ESS reviews

3.7

65% would recommend to a friend

(1,481 total reviews)
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Buddy Helton

59% approve of CEO

50% positive business outlook

ESS has an employee rating of 3.7 out of 5 stars, based on 1,481 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The ESS employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Human Resources & Staffing industry (3.8 stars).

Reviews by job title

1K reviews
2.0
Nov 17, 2025

No

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Easy to use frontline to sign up for assignments. Local management is great

Cons

Working with ESS in this school is like ground hog day. I just had this experience below and was put in touch with another sub who had the same experience and quit the same day. No substitute without formal counseling or social work training could be prepared for the issues facing in this school district. The high school is difficult, the middle school children are dangerous. If you complain about working with problematic school districts or decide not to work with the dangerous middle school they will suspend you. If you call the respective school's office too much for help (when you must call the administration for assistance as directed in our one day of training over and over) they will blame you for the problems. I was shocked. While the school administration was gracious and knows they have a problematic group of children unable to manage their behavior and struggling to educate this group of middle school children, this HR department is centralized and they have no concern for your safety, and concerns. I realized they only care about appeasing their client... the school administration. Children in 7th and 8th grade are unable to do simple multiplication or read a clock. Several kids kept asking me what time it was and I pointed out the clock was working. They actually didn't know how to read it. I am speaking specifically about this because this story is on repeat from several people who have also tried to spend time a s a substitute teacher here. If you are already working for ESS, stick to easy assignments or just try other companies. I have heard better things elsewhere and I am about to try that in the new year.

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ESS Response
6mo
Thank you for sharing your experience. We understand that some assignments can be challenging, and we take your feedback seriously. For any specific concerns about safety or school assignments, please reach out to HRHelp@ESS.com so our team can assist you directly.
1.0
Aug 14, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Experience with working with kids, hires easily

Cons

Bad amount of turnover (people quit or get fired, low pay, no support (managers don’t answer emails or phone calls promptly, if they ever do it’s too late), a teacher could simply hold a grudge against you even if you do your job properly and still file a complaint to ESS and they will literally take their word for it against yours even if the allegation never happened, unstable assignments, they will cancel morning of or worse (when you get there), benefits don’t work (a relative of mine used to work there even and you’re better off getting state Medicaid over the benefits they provide which don’t cover or are not taken or both).

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ESS Response
9mo
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience. We’re glad you’ve enjoyed the opportunity to work with students, and we take your concerns about communication, support, and complaint handling seriously. Feedback like yours helps us identify where improvements are needed.
1.0
Jul 29, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

There are no pros to working for ESS. Biggest regret of my career was working for ESS.

Cons

Everything. ESS doesn't pay a livable wage the pay is terrible. ESS always have problems paying you on time then send out nasty emails to everyone asking you not to contact them about your paycheck. ESS doesn't take accountability for anything. ESS has a very high turnover rate. even among local management. The staff are rude, unprofessional, yell at you and talk to you any kind of way. ESS doesn't provide references so its like you never worked for the company no matter how hard you worked. Local staff is never available when you need them everyone is "out of the office". Its like they run from helping you cause its a scam company. The students, other teachers, and principals mistreat substitute teachers, and nobody holds them accountable it's an emotionally and mentally abusive work environment. Biggest regret of my career was working for ESS.

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ESS Response
10mo
We’re truly sorry to hear about your experience. Your feedback is deeply concerning and not reflective of the standards we strive to uphold. We understand how frustrating issues with pay, communication, and support can be, and we take these concerns seriously. If you’re open to it, we’d appreciate the opportunity to learn more so we can address these issues internally. Please feel free to reach out to our team directly at HRHelp@ESS.com.
Viewing 37 - 39 of 1,481 Reviews

Glassdoor has 1,847 ESS reviews submitted anonymously by ESS employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if ESS is right for you.