Like an abusive relationship - Manager Altar'd State Employee Review

Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts. We recognize that our organization has very high performance standards, and we understand that not everyone will thrive in such an environment. We live by the Inverted Pyramid, with our guests at the top of the Pyramid. We must take great care of the guest for our associates to thrive and to enable us to give back to those in need. In order to continue creating rewarding opportunities for thousands of associates, we have to be great at what we do – and always remain committed to continuous and constant improvement. This calls for a culture of direct and honest feedback, and we know that some team members may struggle to accept this feedback. To help set a good example for being receptive to feedback, we do surveys several times a year that are open to all associates. They are anonymous to help everyone feel comfortable sharing their thoughts. We have found the vast majority of our associates embrace our high-performance expectations and our surveys reflect a highly engaged team of dedicated associates. Our most recent survey indicated that 89% of our associates feel loved and appreciated, 86% agree that someone at work encourages their development, and 89% agree that their direct supervisor, or someone else at work, cares about them as a person. On our most recent Great Place to Work® survey in July, 94% of associates at Altar'd State say it is a great place to work compared to 59% of employees at a typical U.S.-based company. When our team offers up suggestions for improvement, we always address it with a new solution or, at the very least, an explanation of why we cannot do so at this time. Feedback from our associates has led to dozens of positive changes and programs over the past few years, including increased compensation for all store associates, increased Paid Holiday and other improved Paid Time Off benefits, 14 week Paid Maternity Leave, company contributions to HSA accounts, and free access to mental health professionals. We will continue to look for ways to improve the experience we provide to our team, just as we continue to provide all associates with feedback about their contributions and overall performance. We are incredibly grateful for the thousands of associates that work hard every day to make this environment possible, and are committed to delivering on the high expectations we have for serving our guests. We sincerely hope that you’ve found somewhere to work that you love, and that you’ll cheer on your friends that are still a part of our team as they continue to do the work necessary to build something truly special for themselves, their guests and their fellow associates.