Our Mission Statement
We are passionate about fostering a culture of respect, maximizing the value of every community, fulfilling our social mission and welcoming our residents’ home!
We are passionate about fostering a culture of respect, maximizing the value of every community, fulfilling our social mission and welcoming our residents’ home!
Our Core Values
Teamwork
We are a collective, cohesive team responsible individually and collectively for the success of our Company and the assets we manage
Accountability
We are accountable in our designated roles; responsible to each other and to all of the customers we serve
Responsiveness
We are dedicated to providing a prompt response to all inquiries and requests within one business day
Respect
We foster a culture of diversity and mutual respect
Open Communication
We promote a harmonious work environment through clear, honest two-way communication
Employee Engagement
We celebrate our successes and cultivate an environment of engaged and empowered employees through support, recognition and reward
Decisiveness
We are committed to timely, proactive and prudent decision making through consensus and collaboration
Results Oriented
We are a results-driven organization, dedicated to achieving our social and business goals
Leadership Development
We recruit, retain and develop talented industry leaders and property management professionals
Maximize INVESTMENT Values
We achieve the full potential of every asset by providing well maintained communities, maximizing revenue opportunities, managing expenses, facilitating supportive services and delivering excellent customer service.
These are the actual words composed by Pennrose Management Company that were later transferred to actual signs which many will find hanging at each one of their sites. If you read each point carefully, it may persuade you to think that this could be the company of your dreams to work for. Or is it?
I began working for this company a few years ago after a friend, that was working for the company at the time, referred me to them. I went through the interview process, which consisted of two lengthy interviews, a drug test and a criminal background check. One interview was at the site that was looking to hire a Manager and the other was at their corporate office located in Philadelphia, PA.
For the second interview, I can remember meeting with Marty Josephs, whom had just acquired his new position as Vice President. The interview went well and I remember him asking me what were my goals and why was it that I was interested in working for Pennrose Management Company. I explained to him that aside from being referred by a friend, I had also heard great things about this company and it seemed like a great opportunity. I had also explained to him that after being in the management business for about five years and dealing with many different landlords I had realized that I wanted to work for a company that not only took care and pride in their properties, but also cared about their residents as well as their employees. He looked at me in a content manner after hearing my response and thanked me for traveling for this interview and said that someone would call me.
The next day I received a call from the recruiting agent who told me that they wanted to hire me to work for their company and continued to give me all the details in regards to the position. I like what I hear so I accepted the position.
On my first initial day of work, I met up with the manager that was at the site for which I was hired to manage and was pleased at how much effort she had put into the site to ensure that monies were collected and the vacancies were filled. Aside from this, the site was beautiful and of course, well maintained! Everything seemed to be in order and her strategy to keep everything afloat seemed to really work. We worked together for about a month and then she moved on as planned. Now I was there and assumed my new role as Manager. I met many of the residents as time went by and soon began to feel comfortable in this position as well as the company.
A little over a year went by and as you can imagine I was flowing. I had learned how this company worked and what was expected of me and was giving 110% of myself in order to keep everything in an acceptable manner. So much that I was even staying late and coming in earlier than my scheduled time. I mean, this was not a small site by any means and required a lot of attention. But I enjoyed it.
After a short time at Pennrose Management Company I dealt with two Regional Managers. Then a third was hired. Just in time too since I was beginning to worry. I mean, I wasn't even there eight months and already two Regional's left? Nonetheless, I had nothing to do with these decisions so I just continued to mind my own business and carried on with what I was hired to do. The newly hired Regional was a very nice guy who was good at his job. Only problem, in Pennrose's mind, was that he was too out-spoken.
The founder of Pennrose Management Company passed away and not soon after things at Pennrose Management Company began to change and it wasn't for the better either! I mean, just to show how egotistical many newcomers were (at the corporate office) they didn't even shut down for one day in respect to the founder's passing! What disrespect! Mr. Rosenthal (founder) put his pride into this company. He treated EVERYONE with respect meaning both employees and residents. After seeing what was beginning to unfold many that were by Mr. Rosenthal's side from the beginning either resigned or just quit without regard. Who could blame them???
Within no time a new President was hired as well as a new Vice President! New position's were being created and the new changes began to take effect. Here comes the noise!!!
Time goes by and things started to seem like everything was falling apart. My Regional began to notice how things were unraveling and really started to question the decision he had made to move from his hometown to accept a position within a company whose reputation was slowly but surely beginning to dwindle.
He began to find many discrepancies within many of the sites that were under his portfolio. He noticed things like some employees being paid out of site's budgets that they were not employees of. Businesses were being paid from site's budgets even though they never did work at those sites (in other words robbing Peter to pay Paul), etc. Just about every site that was/is under Pennrose Management Company was/is an affordable housing site which means there are certain guidelines to be met in order to remain in compliance. Well, these guidelines were being met on paper but not in reality. As you read above in Pennrose Management's Mission statement, Supportive Services plays a key role. The salaries for all Supportive Services personnel comes out of each site's budget. How can a site pay for services that are never rendered? While I worked for Pennrose Management Company if Supportive Services came out to the site or assist any resident a hand full of times it was a lot. Yet they are getting paid from the site's budgets! Managers talk and ask each other the same questions. If we try to say something we are shunned and/or terminated!
Again, as the mission statement states under Open Communication "We promote a harmonious work environment through clear, honest two-way communication". Are you kidding me? Many that try this HONEST TWO-WAY communication are fired! So basically, open communication means you're open to tell them your suspicions or thoughts but at the risk of you losing your job. And quite frankly, with the economy being the way it is, many choose to stay quiet rather than say anything at all, even though it is wrong.
