Beacon Communities Reviews

Pros

Beacon is a great place to work; I started with Beacon in the 1980’s at the bottom in landscaping. Wanting to focus my career on the maintenance side of the business, I left Beacon for a few years and worked for a number of smaller property management firms in the Western Ma area. Although I excelled with these smaller companies, the focus of the maintenance teams was to just correct housing code violations to keep the units rented, nothing more. Almost 100% of these properties were fee based management.
I returned to Beacon in 1995 as a Maintenance Tech, and over the past 16 years have grown with Beacon to the position of Maintenance Director. The employees I deal with on a daily basis are educated, driven, and have a sincere interest in their properties.
Beacon has very high standards for their people and their product. We are a caring company; for our employees and most of all our customers, whether it is the resident or the investor. Beacon is a highly respected company in the Real Estate Management industry; the Old Colony project we have been awarded in South Boston from the Boston Housing Authority is an indicator of the strength we have in the property management business.
Although Beacon’s portfolio is 80% subsidized housing for the elderly and families, it does not show in the quality of our properties, the curb appeal and site designs are high-end, and can be assumed to be market rate sites. Beacon has always strived to provide our customers with the best apartment homes available, whether it is a market or low income property. I am proud to be part of this organization, and look forward to my next 16 years.

Cons

In the past two years Beacon has experienced a growth spurt; acquiring many new properties, and there are more in the pipeline. This is the company’s goal, and we are all excited with the rapid growth, this does however spread the existing team members a little thin. Some restructuring will be needed.

Advice to Senior Management

I believe management is doing a great job, the communication, recognizing performance, and keeping the high standards across the board are all part of Beacon’s success in the housing industry.

Pros

The Beacon Communities has very historic meaning to me and my career. I started with Beacon more than 36 years ago. Over these many years I have seen the results of high end residential property construction, management and maintenance which have become the standard within Beacon.
Beacon Communities has an impressive and lengthy track record. Be it their own property, a fee managed property, new development construction, the rehabilitation of a property or a historic renovation all projects are subject to the same level of high quality renovation and attention to detail. It’s fun to be part of seeing the original properties I first worked at now going through major physical upgrades. At the same time I am involved with many of the new properties being constructed or properties undergoing renovations as well as historic renovations. I am looking forward to being involved in more proposed projects that are still in the planning phase. I consider myself lucky to have the opportunity to be part of this company and work with such a knowledgeable team.
The planning stages and development process are impressive and well thought out amongst a team of skilled and very experienced staff members within Beacon. This provides a great opportunity for learning and the ability to have input into the process. I believe part of the continued success of the company is a direct result of the “Communications Promise” from the Boston Office and a goal to engage employees. Newsletters of late are just full of company news and portfolio performance updates. The communication process from Beacon has reached new heights informing the entire company more consistently on social and business news throughout the portfolio. Our mentoring training is already showing positive results with employees working together and wanting to reach out to help each other more than ever. Today, there is more of a team approach at Beacon resulting in a new level of consistency from property to property.
My position as Director of Landscaping in addition to being a member of the Beacon Directors Team within the maintenance and landscaping divisions has been a great team building and learning experience. We meet monthly with the properties supervisors, their staff and managers to discuss the most important and timely issues, plan training sessions and mentor key employees. These important communication messages and training sessions are then conveyed to the properties and the positive results are being felt and experienced by everyone at Beacon as we continue to bring a high end product to our customers.
 The “glass door” for me within Beacon has extended far past the door and down many hallways, up stairways to buildings to outdoor courtyards full of beautifully landscaped grounds. I have enjoyed my years at Beacon working with many wonderful co-workers and I have developed many good friendships. I look forward to retiring some day from Beacon but only after I pass through many more doors.

Cons

I’m somewhat concerned and believe that the growth spurt we are in now may be too much all at once. However, I am confident with Beacon’s very strong leadership at the top that we will prevail. I see many employees going above and beyond the call of duty to help the Company succeed during this very active and exciting time.

Advice to Senior Management

To continue to bring the consistent high end property management that has made us so successful through the years to where we are today. Also, continue to train and promote our employees as they show their engagement within the company and a desire to also grow in their careers with Beacon Communities. Growing within a company is a great success story and a real morale booster.

Pros

Team work is an integral part of all successful companies. Being new to Beacon, I find that it’s been a great pleasure to be a part of a fantastic growing company with such a heavy emphasis on team work. I can clearly see that this company cares for its employees and its residents while maintaining a professional work environment. (It’s great). I look forward to many years with Beacon communities as well as the fantastic growth opportunities ahead. Unless God has other plans for me I will be retiring with Beacon Communities.

Cons

I would like to see aggressive emphases on training are current beacon team. The growth pace that we are currently engaged in will bring a lot of challenges our way. This in turn will bring a lot of great ideas to the table. With team work we can all face these challenges together and face the daily pros & cons that come along with them. We will succeed.

Advice to Senior Management

Keep up the great work! its positive and refreshing to be a part of beacon.

