Katecho Reviews

I will have to split this into sections, as the con list far, far exceeds the pros. We will split into business cons, and culture cons. To solidify the below comments, ask any recruiter in Des Moines for their candid opinion of Katecho. The company's reputation is widely known in the area and is poor. Business: As mentioned prior, they take on nearly all contracts that come their way. If there is a profit to be had, they will take the project--whether they have any capability and/or capacity to do so. The company is family owned, and no clear Mission or Purpose exists except to generate as much revenue as possible. If you want your work to have meaning, this is not the place for you. Helping the patient appears to be one of the last concerns of this company. Senior management makes all decisions within the organization, which leads to extreme micromanagement of projects and people and leads to subpar decisions. Senior leadership appears to distrust the expertise of employees and there exists a clear schism between leadership and employee. Due to this, Katecho's turnover rate is EXTREMELY high (this includes both hourly workers and salaried professionals). This includes both employees who leave voluntarily because of the poor treatment, and those who are laid off. Culture: The culture at Katecho is one of the worst I've ever seen. As mentioned in business section, the treatment of hourly and salaried employees is far, far below the norm for a company this size and larger. There is a mandatory starting time and ending time--for salaried employees--and being minutes late/leaving minutes early for any reason is grounds to put you on the "naughty" list. This is controlled by forcing employees to punch their time. Time off benefits are poorly managed and minimal--PTO must be taken in 1 hour chunks. Do not expect to be able to go to appointments or make children's activities during open hours, because it is mandatory that employees be on site for the entire day. Thus, the company is extremely inflexible with scheduling. There are no differing schedules or arrangements. The mircromanagement of employees by senior leadership is appalling, and most employees learn that suggestions for improvement or offering ideas for areas of opportunity are quickly shunned and also puts you on the "naughty list". There are no growth opportunities for employees at Katecho. They simply do not offer any sort of development program, mentoring, or coaching. They tend to hire external, and the high turnover rate is evidence that the only way to grow is to leave the corporation. In essence, it has all the cons of working contract/hourly and salary (no paid overtime), with neither one's benefits. (applies only to salaried employees). Leadership/Structure: This is a subsection of Culture. The organizational hierarchy of Katecho is amazing, because it is absolutely vertical. The President runs the corporation as a general would an army, except that he commands unquestioning obedience. He refers to himself as a "benevolent dictator". If you question the words/judgement of your superior, prepare to be blasted for being a problem employee and a trouble-maker, and this reputation will follow you your entire career at Katecho. Perception is absolutely essential at this corporation, and for this reason it is more similar to a high school than a work place. If you can smooth talk and charm the senior management, you will do well here--whether or not you do good work. If not, then this, again, is absolutely not the place for you. Perception and Presence are far more coveted than Performance.