December 2023 by Cody Vernia
It pains me to have to write a review like this, but hopefully, it will help others down the pipeline when deciding whether to work for this company.Be mindful that Acadia might ask for several rounds of in-person interviews, only to disappear without explanation.They might then attempt to fabricate a reason for this mode of communication and claim to have found a more qualified candidate. Unfortunately, I have seen no real intention to fill the open position, as it is still being promoted on job boards and the company's website.I hope this doesn't come across as the rantings of someone who is bitter about not getting the job. Rejection is part of the business, and I understand that. What Acadia did, however, was simply unprofessional. I should have known better after speaking with each person in the process; no one was on the same page, and no one could clearly define what they were looking for in a qualified candidate. Perhaps that was the problem.To all you talented individuals out there, be cautious!Best regards,Cody
January 2021 by T L
There are significant organizational problems that need to be resolved. Certain managers don’t understand how or have the emotional intelligence to manage. I have also witnessed some collusion between certain managers to protect mutual interests. Additionally, I can identify a few goody-goodies at this level who will use who they report to in the C-Suite as their voice box for what is fair or unfair, preventing doing what is best for the organization in place of their own agenda.Managers who have not been able to retain employees in a role for more than a certain period, numerous times in the past should not be able to hire a resource. This is irrespective of how talented and smart they may be. The highest layer of the organization should be reviewing this very carefully. While recognizing value they need to figure out what the best structure can be on a go forward basis, how many hiring misses can any manager have, irrespective of the reason. Some managers serve the organization best as individual contributors with shared resources where required.Be sure to choose your manager carefully. This is especially true, if your desire is to transact and work in the actual real estate business with its various market participants (sales brokers, leasing brokers, developers, landlords). Be sure to choose the managers who have in depth expertise performing the above, that may be in acquisitions, leasing, or hands on asset management. Otherwise, you’ll be grossly wasting your time if you get stuck with an inflexible manager who doesn’t get it and makes you feel too suffocated. You will constantly feel as though you are in a no-win situation compared to your peers as it is dreadfully difficult to appease managers who are negative so often.The performance review process can be significantly improved to ensure it is not abused or used overly harshly for retention purposes, to prevent individuals from changing roles, or even working with other groups in which they can make better contributions. Additionally, they should not be put on meaningless projects spitefully, to keep them busy and prevent them from seeking other outside opportunities. As we say in this business, “what is highest and best use.” Additionally, the review process should be normalized for how critical someone is of one’s abilities and capabilities and the scope of the role. Many managers are far less critical or take them less seriously than others. Used incorrectly these can demoralize or demotivate someone to the point they decide to leave an organization. One suggestion is to implement the two-way review process as many firms have.Internal Controls regarding privacy and information security need to be better memorialized. The administrative staff and HR have access to confidential information, physically or through word of mouth. Due to company size, private information can get disseminated very easily across the organization which can influence decision making at the highest levels. This holds true of IT as well and private employee information that they gain access to and who else is given access, if at all, should have tight internal controls. There should be a reasonable expectation of a right to privacy.HR should not allow managers to dock bonuses for convenience or flight risk purposes. They should be paid when they are due and disbursed to all the other employees in the company. Incentive compensation ranges are memorialized for a reason and the check should come in a timely manner more importantly come at all for a FY, people may be checking in the mail every day! They may need to call Accounts Payable.Hopefully, some of this feedback can help improve the organization moving forward. It is a great organization; however, your experience will be vastly different based upon who you end up working for. I caution you to choose very judiciously as your mileage may vary.I hope the CEO has spoken with his board and removed anyone engaging in any illegal or unethical activities. It seems as though he still has some work to do.