Pros

I have worked in a maintenance environment for the past 15 years. I love working at Beacon Communities. I joined team Beacon to be challenged and to make a difference. I have been challenged every day and I would like to think I make a difference. Every day is a new challenge, every challenge is different and every experience strengthens the foundation of knowledge.
Training is common place at Beacon Communities; every month a new agenda. The topic changes but one common thread exists… How do we make our communities safer, better and more desirable for our residents? Our slogan says it all: “Living Well by Design”
The design team is great, the marketing team is great and upper management is very serious.

Cons

It takes a long time to hire outside the company. Every employee is screened to ensure the safety of our residents. The process is critical; I just wish it was quicker.

Advice to Senior Management

Keep up the good work. I appreciate your effort.

Pros

The top reasons I like working at beacon are company transparency, room to grow, and good, down to earth people in all positions. I have been with Beacon for 3 years and began as a maintenance technician. I can say with 100% confidence that I feel completely at home here. Still in my 20's, I already feel I have found a career with a reputable company were it would be my pleasure to remain until I retire.
The company is very transparent with everything that is going on across the board, something unheard of in most places of employ out there. Company financials, new policies, what the upper management is working on, and other pipe line projects our discussed openly with all employees. The good, bad, and ugly, we get to hear it first hand, which I believe fosters a more mutual respect level amongst employees by position, and give us the proper information that ultimately empowers us in decision making about our own futures as an employee.
They defiantly are not adding fluf to there claims that they are rapidly expanding, it's actually pretty incredible how much they have done since I have been here. Rapid expansion mixed in with there cross trainings, in house trainings, and commitment to send and pay for education, is a recipe for advancement for employees who CHOOSE to pave there own road here. Also, the superiors that I directly deal with have found a fine balance with stepping in for assistance and letting us learn how to take on new challenges for ourselves.
Last but not least, the people here for the most part are pleasant and down to earth. Upper management knows your name, and remembers small details that you may talk about outside of office talk. The employees I manage are great people and all get along well, which can be linked to the great hiring practices. You do feel like your not just a number here. They are also realistic and down to earth by recognizing that a new generation of workers are now in the hunt for jobs. They have made great strides in updating the core operations of a company by utilizing the web, and are streamlining policies to keep stride with the new work force.

Cons

As stated in my pros, the company is rapidly expanding. This is a great but trying process. Recently, the regional vice presidents were approved to search for assistant RVPs....smart decision. However, I think Beacon needs to further realize the importance of adding more, strong maintenance and operational leaders. More properties means more everything, not just money to manage. They are at the point were assistant maintenance directors and senior supervisors are needed to assist in directly and smoothly transitioning new properties on a first hand and regular basis (and also to re-structure existing properties that are struggling, or dealing with a change in supervisor). Again, they have promoted senior property managers, but no senior maintenance staff. This is very much as important as managing the business end, for maintenance keeps a property working to make money. There are good property managers, but the great ones 99 percent of the time, are complimented by a great maintenance supervisor.

Advice to Senior Management

I would say keep doing what you have been doing, to me it seems to be a winning formula. I do think that we need to regroup the SRTT committee, and along with continuing to move forward, wrap up some loose ends from 2011. And lastly, I think a shift in responsibility on the maintenance end is needed to foster the growth of our new sites, and to fully aid in senior management decisions, wants, and needs on site levels.

Pros

I have been working at Beacon for over five years, but I have been in the housing industry for almost 20 years. It is exciting working for Beacon because of the commitment of the Beacon Team members to provide the best living experience possible. The team starts at the Beacon community with the property manager, administrative staff, maintenance staff and resident services staff. The entire team works diligently to provide excellent customer services and resident services. The extra level of resident services includes: referrals for social services, entitlement benefits, computer classes, after school homework assistance and wellness programs to help seniors age in place longer. It is a fantastic place to work!
It is the commitment of the dedicated staff, the high level of our housing product and leading our teams using our mission “Living Well by Design.” The leadership of the company always has an open door and stay connected with staff members at our communities through a “Communication Promise” that encourages staff to offer new ideas and ways of doing business by “kicking it up” to a supervisor or bring it up at weekly team meetings. This model of communication has benefited the team members and their community by changing the way we do business and listening closely to the staff in the field.

Cons

Due to the widespread nature of the portfolio, a great deal of travel is required. But, it is the only way to truly know what is going on at the site level.

Advice to Senior Management

Beacon Senior Management should continue its commitment to “employee engagement” to help to continuously improve our product and customer service. The engagement process includes surveying team member satisfaction and encouraging ideas for process improvement. It also includes cross-functional subcommittees that address specific issues that the company is dealing with across the portfolio. Senior Management should continue the emphasis on strong teamwork at Beacon as recognized through the bonus program which requires all team members to understand the property budget and what they can do in their role, in their daily work, to help the property meet its financial and customer service goals.

Pros

Having been employed with Beacon Residential Management for over 28 years, I have really enjoyed my career – starting in a more entry level position, I then learned more about the business because I have held many different positions within Beacon. I feel uniquely qualified in this industry because of the level of expectation that Beacon has of its team members. You are expected to excel and, with the support, education and mentoring Beacon believes in, there’s no reason why you cannot.

