The Ryland Group Reviews

I have been working at The Ryland Group full-time

Pros – Salaries and annual bonuses are pretty competative. There's generous vacation time based on tenure (up to 4 weeks), the benefits are good, and the flex work hours are nice.

Cons – Work / life balance is extremely hard to accomplish at this company. They pile enough work for three people onto one and then get mad at that person when they aren't able to accomplish it all by the deadlines or they make a mistake. The field (esp. sales) gets the perks - extra cash, trips, etc. The office staff is ignored when it comes to these type of incentives and told to be thankful they have a job. Promotions are typically based on who is friends with who instead of who can do the best job. Instead of hiring qualified admins. unqualified temps are brought in to work on projects. They isn't a training program set up for them which causes a lot of frustration trying to get the work done so there's a high turn over rate there. Then production is slowed because a new temp has to be brought in. I could go on but I won't.

Advice to Senior Management – Actually listen to your employees. If you want them to be loyal to you and the company try being consistently loyal to them. Lying and throwing people under the bus is not the way to get people to want to work for you. Also, yelling at people because you're upset at something else is never ok. Remember, this is a job, not our lives. We work to pay the bills and have money to do what we want to outside of work. We do have family and friends that we want to spend time with so working obscene hours does not make for a happy or productive employee.

– I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

I have been working at The Ryland Group full-time for more than 3 years

Pros – Very supportive structure, always took my marketing ideas seriously and implemented nearly all of them. This is not the norm in this industry. Although the division I worked for evenyually closed, I am certain they are still a great company to work for. Can't tell you how many healthcare professionals commented on the coverage we had... such as "Wow, you have great insurance!"

Cons – The work load for each employee laid off there we all increase our scope of work. This was difficult, but were thankful to be working.

Advice to Senior Management – Consider opening the Northern California Division again! The latest statistics show an upward trend, you don't want to be the last "on the dance floor" Do You?

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

I worked at The Ryland Group full-time for more than a year

Pros – Gained extensive knowledge of residential home construction and real estate

Cons – Horrible corporate environment, hostile, crude and unprofessional comments. A lot of good old boy networks sticking together and behind the scenes dirty politics.

Advice to Senior Management – Get feedback from the reports of all managers and senior level executives. Feedback should be given anonymously without fear of retribution to get an unfiltered and true picture of what is going on and how the management team is 'operating'.

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

I have been working at The Ryland Group full-time for more than 7 years

Pros – Friendly coworkers, family-friendly environment, decent benefits, and somewhat flexible work hours.

Cons – Raised and promotions occur when the housing market is good. However, executive management receives bonuses no matter what happens. Nature of the financial beast I guess.
If you're an accountant, you're expected to work long hours and weekends.
Some highly educated employees, but they lack common sense.
Somewhat clique-ish.

Advice to Senior Management – Larger bonuses would be helpful because morale is horrible.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

I have been working at The Ryland Group full-time for more than 3 years

Pros – Homebuilder, large company, hard working employees.

Cons – Management is headed in the wrong direction. More concerned with how employees look on paper, than how they perform.

Advice to Senior Management – Hire based on experience.

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

I have been working at The Ryland Group

Pros – Good opportunity for income if you are lucky enough to be given a good selling position. Training is good if you are a rookie and need a good foundation.

Cons – In sales you are more likely to be successful based on luck than skill. They place too much emphasis on role playing as if they are "real-world" scenarios when they are not.

Advice to Senior Management – Management needs help the sales staff and give them the support they need and create a system where opportunities are granted based on production and performance.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

I worked at The Ryland Group

Pros – Excellent training, uncapped income potential 100% commission structure, great benefits.

Cons – Favoritism with among sales mangers to sales counselors. You could be assigned to a great community with a lot of marketing for traffic to come in to your door or be placed in a community so far out no one comes to see you. You have no say in where you are placed to sell. When times of economic downturn a salary plus commission structure will be great. Expected to work every weekend and if a weekend is taken off for a ie wedding , graduation it is frowned upon. Training can be repetitive same speakers and same material and you are expected to come in on your days off to do the training.

Advice to Senior Management – Update your salary structure especially during a global economic downturn. Selling is cyclical stop with the menality of everyone is replaceable and sales people are only as good as their last sale.

I worked at The Ryland Group

Pros – They have the best employees and the nicest coworkers. It's a real family-oriented environment with summer picnics and xmas parties for employees. The offices are modern and well maintained.

Cons – They're downsizing, laying people off and cutting benefits all of the time. They've been stifled by the recession and it's unclear if they will recover. There have been no raises for two years and continue to close offices around the country. They aren't big on flex-time and have a lousy 401k plan. There are some VERY difficult members of management depending in which department you work for.

Advice to Senior Management – They should be more flexible and try to to a better job of rewarding/recognizing employees.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

I worked at The Ryland Group

Pros – Offered pretty good benefits.
20+ locations to choose from.
Pleasant co-workers that were more than willing to help when needed.

Cons – Did not feel that the pay was on par with comparable companies
Did not feel I had a realistic shot at reaching management level.

Advice to Senior Management – Take the time to make staff feel as if they have ownership in decision making and direction of the company.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

I have been working at The Ryland Group

Pros – Hours are great if you can get used to working weekends. Management is very responsive to needs if you are proactive about voicing them. Brilliant leaders in management level. Top notch company training program in Tempe, AZ.

Cons – Management clearly has their favorite employees that they try not to upset. Training program is great, but it is overkill with yearly role-play competition, online training, and weekly training. Give a strong sales team a break every once in a while! Business is cyclical, and rewards, moral, bonuses, and trips all go down/away when times get tough. Many new managerial positions filled from outside companies.

Advice to Senior Management – Promote from within and ease up on the training. Does anyone read all of the reports that the sales team generates? Meetings are too long. Time can be better spent SELLING HOMES. Please focus on the large talent pool that you use so many resources on to train within the company.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend