K. Hovnanian Homes Reviews

Former Employee – worked at K. Hovnanian Homes full-time for more than a year

Pros – Working as a sales consultant in Houston,TX was a wonderful experience. The market in Texas is steady, Texans are laid back so it was not stressful, and the managers apreciated the work we did. Of course, every manager is differet... My day as a sales cosultant started around 10am usually. Four to five hours in the model home could be spent napping given the number of people that come in on a weekday morning. I usually spent this time doing reports, follow-ups, marketing busy-work, or gossiping on the phone. When clients came in, put on your game face and sell! The only issue with this job is working Sundays until 6pm. I think work/life balance in the US is a joke period and this industry is a great example of that. However, the pay was great and the stress was low. A wonderful place to work if you do not have young children. Pros:
Beautiful environment
Great pay
Lots of vacation time

Cons – There is really no chance of upward moility for sales people. Most make their money and move on, very few ever get to management or corporate positions.

Advice to Senior Management – Appreciate that everyone has a family! It is a waste of money and bad business to keep sales people in an empty office on Sunday night.

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

Former Employee – worked at K. Hovnanian Homes for more than 7 years

Pros – Nice people to work with. Nice Weekly breakfast.

Cons – Input not always wanted, or asked for when it should be.

Advice to Senior Management – Take the time to get feedback.

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

Former Employee – worked at K. Hovnanian Homes

Pros – This job was 100% commision however if you worked 12 - 18 hour days you could make $150,000.

Cons – Management did not understand that we have personal lives. I took calls on Christmas, calls while at a funeral. I was constantly tethered to a company provided blackberry that my kids would hide from me because it was so imposing. Management was condescending and unappreciative of the hours we put in and would always back the customer or homebuilder rather than the employee. Expectations were unrealistic and caused many employees at the time to go on meds just to cope with the job.

Advice to Senior Management – I hope the Sr. Management in the Mesa office has been terminated by now.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at K. Hovnanian Homes

Pros – K. Hovnanian cares about employees; has a great perspective on work/life balance, and has opportunities to advance. Each division is independent enough that you can rise to your greatest level of competence.

Cons – The real estate industry is tough, so if you are looking for a place to make a boat load of money, your timing might be off.

Advice to Senior Management – Keep it a meritocracy. People were promoted based on their performance and that's the best way to do it. Kept everyone motivated.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at K. Hovnanian Homes

Pros – The employees are very nice people.

Cons – Too many changes and not enough direction.

Advice to Senior Management – Sales managment needs to be involved in the every day activities. They should hold meetings with suggestions not demands. They should focus on making their employees stronger by providing good training and sound direction.

Former Employee – worked at K. Hovnanian Homes

Pros – My colleagues at Hovnanian were on average terrific. When things were good, they were very good with a family oriented atmosphere, inherent company pride, and intangible benefits. The company promoted a healthy work-life balance.

Cons – When the housing market collapsed, senior management's ineptitude to make critical decisions as well as holes and flaws in the decisions that were made became very apparent. Company morale became non-existent as everyone was concerned whether or not they would make it through the next, almost quarterly, round of layoffs. Additionally, and along with the loss in morale, the product began to suffer. Methods and procedures that were instituted to promote quality in construction were tossed to the wayside as a cost cutting tool.

Advice to Senior Management – Be more honest with your employees, as well as yourselves, as to the state and future of your organization. Don't let the pride associated with being a Big Builder get in the way of making critical and practical decisions.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at K. Hovnanian Homes

Pros – KHOV is very organized internally. They are highly motivated to sell homes, while not losing focus of customer satisfaction and quality. KHOV has one of the strongest construction teams I have ever been a part of.

Cons – KHOV is a bit rigid when it comes to its employee organization. You are not allowed to directly contact anyone that is not your direct supervisor. They also do not promote independent thinking. Every decision has to go through a chain of command.

Advice to Senior Management – If you are pursuing a sales career with KHOV, I encourage you to negotiate your terms of employment.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at K. Hovnanian Homes

Pros – K. Hovnanian actually builds a well designed home. A lot of thought goes into the engineering and architecture in each new model.

Cons – K. Hovnanian has a horrible culture and little respect for its employees. Employees are basically told they are expendable and that they are lucky to have a job. The trades are paid so poorly that they deliver a poor product. "Pay peanuts, get monkeys."

Advice to Senior Management – Stop treating employees like they are lucky to have a job. The "Quality Department" is running amuck and has not accountability and is creating a worse product.

Former Employee – worked at K. Hovnanian Homes

Pros – Some opportunity for advancement. It is a national comapnay so you have flexibility in positions and opportunities. Performance is recognized and they build a product that you can take pride in as customer satisfaction is number 1 on the priority list.

Cons – Salary is lower than most of the direct competition. This can make it good for entry level or for those with limited experience to get a start in the industry.

Advice to Senior Management – It would help to be more candid with lower level employees about company growth, strategy and decision making.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at K. Hovnanian Homes

Pros – The company is committed to deliver a quality product at a good price to the consumer and stands behind their product. Treated employees and customers fairly.

Cons – Management changes could be quick and dramatic, with no forewarning.
Corporate office middle management and staff in N.J. believed they had the answer to every problem, even ones they weren't familiar with. Too many experts with too little real experience. Often wondered if people got paid more for every slide in their PowerPoint presentations!

Advice to Senior Management – Corporate management needs to leave local issues to local management. Make decisive decisions instead of just incremental changes.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend