Toxic work culture with ineffective and inconsistent implementation of core values from leaders - Anonymous employee HomeFirst Employee Review

2.0
30 May 2019
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

One star for effort. Another star for giving me the opportunity to develop some of my professional skills. Two stars total to show some appreciation for what I got from HomeFirst. Homefirst is a hit or miss. As an ex-employer, my experience was inconsistent, vacillating between positive and negative and sometimes in limbo, but an utter rollercoaster. If you're lucky, you might get placed with a great team that will care and support one another.

Cons

The list of items that takes a toll and drove me to voluntarily resigned: - The agency, on paper/social media/etc, represents a great mission, but is run by disconnected upper management - No consistent core values to help create a positive work environment - each manager/supervisor are just doing their own thing (most of whom lack managerial and leadership skills). Again, a hit or miss because a couple are wonderful among the mass of horrible leaders. - Top management and top leaders (COO, CEO) - many direct workers don't even know what they do because the only time they see or hear from them are: for PR (public relations opportunities at the work sites), all staff meetings/events, or when various teams are not meeting quota. - Leadership and management is run by a punitive culture. They might not admit this, but many direct workers AND clients have consistently expressed this behind closed doors. Due to the very nature of it, many are afraid to share this information openly. Punitive = You are more likely to be written up, punished or verbally warned than given the opportunity to grow/learn/etc. So instead of learning to become more effective, you work in fear by walking on eggshells to meet supervisor/management expectations rather than improving on the quality of care for clients. - Not a positive or strength-based agency (as the leaders sometimes will proclaim). Clients, like the employers, are motivated through scare-tactics. It trickles down and seeps into how people are treated. I have worked here over long enough and gathered a good sample size of client and staff complaints. - Lack of leadership = lack of clear direction, expectations, guidance = more opportunities to screw up and get written up. This cycle needs to stop and leaders NEED to take more accountability. - High voluntary turnover rate = during my time there, I have seen a large amount of staff leaving. A recycling process of staff, where new staff comes in, experiences burnout (not so much from the work itself, but from the ineffective leaderships and subtle forms of employee abuse) - Agency does do a good job in retaining staff - Opportunities for growth is minimal and honestly very weak. You are provided some good trainings, but there are no real, lasting encouragement of staff development, education support, or educational stipend. The best way to climb the ladder here is to play favoritism and get close to the top dogs of the agency. - Many clients share the same negative experience that staff experience from top management - again that trickle down effect. - Lack of appreciation for staff and their work. At most, we get superficial, generic praise that comes off as fake, forced, and meaningless. Punishment often override any hint of praise. - Some staff will use sick time/PTO to take a break from work culture RATHER than just purely enjoying vacation

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HomeFirst Response
7y
The work we do at HomeFirst is challenging. Not everyone is suited to this critical work which is something not everyone understands. Getting along with others – staff and clients – is essential to any positive work environment. Good managers do support staff well being and that often allows one to plan PTO and/or vacations with ease. New managers often need a bit of training and constructive feedback to fully embody these traits. The work HomeFirst staff performs is stressful by its very nature which is why we train staff in de-escalation procedures, CPR and other professional development. Our goal is to maintain safety for clients and employees alike. Our workplace culture is dynamic and is, in fact, one of the most important aspects of HomeFirst. We are constantly striving to improve which is why we appreciate those who take the time to provide feedback as you have. The two All-Hands Meetings hosted by the Executive Management Team are intended to provide a high-level state-of-the-state update, to recognize excellence in results and to recognize outstanding performance. Highlighting accomplishments and providing a forum for individual “shout-outs” are the heart of these sessions. If you attended the last All-Hands meeting, we spent the majority of our time discussing our culture and you're definitely aware of how important our culture is to us. Many of our employees move on to other departments and we are proud of our record of promoting from within. This is a reflection of the value leadership places on both performance and morale. Providing clear direction, guidance, transparency and honesty are goals we appreciate; and if any staff experience anything else, I invite you to provide specific examples that enable leadership to address directly. Employee “write-ups” are ultimately intended to improve individual and team performance as well as the overall work environment. All disciplinary actions must be reviewed by me and appropriate management. In fact, not all proposed write-ups are approved. If a disciplinary action does not conform to helping improve the big picture, it is not taken. HomeFirst is committed to improving the lives of our clientele as well as those who work in this great field. The work you do is critical to the community. Thank you for your concerns and I hope I’ve been able to shed some light on the issues. Carlos Salazar, Human Resources Director, HomeFirst

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Pros

-Benefits -Pay -Management -Company looks out for all their employees -A variety of paid trainings to make you feel confident at your job -Room to grow -Positive work environment -Support

Cons

-Equipment in the call center is outdated and shared between employees.

2.0
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Recommend
CEO approval
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Pros

-Meaningful work assisting unhoused unsheltered individuals and families experiencing homelessness obtain housing and/or shelter -workday variety— no day is the same as the last working with folks on the streets -entry level field and office experience with at-need populations

Cons

-values of the company are just words that can change with absolutely no change to company policy or procedure for clients or employees -an environment tolerant of discrimination, harassment, and unprofessionalism (eg. vulgarity, innuendos, and racist slurs) -tolerance for petty theft (FRAUD) and bullying -no raises, just 3-4% cost of living (COLA) adjustments that everyone at the company gets including the C-suite employees who are already making hundreds of thousands a year plus benefits. -high turnaround for frontline workers due to a high stress job -no living wage for frontline workers -very few safety guardrails and guidelines actually in place due to lack of accountability and oversight

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