General Growth Properties Reviews

Current Employee – been working at General Growth Properties full-time for less than a year

Pros – Strong C-level leadership that makes an effort to communicate with the employees.
Work volume is high but expectations are realistic
Work/life balance exists
Management is respectful and cares about employees
Ideas are welcomed and evaluated
Open, friendly atmosphere
Smart leadership with opportunities to learn and grow
There is a sense of trust and care about employees and their families
Strong sense of community with opportunities to give back and company volunteer days provided
Strong internal communication from C-levels which cascades down to Management and staff
Proud to have this opportunity and serve GGP for many years to come

Cons – Company functions similar to start-up things can change constantly so the culture is not for everyone.
New leadership brings new implementation and change at times not well received by staff

Advice to Senior Management – Find Senior Management to be intelligent, respected and respectful. Encourage you to find ways to obtain more clear direction from your Executives which may help cut down on last minute changes.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Former Employee – worked at General Growth Properties full-time for more than 3 years

Pros – Hard to speak of pros when all you can think of are cons. The only pros -- some of the people still working there (NOT senior level employees).

Cons – Every corporation likes to preach about its core values of honesty, teamwork, trust, etc., including GGP. Sadly, at this company these core values have lost their true meaning, and have started sounding only too superficial and false since a few year back. Right now all GGP Senior Level cares about is the company's image, and hardly its people and their hard work. It takes them nothing to lay somebody off without a sufficient reason. "Company Restructuring" hardly does it anymore. No one working at GGP right now can have any confidence in the long-term future there. Anyone could be gone tomorrow.

Advice to Senior Management – Pay attention to what you are doing to employees. Massively laying people off without a proper explanation does not project a good image and reputation for the company.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at General Growth Properties full-time for more than a year

Pros – Fair wages, relaxed work environment. Not micro-managed for the most part. Good benefits, solid 401k, gym facility in building, lunch program for discounted rates.

Cons – Constant procedural change, poor communication for changes. Large scale overhaul and combination of roles was left up to peer to peer training creating large scale inconsistancies on many processes.

Advice to Senior Management – Training needs to be completed by managers, not peers.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Former Employee – worked at General Growth Properties as an intern for less than a year

Pros – I was the only intern at the time, but I'm sure the team would have been just as supportive of each of their interns. From the first day, I was not treated as an intern to fetch coffee, but given real tasks that affected the company. I was given numerous opportunities to work on all levels with management, projects, and even conferences.

Another key aspect was the mentorship. It was highly important to me that the position not only allowed me to learn industry practices, but also had the mentor component. My manager really made sure to check on my task/duties and career goals.

Cons – As one of the former intern mentioned: The field of business is narrow. But if you can learn the concepts from each task, I think you can carry them into the future.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at General Growth Properties full-time for more than a year

Pros – pay is competitve, fabulous coworkers

Cons – Company could improve on health benefits.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at General Growth Properties full-time for more than 7 years

Pros – Values high performing employees, adequate pay and benefits, and before the bankruptcy filing senior management was very approachable. Every day was a different challenge. Bankruptcy filing was stressful, but was a great learning experience. Overall I'm happy to say I have worked here.

Cons – Hours can get long. The chaotic nature of the bankruptcy process never let up as new management was brought in. Employees that were there before the bankruptcy filing were treated differently, as if it was somehow their fault the company was in that situation. Mass layoffs decimated morale. Company is taking steps to improve, but it's coming along slowly.

Advice to Senior Management – Just because you were brought in to fix the mess of bankruptcy, don't assume everyone who has a history there is part of the problem. The new organizational structure is heavily weighted on middle management, many of them relatively new hires. This has done nothing to improve morale after a lengthy and difficult bankruptcy process that saw staff reduced by 25%.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Former Employee – worked at General Growth Properties full-time for more than a year

Pros – I had an OUTSTANDING supervisor who never micromanaged and completely trusted me judgment so she made this one of my favorite jobs of all time. I also thought the HR person who recruited me was just awesome to work with -- if either of these women asked me to come all the way to Chicago and paint their houses, I totally would. In a heartbeat. They were that good.

Cons – When my boss was on maternity leave, the replacement supervisor was absolutely terrible. She made rash business decisions that were hugely detrimental and when I tried to offer alternative ideas that were far more rational, she involved Human Resources and basically tried to get me fired. It was, hands down, the most unprofessional treatment I ever received. The HR person involved was also EXTREMELY unprofessional -- the the extent that I started audio recording our conference calls in the event they actually tried to terminate me. Luckily, my supervisor returned and I never had to work directly with the temporary supervisor again. I did have to work with the HR person again and she continued to be unreliable during my tenure there.

Advice to Senior Management – I experienced the best and worst professional treatment of my life working for GGP. Why such extremes? Overall, though, I enjoyed my time working for GGP.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at General Growth Properties full-time for more than 10 years

Pros – Good work/life balance and good people to work with

Cons – Managament is out of touch with how low morale is after 19 months in bankruptcy

Advice to Senior Management – Treat people with respect and recognize that culture isn't changed overnight when new managment is hired

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at General Growth Properties full-time for more than a year

Pros – The company makes it easy for you to connect with other employees within GGP, so access to people and information is relatively simple.

Cons – The company was definitely spreading itself thin in regards to the on-site accounting positions. It would have helped if there was more visibility beyond just the property you were working for.

Advice to Senior Management – Make sure that your staff, especially those in management type roles, are knowledgeable about their areas of expertise. Have a way for the General Manager of the property to oversee different departments to ensure quality.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at General Growth Properties

Pros – Good benefits plan at GGP

Cons – Unfortunately the new executive team does not care about their employees and the little work life balance that was left went out the window when they came on board. Most departments are vastly understaffed and it is not uncommon to hear people working 60+ hours a week. It has been a year and a half since GGP emerged from bankruptcy and the dust has not settled yet. CEO continues to make organizational changes, further extending the low morale.

Advice to Senior Management – Care more about your people.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend