Front Steps (TX) Reviews

Pros

Fulfilling work, great coworkers and supervisors

Cons

Clients can be difficult to deal with

Pros

The pay is decent for those transitioning from retail/fast food type jobs. Light workload. Great if you love helping people/homeless.

Cons

Not a professional company. Way too many "cliques" / Favoritism employees are unheard and uncared for. No one cleans after themselves anywhere so the workplace is dirty. Complaints of racism Benefits offered, but are completely trash and useless to have with the amount paid out of pocket, and they are to cheap to offer better. Under horrible management. Theft problem. I definitely lost many braincells from the amount of time sitting behind a desk doing nothing and stupidity dealt with on a daily. (Not referring to the clients)

Pros

When I started out as a shelter case manager I had a ton of support and loved my co-workers and supervisors. As time went on, there was a lot of turnover and the responsibilities of my position changed and became overwhelming as we became short staffed. The leadership of the organization changed, and I felt that it was diverging from my own personal views on how to be effective. Basically, I think I personally just burned out given the staff shortages. I believe this is an excellent place to work to get real, exciting experience working with those experiencing homelessness.

Cons

High turnover; not the greatest pay starting out but very comparable to the area; Hi stress job, but worth the mission

Pros

The clients were the best part of the job. Team was also very close.

Cons

Upper management was deaf to the needs of both clients and staff.

Pros

Bottom line: the people here are amazing. Supportive coworkers and an open and collaborative environment where ideas are heard and celebrated. The work can be rewarding, PTO accrual is better than any other social services agency I have worked for before, fairly competitive salary for case management in the Austin area (although still fairly low for what case managers deserve, but that is a larger issue). There is no doubt that you are making a difference in the community when you work here and you will definitely gain professional experience and make important connections/networking if you choose to work here.

Cons

The work is hard. There are bad days in homeless services and sometimes this can be emotionally taxing. There is a frustrating disconnect between higher-level management and folks working directly in the community (this is common with all social service agencies it seems). The programs are also disconnected and it seems like that is a missed opportunity to build more support amongst Front Steppers. Finance department needs more staff and better training- there almost always seems to be an issue with getting rent checks out to clients on time, reimbursements to case managers, and unfortunately payroll as well. It is really frustrating to receive the incorrect pay and have to advocate for yourself when it seems that other agencies don't have these problems. You shouldn't have to double check your paystubs to make sure the agency didn't short you or pay you incorrectly, but this has happened multiple times with staff (myself included) since being here.

Pros

The ability to work with clients directly when they become homeless is really amazing, and I love what we do. Love the ARCH and being a part of the homeless services community. Love the other case managers. The benefits are pretty good.

Cons

No potential for growth and paid the least out of all the homeless services organizations in Austin. Overworked and underpaid. Extremely high employee turnover rate; cannot keep case managers or supervisors. Leadership has not been case managers and does not have a base understanding of how a shelter operates from the actual work that is done, therefore making poor decisions. Extreme burn-out and furstration.

Pros

-The Mission of the organization -The clients we served -The coworkers all working together to serve people experiencing homelessness -Being a integral part of homeless services in Austin.

Cons

-The current Executive Director. -The culture of the organization has taken a nose dive since she came on board -Constantly feeling unheard because the executive director has large ego and is power hungry. -No support for staff, losing important partnerships, being difficult to work with, burn out, manipulation. -Throwing out small incentives and giving case managers, management duties. -Policies that directly contradict each other.

Pros

. Good leadership, where there is leadership. . Exposure to all aspects of case management.

Cons

. Currently no executive leadership. . High turn over due to frustration or burn out. . No guaranteed training.

Pros

great case managers, good mental health care benefits, a mission I believe in

Cons

I have never had a worse job experience in my life. Turn over is INSANE because leadership is so horrible in every way. The only people left in charge do not have experience with the population they work with, and therefore, have unrealistic expectations for workloads. Management and supervision are lacking so much, many management level tasks are assigned to case managers, sometimes with very short notice. They do offer stipends for extra work, but you benefit if you're willing to beg for it when you notice that your paycheck was shorted. This is not the organization that values respect or growth. Leadership is malicious and uncommunicative.

Pros

Working with clients and a great start up job. Just don't stay too long.

Cons

Horrible leadership, lack of professionalism, CEO has a do what I say or else attitude, pay is unfair, certain races get paid more with same job titles, and high turnover.