There are many things I love about working for beacon – how engaged in its team members Beacon is, the kind and quality of housing we provide, and I get to work with some of the best and most respected professionals day in and day out.

Employee Engagement. Beacon asked the entire team to complete a survey to ask what everyone honestly thought about the different aspects of working at Beacon. From the survey, cross-functional teams were formed to help roll out suggested changes to policy and to acknowledge that we are all listening to what everyone has to say. It is not uncommon to have team members with 25, 30, 35+ years of service with the company. What is uncommon is that they are all still very engaged all the while at work!

Quality of Product. Our registered trademark is LIVING WELL by DESIGN. This means that every attention to detail is given regarding the tangible finishes and interior designs of our communities. It also means that an incredible amount of thought and planning goes into the intangible aspects of living at a Beacon Community. The resident programs and conveniences are all very deliberate in order to retain our residents and create real ‘community’.

I like that the company makes a positive impact in the lives of its team members, the residents it serves, and all the communities in which we do business.

The Best People in the Industry. My colleagues at Beacon are the best in the industry. I get to work with them every day and continue to learn from the best. It’s like playing tennis with a player that is better than you. By continually doing so, you can’t help but improve your own game. That’s what it’s like to work with the experts in our field at Beacon. If you can ‘return a serve’ and continue the volley with folks on this team, you will only get better at what you do.

Cons

Beacon is going through a significant growth spurt and has been for a couple of years. This is not a negative thing, however, it does make for a more challenging work environment.

Advice to Senior Management

It will be important to maintain scalability as Beacon continues to grow so that all systems and departments can keep up with the planned expansion.

Pros

Beacon is a rapidly growing company but has still retained its small company, family atmosphere. This culture has created a sense of team that is a great environment to work in. The growth of the organization is providing significant opportunities to to grow and expand your reach as a person.

Cons

The great challenge for the company and the senior leadership team is to maintain the sense of family atmosphere while still growing the company at the pace they are on. It will be difficult to do, but they are very committed to retaining the qualities that make the place special.

Advice to Senior Management

The best advice I can offer is to maintain the course of growing the company while retaining the family, caring atmosphere; the ability to do both will keep the place being the unique company it has become.

Pros

Having been employed with Beacon Residential Management for the past ten years, I have really enjoyed my career and plan on retiring with this company. There are three things that I love about working with Beacon: the people, the culture, the product.

The People. Beacon team members are educated, energetic, highly motivated, professional, and well-trained. It is not uncommon to have team members with 25, 30, 35+ years of service with the company. There is a strong sense of community and support among team members. This positive working environment is just one of the many reasons people spend their careers with Beacon.

The Culture. Beacon's culture is one that both cares for and about its employees. This is evidenced by the fact that the company provides and promotes training (both internal and external), encourages entrepreneurial freedom, and creates opportunities for growth. Beacon is a company that is growing. I like that the company makes a positive impact in the lives of its team members, its residents, and all the communities where we do business.

The Product. I like that Beacon is highly esteemed in the real estate management industry, having won many national awards for what it does and the impact it has on our residents’ lives. I like the diverse mix of communities that cater to people from all walks of life. I like the fact that Beacon’s most recently constructed communities are ‘green’ and LEED Certified! Beacon is a responsible company and I am honored to be a member of the Beacon team.

Cons

Beacon is undergoing a period of rapid expansion and while this is not necessarily a negative, it is providing for a more challenging than usual work environment.

Advice to Senior Management

Management currently does a great job of rewarding performance, communicating across all tiers of the business, and striving to uphold the high quality of the Beacon name within the housing industry

Pros

The pay and benefits are comparable to other companies. Most of the people are nice to deal with.

Cons

They over promise and under deliver. They will tell you they want to hear from you and they want you to feel comfortable speaking to senior management when there is an issue, but when you do you become the black sheep quickly. Then they completely ignore you! It's very strange. When you need to hear that they are unhappy with something, they don't like to say it to you, then you have no idea that something needs to be corrected and you continue to do it wrong until they decide to let you go. When it comes to training, they are the worst I've ever seen. Be careful what you believe!

Advice to Senior Management

When employees say the communication is terrible, they don't mean that the home office doesn't communicate the big picture things to the employees like you think they do, they mean you don't keep managers in the loop when it comes to their property. You keep a string of emails going for days about an operational issue at a property and nobody thinks to include the manager until the end. You have a few main people in maintenance that run the show. There is a reason that other companies have maintenance report to the manager. When you are cancelling an appointment with a staff member, let them know rather than just not showing up. You talk about the company "culture", but then you don't live it. It's all talk. It's very unfortunate because the company has great potential but needs much better leadership in many ways. Employees don't speak up and talk to upper management in an honest way because they know what has happened to all of the others that have. You will never be able to correct the problem if people can't be honest with you. It appears that you only want "yes" people working there. As long as their opinion is the same as yours, you'll listen. That is the worst way to run a company. You should really listen.