CastleBranch Reviews

Cons

Where to begin? For one, the training is two weeks. The trainer I had was good, that isn't the problem. The problem was that they needed the training room before we were done with our two weeks, so we were moved to cubicles, and the trainer's desk was way on the other side of the operations floor. Making asking questions difficult. No one takes the time to get to know the temporary employees. Granted, I understand why, but it would still be nice to have everyone be nice to you instead of kind of snotty. Some of the supervisors are in their own world. Yes, you can ask questions and she'll get back to you, but the other supervisor at the time was always sending out emails about encouraging everyone and everything. Another huge con: when they let you go, they tell you that you're eligible to be rehired. Yeah right. If your numbers aren't up to par, and your let go, you CAN'T be hired back. Believe me, I tried. I liked the company a lot. I was recommended by a former coworker to apply, and in turn, I recommended 3 of their current employees go work there, and *I* was the only one who didn't become permanent. I applied to every opening they had after I was let go, and never heard anything back. Finally I went to a job fair and saw the woman who gave me my exit interview. She said, "You know you can't be hired back, right? Not in operations at least." Thing is, Operations is 85% of the company. The rest is IT or something else. I had some medical problems at the time of my employment there, to which I told this to the head of operations, but was told to just send in my resume to the SAME woman who told me I couldn't be rehired.

It's a shame that this company does have good bones and have this kind of business and the ability to hire tons of people, but to have policies that make it impossible to hire former employees who weren't bad to begin with.

Cons

-Communication between departments/teams is left up to employees. Supervisors have poor communication skills.
-Supervisors show favoritism toward certain employees
-Compensation is poor
-Lack of performance reviews in most all operations positions

Cons

Quiet environment could be a con for some people.

Cons

The pay - the biggest contributing factor (aside from poor management and monotonous work). It's poverty level - even when you've poured 5+ years into the business without a decent raise. Also, CastleBranch tends to hire the bottom of the barrel of people. When you want to be professional & work with like-minded individuals, they'll hire people with little to no work ethic to fill a seat and boss around.

You've heard it before, but this place is run like a high school. Run it like a team - and run it with a sense un-biased professionalism.

Cons

If you don't want to work hard and be a team player this is not the place for you.

Cons

The pay is not competitive. Evaluations and therefore raises are infrequent. Lots of turnover. There is often a lack of clear direction or frequent changes in direction that make focus and commitment difficult.

Cons

Stressful for those who don't take no easily

Cons

Job titles and department names change frequently and limited professional development for career progression salary wise. Not too many cons!

Cons

- Work did become monotonous, but wasn't a deal-breaker for me personally.
- Problems in other departments spilled over to other areas, creating palpable tension throughout company.
- Micromanagement was a major issue for me. I can vividly remember spending just as much time writing reports about my work as I was doing my actual work for both of my advisors during my time there.
- While there was a "lax" environment promoted, my advisors took issue to minor, random things that I was doing while I did my job (even when other employees were doing the exact same thing). Also, it always seemed to be an huge ordeal whenever I needed to take time off for outside issues. Despite addressing how unpredictable my life was and promising to make time up when necessary, they made me feel bad/guilty over not being consistent with my schedule, even though it never interfered with how much work I did.
- I was ultimately dismissed over trivial issues with my supervisor. I remember confiding in my co-workers that I wanted to transfer to a different department, only to be let go entirely soon after. It gave a new meaning to "pull the rug out from under you" and left me with a very bitter end to an otherwise pleasant experience at a company where I made wonderful relationships at.

Cons

My only negative thought about the company is the lack of a formal review. While these reviews/evaluations make all of us very nervous, they also make us better at our jobs.