Compass reviews

Overall, Compass is an extremely toxic work environment. One that I was warned about even during the interview process, I was told there were “culture issues” here, but I thought to myself “How bad could it be?”.... From day 1 of stepping through the office doors, the bad energy was palpable. If you value independence, professionalism, and flexibility, Compass is not for you. I was the only employee that I know of during my time in this office who did not get a scheduled exit interview (which is unprofessional but alas) so I wanted to make sure I could share these thoughts. If you are considering working here and want to know the truth, read this whole review. - Throughout my time at Compass, it was made abundantly clear that leadership values “butts in seats” over anything to paint the picture of some “amazing culture” where everyone “LOVES” to be there. In the office, you are expected to be in your seat/desk area at all times. If you are on a quick walk, go into a room to work on something, or are simply working at another part of the office, expect to receive “Where are you? Can you come back because (leader) wants visuals on everyone?” messages. While working here, I learned that the leadership values people who sit in their seats with a smile over people who actually produce high quality work. Also, seating was rearranged so junior staff are sitting directly across from their managers. Overall, this fosters an environment of zero trust between managers and junior staff with no cause. An environment in which I couldn’t even get up from your seat without a confused “where are you going?” look on my manager’s face. It felt more like an elementary school class than a professional work environment. - Double Standards with Leadership: middle/upper management have standards for employees that they do not adhere to AT ALL. Staff is clearly told that they are expected to be in office 5 days a week during business hours. There have been numerous instances where a staff member left at 4:57pm and received a snarky email about “Office Hours” and working remotely is rarely an option (you have to request it in advance for a reason or be sick). I know co-workers who have been told they could not join a meeting because they were remote. The CEO has said himself that working remotely is a fireable offense. If you don’t follow their strict rules, you will be professionally affected. Yet, it’s clear that these leaders work from home sometimes, head out at 3 pm or show up at 12 pm. While for junior staff, if we even get up to leave within the minutes before 5, we are given a dirty look. They do not lead by example at all, yet take any chance to punish you if you go against their standards by a hair. - Culture is so “good” it’s mandatory! There is an implied expectation that you should spend lunch breaks and sometimes social after hours with managers. Those who have established boundaries to go home after work hours or not participate in culture events are rarely promoted. - Leadership talking negatively about employees: Most upper management at least in my department was consistently negatively talking about other employees to each other, and to junior staff. I’ve experienced multiple instances where my manager spoke negatively about their direct reports (aka my coworkers) and other upper leadership to me, and put me in an uncomfortable position. I know I was also discussed by this manager to other coworkers. I’ve also heard conversations in the middle of the office between managers criticizing an agent’s appearance, which made me pretty uncomfortable. There were no boundaries when it came to starting drama and gossip in the work environment. - There were multiple instances where managers (no one in junior staff) said offensive language towards minority/disadvantaged groups – including transphobic comments, xenophobic comments, the R-word… things that should not be said at all in 2024 let alone in the workplace. - Going along with the lack of autonomy, expect to be micromanaged in your day to day tasks no matter what your work quality is. - Compass boasts unlimited PTO, but during my time I’ve overheard managers complaining about how much time junior staff takes off, and then created more required approvals to take time off. I’ve also experienced passive aggressive “Okay…” reactions when requesting time off. It made me feel discouraged/anxious about requesting time off. – I’ve had managers set me up to be late to a meeting to make me look bad in front of upper leadership, had a manager call me crying, the talking badly about other employees… the list goes on. - Extremely high turnover rate for staff: ultimately, the proof is in the numbers. There is a high turnover rate for staff and it’s like a revolving door of people all saying the same thing in their exit interview, yet nothing changes. If you are considering working here, really look into the office you are working in. Some offices are better than others, and I know people in better offices who have a different experience, but some are so bad it’s pretty much churn and burn for staff.