CastleBranch Reviews

Pros

- Casual/appropriate dress code was a massive plus
- Terrific vibe and friendly atmosphere made it a very progressive and fun environment to work in.
- Starting pay was very nice, especially if you are used to minimum wage.
- Great insurance program which helped me out big time financially with medical matters.
- Bevy of activities to look forward to (TEDTalks, personal gym, meditation classes)
- HR was extremely helpful with personal issues that affected me as an employee.
- Outreach with the city and local events was very impressive.
- CEO seemed like a decent guy; very personal and made good conversation with me on several occasions.

Advice to Management

Every business has it's issues, but just take care when handling them. The company has built a great foundation, and just needs to fix the cracks. Overall, this is a great place to be if you don't have a super fancy education and/or want to live by the beach.

Pros

The professional development support, training and education is amazing, casual dress code, excellent leadership, amazing facility with a recreation area, garden, on site gym, food trucks. Extremely friendly atmosphere overall

Advice to Management

Become more consistent with attitude in regards to coaching. I’ve had an excellent experience with my most recent supervisor but prior to this one I was under another supervisor who was rude and verbally abusive. Also stop changing the names of the departments so frequently- it confuses the staff and the clients

Pros

I love working at CastleBranch for a few reasons, my coworkers are all so helpful, and friendly, and the management is incredibly flexible and supportive. They work tirelessly to ensure that each employee is able to maintain work-life balance, and set an example of that themselves.

Advice to Management

My only advice would be to give better feedback, more regularly. Other than that, I love this company.

Pros

I'm trying to think of something, ummm maybe the dress code policy. But some people take that waaaaaaaaaaay too far.

Advice to Management

chick fil a starts at 14.00 an hour
Aldi's starts at 12.00 an hour (if that puts things into perspective)

Pros

There were some pros and cons just as with any company. This company did offer opportunity for growth and paid better than most companies in the area. There were free bagels and coffee. There is an on-site workout area, healthy food choices, a large cafeteria, various food truck visits. There is an on-site game room to decompress.

Advice to Management

People like to be informed. Open the communication from one department to the next. Value all of your employees equally because just because you hired them doesn't mean they have to stay. It cost more to recruit and hire new staff than to develop and value the one already doing the job.

Pros

A few perks and easy to get a job for recent high school grads and someone fresh out of college as entry level

Advice to Management

Better options for upward mobility and better pay rates

Pros

Casual dress, flexible schedules, food trucks

Advice to Management

HR should ALWAYS remain neutral especially when they have encountered the same situation multiple times in the past with the same employee. Personal friendships should not come first. Keep in mind you are hurting people who trust you.

Pros

Casual dress code
Good for introverts

Advice to Management

No advice. You don't listen so there's no point. Completely oblivious. Privileged, stuck up, spoiled babies so focused on your vacations and nice houses and cars, and dont give a crap about your employees.

Pros

Food and breaks. Has a brewery, has swings and parties every month.. cool vibe that's really it. I can't say much more.

Advice to Management

Do your job and trust the employees who have been there for awhile. Improve the system and pay employees more. Also, stop hiring and firing everyone for peak season.

Pros

-Casual Dress Code
-Management works with you if you need to leave early/come in late for a doctor appointment
- Free fresh fruit/coffee daily
- Benefits are fairly good when compared to other companies

Advice to Management

I worked at Castle Branch for several years and during my time there, I both experienced and viewed many company changes. Most of them looked good on paper but when actually executing them, they were terrible for the company, employees, and clients. Instead of fixing their archaic systems, the company decides to just create new ones that will have just as many bugs and errors as the older ones.

The managers are not trained properly nor are they chosen based on skill and experience. You do NOT have the opportunity to grow because they will hire from the outside rather than promote from within. When hiring people from the outside, they do not take the time or initiative to learn or understand the jobs of those they are managing.

The employees are not given the respect deserved nor are they appreciated. Overall, employees are overworked, overwhelmed, under appreciated, and underpaid.

The company is so focused on selling that they don't put the time or effort in the retention. You can sale all day long but if you don't retain the clients you've sold to, the company will eventually fail. If the goal is to sale (which it is), perhaps you should also increase your employee count to maintain those clients and make them happy. A huge issue that needs to be resolved is the sales team making promises that they know CB would not be able to keep just to make the sale.

My reply to the HR response that will surely follow this review is that nice words and false promises only go so far. You can do a great job on making CB look good in the public eyes, but if a majority of the reviews read badly, it will only take so long for the public to see how bad the work environment really is. My final advice: make good on the promises and assurances you give and actually make a change.