Irvine Company Reviews

Pros

Good environment and enthusiastic people and ambitious undertakings with projects.

Cons

Stays mainly within the borders of Irvine. Not many opportunities for travel which I would like.

Advice to Senior Management

I have no complaints.

Pros

Great pay and benefits are wonderful. Wonderful coworkers.

Cons

Senior management claim they care but are unwilling to make changes when truly needed for employees' sake.

Advice to Senior Management

Focus on employee satisfaction within the workplace. Equal treatment should be across the board for all employees of the company.

Pros

this job pays the bills. the landscape and architecture around you are usually pretty.

I know nothing about how other divisions (retail/office/development) of the Irvine Company are run and therefore have nothing negative to say about them. I can report only on my poor experience with Irvine Apartment Communities (IAC)

Cons

A clever and pretty marketing campaign combined with decent looking properties unfortunately DOES NOT EQUAL HAPPY EMPLOYEMENT at IAC!

-false hype and unwarranted respect for this employer can be found everywhere in the local media with this rumor possibly reaching your friends and family i.e., "Oh! I heard that is a great company to work for." Your reply should be, "Really?! Are you sure they were referring specifically to the Apartment Communities division? Do you actually know someone who is happy and working there that I could sit and talk with?" Chances are the answer is a big fat NO to both.

- mind games and greed are common here trickling down through management, etc. Insecurity prevails here (shockingly even from high management) perhaps owing to the abundance of firings happening left and right.

-any advice or opinions you offer to others unfortunately may be twisted and used against you by competitive/ insecure management and/or coworkers

-for on-site leasing employees some unsettling features: EVERY word you speak on the phone is recorded. Lunches are seldom. Criticism, hypocrisy, and gossip is EVERYWHERE for EVERYTHING. Want a day off or better yet a holiday day off? think again.

I wish I had a reason to write a better review...but my experience and some of my colleagues experiences were pretty bad and I don't want any one else to waste their time or precious life here until the system changes. May you all find a happy peaceful secure job you deserve.
Advice to Senior Management

Advice to Senior Management

Perhaps Human Resources should sit individually twice a year with each employee in strict confidence of anonymity to share what's REALLY going on at their different communities. Unfortunately even mid-high level managers are very unfair and involved in and/or supportive of bullying/gossip so protection from vindictive managers is needed. Unfortunately even their HR gives you the impression they share everything you say. Big problem - sorry, but no easy fix to suggest. Wish you the best, but can't recommend anyone currently to your organization.

Pros

great training
professional attire
great benefits

Cons

Advancement opportunitiesare very weak
The whole ambiance is dreary

Advice to Senior Management

If you're really that bored with your job as you appear to be, maybe you should ignore the salary and move on. Life is too short.

Pros

Great training
Good work environment
good benefits
apartment compensation

Cons

Senior Management interprets honest feedback with having a negative attitude
Sales, Sales, Sales not enough focus on Customer Service
Company would rather hire someone from outside the industry instead of promoting within
Very buddy system in this company, if you kiss enough butt you will receive favor
Suppose to supply new uniforms every year but for last two years was like pulling teeth to get it approved with budgets and all.

Advice to Senior Management

When you ask what is wrong with property why it is not performing, listen to feedback and try to understand the frustrations of staff don't just assume that the feedback is having a bad or negative attitude. Also don't just look at a property that is not performing up to standards and fire everyone especially good workers that had been with company for up to 10 years. Find out if maybe that property is not the right fit and explore the possibility of moving a good employee to another situation. Don't just fire when the employees did not do anything wrong.

Pros

Always hiring for entry-level positions.

Can be a fun job--depending on your property and Community Manager.

On-site employees are eligible for 25% discount off market rent for any Irvine Co community.

We are provided with Career Apparel suiting and extra money to buy shirts, sweaters, or ties.

Cons

Corporate employees are treated much better than on-site employees in every way. On-site employees can plan to work holidays like Easter, Memorial Day, and July 4th. Sometimes we end up getting those off, but we find out the week of, so it's hard to make plans in advance.

Base pay is low, and the commission and bonus structure is constantly changing. Last year they decided to make a commission change that resulted in my making $500 less a month.

Corporate has too many communities to oversee and uses a "one size fits all" approach, so many of the policies don't make sense for some communities.

It can be very difficult to use the vacation time you've earned. They make you feel guilty for asking for time off, and your manager is likely to act as though she's doing you a huge favor by granting the request.

Anytime you have to call or email someone at the corporate office with a question you will likely end up apologizing to that person. They act extremely annoyed to hear from an on-site employee.

This company motivates with sticks rather than carrots and it can be a very stressful environment.

Advice to Senior Management

Upper management should spend more time on-site. Not to scrutinize us, but to find out more about our communities, residents, and and visitors.

Pros

The company name rings loudly in Orange County and punches up your resume. The pay is decent for the job.

Cons

In this day and age, suit and tie is mandatory attire for people who work the at Irvine Company.
Definitely one of the most conservative companies to work for.
It is a very top down culture stemming from the very top, so no chance for people to provide ideas upwards.
It doesn't matter if you are a star performer or not, it's about which manager will step up on your behalf. This is hard to happen given everyone is re-organized every 6 months.

Advice to Senior Management

Focus on managing the people who work for you and listen to what they have to say.

Pros

Irvine Company's biggest strength is its training and development program.
Great professional grooming.
Fantastic reputation in Southern California.
Full benefits package.

Cons

Hard to advance, because company is so large.
Very bureaucratic - a lot of politics.
Business professional dress everyday.
Pretty uptight and not the most fun/collaborative company to work for.

Advice to Senior Management

Be more accessible to your employees. Celebrate a job well done. Let loose and have a litle fun every once in a while.

Pros

Irvine Company is a very reputable company to work for. They are a very sound, conservative company that is in it for the long run.

Cons

You can get stuck working in a position with limited ability to move up. Your supervisor really needs to fight for you to be recognized.

Advice to Senior Management

Management should look at their internal talent for promotions and growth at all levels, not just middle management and above. I think employees that grow with a company are more dedicated.

Pros

You get to work in a nice office and sometimes you work with decent people. You get free clothes and $30 a month for dry cleaning which helps since you have to wear a black suit every single day.

Cons

One of the most conservative companies you will ever work for, I seriously haven't heard of a company more uptight than the Irvine Company. Money before people really is the motto. Even if the property you're at is doing good it doesn't matter, because they want you to do better and if you do better than they ask you to do even better. Imagine working at a job and your division is doing GREAT then you get an email asking you why you can't do better? The pay is about 14-15 an hour plus commission ( if you can reach the unrealistic goals) seeing as Irvine Company apartments are very over-priced it's kind of hard to reach the goals they set for you. You have to deal with many annoying people. You get really annoying emails from the marketing people on a weekly basis telling you what a horrible job you're doing and how you should be able to do better... The company is just a really an un-inspired place to work, all they care about is $$$. It's very depressing to work for such a boring, over-rated, greedy company.

Advice to Senior Management

Get it together! Stop being greedy and start caring about your employees, then maybe you wont have such high turn over rate. Also, put a stop to the annoying company emails. And hey maybe you could stop forcing your leasing consultants to ask those silly questions to everyone who calls, do I really need to know what someones hobby is in order to find them an apartment? No, I don't think I do. Not to mention they record the phone calls.