I began to really feel like I had also made a huge mistake in accepting a position within this company. After all, this is exactly what I was trying to getting away from. Things had gotten bad so quickly. Seniors were being discriminated against because now they couldn't move as fast enough or weren't as appealing to the sites because they weren't as energetic as a younger person could be. If you are a manager that stands your ground when it comes to unruly residents your authority is stepped on if the resident calls the corporate office (oh, excuse me, IT'S NOW CALLED THE SUPPORT CENTER). They always make you out to be the bad guy (AND YOU'RE WRONG) even though they maKe the rules. Many employees are giving their all to the company but no raises are being given even though they are promised them. This was all the beginning of a nightmare unfolding but you couldn't wake up!!! Literally! It's like you wanted to leave but were confined to the notion that you needed your job. You needed the income to survive especially knowing that jobs were becoming more and more difficult to find.
I remember many employees talking about how upper management was saying that if we didn't do what they expected of us we would be terminated without a second thought because "the lines at the unemployment offices were so long that we could be replaced in a second and it would only cost them minimum wage". Who could think in such a manner???
One manager left her position because the company failed to offer her protection after a disgruntled resident came into the office with a gun. They didn't even have the decency to offer her some type of counseling! Yet their mission statement states, "We are accountable in our designated roles; responsible to each other and to all of the customers we serve". Really? Going a bit further, the mission statement also states, "We are a collective, cohesive team responsible individually and collectively for the success of our Company and the assets we manage". It's so sad that a company that has lost it's integrity could still be standing amidst so many other rising, great companies that have so much more to offer.
Pennrose Management Company values its residents' when it's in their best interest. Another statement in their mission states, "We achieve the full potential of every asset by providing well maintained communities, maximizing revenue opportunities, managing expenses, facilitating supportive services and delivering excellent customer service." Really? Well, why is it that I haven't worked for Pennrose Management Company for two years but my phone still rings with emergency calls from the residents? Residents are having issues with not having any heat, hot water, or air conditioning despite their children having asthma! It's unacceptable! But yet their rents are going up and what's promised to the very same people that are making them rich isn't being done! Such a disappointment!
I did the best with my site and made it my life! I was never written up, EVER! As I mentioned before, the third Regional assigned to oversee my site was a great individual who cared about the sites given to him to manage. Being out-spoken ended up being his enemy and he was terminated without cause nor an explanation. This is the luxury of living in PA, NJ, etc. A company is given the right to terminate you at will as long as it's not discrimination or things of that nature. Yet, two managers at two different sites were stealing the rents of residents but still managed to keep their jobs! What's wrong with this picture?
Applicants applying for units are supposed to have a criminal, credit, and at some sites, a drug test conducted before they can even get a unit. So how is it that most of these sites aren't following these guidelines? Many residents that have been at these sites for years won't even come out of their units anymore because their environment has become so unsafe . Yet, once more, it states in their mission statement, "We are passionate about fostering a culture of respect, maximizing the value of every community, fulfilling our social mission and welcoming our residents’ home!" Oh Really!!! There is absolutely no way! In their lease Pennrose Management Company promises a safe and enjoyable living environment to their residents! How, if they fear coming out of their own homes because of the poor resident selection process is this fullfilling their Mission Statement !
Mr. Rosenthal cared about every aspect of Pennrose Management Company! It's not the same to care for something that you created and put tender, loving, care into than it is for a stranger to care for what he didn't take the time nor any effort to create!
If the Pennrose Management Mission Statement had been created before the passing of Mr. Rosenthal you could rest assured that every word would be true and heartfelt. But it wasn't!
Pennrose Management Company said they are in a three million dollar deficit! That's $3,000,000! They take money from one site to pay for another sites expenses! If you visit any site many have become degraded and are deteriorating fast. Repairs are not conducted in an acceptable time frame and in some cases are not done at all. But yet all investors who have a part of each individual site gets their lump sum check on a monthy basis. The latest news is that they are raising every residents rent by one hundred dollars or more at lease renewal. If the resident does not accept the raise they will have 60 days to move! Don't they know that most cities have something called rent control? Way to go! No repairs, safe environment, or security, but raise the rents!
They fire good, honest workers but hire people with criminal backgrounds. They don't support their employees (unless you're within their inner circle) in the slightest bit but expect you to give your all. If you can expose the many secrets that lie within, then you are a threat and will be terminated. How could any one allow this to happen and stay mum about the situation? Kind of sounds like some type of cult right? It's just not right!
Family Act Leave, what is that to this company? You better bet your bottom dollar that if you were out past 89 days you better not come back unless it's the very next day because you only had 90 days! As a matter a fact, by the second month they were already calling you to get whatever personal belongings you had that belonged to the company regardless of the reason as to why your were out. Did you say doctor's note? Doesn't matter! Just because they post a sign that's mandatory by the State doesn't mean they abide by it. Oh, and if you tried to file for unemployment, please believe, without a doubt that they are going to fight you tooth and nail, even if it wasn't your fault, for you not to get it!
If you think back to the beginning of this Blog maybe you'll remember that I said that when Mr. Rosenthal passed many either resigned or just quit. Now, reading everything after, do you think that they knew what was coming?
This Blog has a purpose and I know that there are many people out there that have worked for this company before and have endured many injustices during your tenure there. Please, do not let it go unnoticed!
If you're an employee, speak up! Even if you go anonymous. If you're a resident whom resides at one of their sites, please, speak up! Most of the time you, as an individual, have the right to control certain situations and this is one of them!!
Feel free to comment! Your experience at this company or another company may help someone!
So much more to come! Stay Tuned!
