Pros
The only positive thing out of my time at Home Encounter was my peers. My coworkers were fun to be around and they made my work day ten times better. I legitimately enjoyed the connections I made while at Home Encounter. The holidays are fun since there are many gatherings.
Cons
1. Poor management. The management structure is very poor. My supervisor had almost zero authority to do anything, so we had to jump up to the division director for pretty much everything. The unclear management structure impeded communication and did not benefit the organization. The owners, while seemingly nice enough, change the company's direction frequently and often leave the employees in the dark. The former director of property management was amazing; however, upper management eliminated her unfairly (she wasn't the yes man they wanted) and, as a result, employee morale, organization, communication, and overall job satisfaction dropped immediately. 2. No HR. The director of accounting doubles as the company's HR since HR is contracted out to a third-party company (really it's just a payroll company). The third-party company, while claiming to be HR, always directs you back to Home Encounter itself when there's any type of question. Since Home Encounter has no employee manual or any written guidelines whatsoever, questions go unanswered and problems are not addressed. For example, the online HR portal said we had MLK off, but the Friday before MLK Day at 3:00 pm, we got an email saying we were working the next Monday. When we got our paychecks for that period, the stub said we had been given that Monday off. (Is that even legal? They wouldn't know—remember, there isn't HR.) That is a simple example, but HR issues and confusion resulting from it is common. There is no one trained in-house to handle any type of employee issues. I hope there are never any sexual harassment cases because Home Encounter would have no resources to handle it. 3. High turnover. I worked for Home Encounter for several years. In Home Encounter years, I was a senior citizen (Home Encounter years are a lot like dog years). Most employees end up finding better work with higher pay. Lay offs are very common as well. They often eliminate positions, and then a month later are hiring for that same position again (what happened to myself). There is zero job stability. One coworker had been at Home Encounter for two years and has been laid off three times during that time, but each time was able to find a different job within the company. Another coworker was laid off twice in the same month. Home Encounter has a tendency to lay off their best employees and doesn't seem to care that they are not cultivating talent. 4. Low pay. Most jobs cap out at $35,000, if you're lucky. A property manger can make $40,000 to $45,000 if he or she gets a real estate license; however, upper management eliminated all leasing commissions and bonuses and doesn't pay for the training or yearly license fees, so most agents end up suspending their licenses. After speaking discretely with other peers, women are often vastly underpaid compared to their male counterparts. 5. No room for growth. Moving up is almost impossible. There are hardly any management or supervisor positions, so don't expect to get any type of promotion, even after putting in a couple years of service. After my several years of service, I was left with the reality that to move up in my career, I would have to leave. Plus, with lay offs, chances of being laid off are higher than ever getting promoted. Oh, and there's no quarterly reviews. Any well organized company gives their employees a review to see how the employee can improve and where the employee wants to go, but not here. 6. Awkward political comments. The owners are very specific on their political views, which is totally okay. However, making weird comments in company meetings is entirely inappropriate. Comments included jabs at the Obama administration and several "lock her up" jokes during the election. One owner thought these jokes were funny, but not everyone has the same political views and I could sense the room was not comfortable. Not respecting another's opinion in a company meeting—for that matter, bringing politics into company meetings in the first place—only reflects the unhealthy culture Home Encounter cultivates. I am a loyal person and legitimately want to see the people here succeed. And I'm not trying to be overly negative. I, however, want prospective employees to know that working at Home Encounter really is a dead-end career choice and that there are major organizational flaws that have not, and probably will not, be addressed.