on age ("runway"), and so much more – before even talking to the applicant.
5. No work-life-balance. Seriously. If you’re working at HQ, you’ll be told it’s 45hrs/week, but it’s really 50+hrs/week including some Saturdays. And in the field, salaried managers are working 60+hrs, and some hourly associates are working unpaid overtime whether upper leadership admits it or not.
6. You will be micromanaged like crazy, and blamed and essentially punished with more hours for not hitting (astronomically high) goals instead of your leaders taking a strategic look at what is actually causing the roadblocks and advocating for their team. You'll have to come up with "consequences" for not hitting these weekly/monthly goals, which is often in the form of working more hours during the week or coming in on Saturdays. "Rewards and Consequences" are a huge part of their culture, and those consequences often cross a lot of lines professionally. Salaried associates are treated like they're hourly, while your department head/manager watches the amount of time that you're in your office like a hawk.
7. As far as growth goes, you'll learn the basics and some technical skills initially, you might even see some title changes. Then, you'll continue to just grind and have your goals set higher and higher without ever really learning anything new. Their idea of growth is usually just piling on more work and longer hours. I have learned SO much more in the short time in my new role, we are encouraged to engage in outside sources (webinars, technical training, conferences, etc.) to truly develop professionally.
8. No parental leave, just extremely sub-par short term disability. So, a small percentage of your base pay when their compensation structure is heavily based on bonuses and no support for returning new parents.
9. The fact that there is a "Men's Trip" every year like it's the 1980's? Sure, there's a women's trip - but the Founder/Managing Partner and the CEO and executive/c-suite leadership aren't there... because they're all men... This inherently affords men in the company more exposure and opportunities than women, and every year the women's trip feels obligatory and is not given nearly as much hype. Despite a large percentage of their workforce being made up of women, it really is a boy's club in a lot of ways.
10. "The 'Right' People Count" should about sum it up, this is a direct quote from a senior leader in one of the company broadcasts.
