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      The Howard Group

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      The Howard Group reviews

      4.0

      70% would recommend to a friend

      (18 total reviews)

      Kevin Howard St John

      68% approve of CEO

      67% positive business outlook

      The Howard Group has an employee rating of 4.0 out of 5 stars, based on 18 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The The Howard Group employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Arts, Entertainment & Recreation industry (3.9 stars).

      Reviews by job title

      18 reviews
      5.0
      May 7, 2019

      A Great Place to spend my day

      Bookkeeper
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      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

      1.0
      Jan 23, 2019

      Avoid at ALL COSTS

      Anonymous employee
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      There is absolutely nothing positive to say about this company except maybe there are a few good people there, including the Ops Director, who I hope gets out of there as soon as humanly possible.

      Cons

      This was one of the most stressful and volatile environments I have ever worked in. The owner is a complete narcissist who refuses to actually let his employees do the jobs they were hired to do. He is a micromanager who belittles people during company meetings and assigns projects then spends all of his time telling you why all of your ideas suck. Employees are expected to spend well over their 40 hours a week here, are not compensated for extra time and are made to feel terrible if they have any other obligations besides work. If you want to feel like nothing you’ll ever do is good enough then go ahead and apply here, but if you have any self respect, please go elsewhere. The amazingly high employee turnover rate should be warning enough.... I wouldn’t wish this place on my worst enemy....

      avatar
      The Howard Group Response
      7y
      I’m truly sorry that you felt working with us was so negative during the initial 90 day introductory time that you were here. The entire management team strives to create an atmosphere that challenges and empowers everyone at the company to succeed and excel and we are happy that so many employees really love what they do. The 90-day introductory period is meant to help both employees and management determine whether working at The Howard Group is a good fit for everyone. In that period of time we all came to the realization that it would be best for you not to continue. You specifically included me (Ops Director) in your praise of the good people here at The Howard Group. I appreciate that greatly, but I have to say that I completely disagree with your negative characterization of the company and its owner. I have been happy here, as is most of our team, and I do not intend on departing any time soon. We have a number of people that have been with the company for 10 to 20 years and that speaks volumes. We do require that our full-time salaried employees work at least 40 hours per week in the office. I know fulfilling that requirement was a challenge for you and that you were very upset when I told you that working from home just was not an option for us. Clearly, you blame the owner for this decision but as your direct supervisor, that choice was mine based upon the impact to operations while you were not at the office. Again, I am glad that you met great people during your time here. It is especially important as a small company that our team form positive relationships and works well together. Our goal is to find the right fit for everyone. While your experience is your own, I do feel that I should address several points in your review: 1. We work with a variety of clients for many different types of events that can often change up until the last minute. We know that can be stressful for some, and this is not an industry the suits everyone. 2. Companywide meetings are only held once every two weeks and are used as occasions to recognize and applaud exceptional performance and to share and learn about things that did not work as well… embracing the continuous improvement mindset. While sometimes challenging, these gatherings are never meant to be belittling or humiliating in any way. 3. Every employee is provided time to review their employment agreement and ask questions, before signing or agreeing to anything. This agreement clearly lays out the in-office and event season time requirements. 4. The owner has been in this business for many years. His experience and expertise around the events industry in this area is unrivalled. As part of that, in many cases, he has seen what will and will not work and is a great source of guidance. I remember several instances where the owner supported operational, marketing, and branding ideas you presented. I wish you well with your new family and hope only the best for you in the future.
      1.0
      Oct 2, 2018

      Don't judge this book by it's cover.

      Anonymous employee
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      I met some great people working there.

      Cons

      The owner is the biggest con of them all. Kevin Howard St. John treats employees terribly, lowers moral, creates havoc when he get involved in projects, and no one working there likes what they do. Employees are constantly getting the shaft when it comes to their income because a portion of their monthly income is derived from a "compliance bonus". I had a serious health problem that needed treatment and when Kevin found out, I was given a letter requiring me to answer a series of incredibly personal medical questions and told that regardless of the answers, there was a "better than 50% chance of being terminated" despite being "a model employee."

      avatar
      The Howard Group Response
      7y
      I’m truly sorry that you feel your time with us was so stressful. Clearly you are angry, but I believe that anger is unwarranted and misdirected. I felt that Kevin was very supportive of your initiatives and the direction you wanted to go in your role. From the first day he gave you the reigns to guide your division and clearly embraced your desire to showcase our support of inclusion and diversity. When you chose to leave to pursue your dream job and extended travel, Kevin supported and congratulated you on being presented those opportunities. You hoped that the part time nature of your new pursuit would allow you the opportunity to return to working here at The Howard Group. When I told you that I would not be offering to rehire you after you left you were upset and expressed to me your disappointment. You specifically told me you hoped to come back to work at The Howard Group in a part time role. Given that you can imagine my surprise I reading your review. The “compliance bonus” that you refer to is only in place to ensure salaried employees put in an honest 40 hours of work for the position they are hired for, and, allows them great flexibility if they proactively plan with their supervisor to accommodate for circumstances that would legitimately prevent them from earning it. This was very clearly explained during the interview process and laid out in detail in the employment agreement. When you informed me of your health situation, it was quite a shock. I immediately had to look to the company’s future, especially the very real potential for significant near and long term operational impact. I consulted several HR and legal professionals on how best to proceed. The letter you reference was written by legal counsel with no input from Kevin in any way. The sole purpose of that letter was to better understand the severity of your health challenge and help me better understand the possibility/probability of impact to your/our clients as your position was the sole customer facing position for your division. We all wish you the very best in your new position.
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      ReviewsThe Howard Group reviews

      Glassdoor has 21 The Howard Group reviews submitted anonymously by The Howard Group employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if The Howard Group is right for you.