admissions advisor

instructional designer

program administrator

senior support specialist

plumber

Orbis Education

1) Constant stress/pressure/guilt about numbers:
Obviously this is a business, so the numbers and conversion rates are important. But the amount of stress, pressure, and guilt put on advisors even when it comes to things that are out of our control is unnecessary. We can change our tactics, call times, and word choice but at the end of the day, we cannot control people. 
More often than admitted, it simply boils down to people not wanting to pick up the phone, feeling too bad/awkward to be straightforward and tell us they are not interested, not being serious enough to comm it to the application process, and more. 

2) Unrealistic workload and expectations:
Keeping up with the amount of new leads, already set phone calls, administrative tasks, and more is already difficult enough most days. So when there is a high volume situation and advisors are faced with an essentially impossible workload, nitpicking about talk time percentage, amount of calls made, tasks rolling over, and other extra projects is absurd. Obviously things need to get done, but when advisors are already working overtime and pushing themselves to the point of being physically ill, yet are still not able to finish the unrealistic amount of tasks - setting strict deadlines of "finish all these by this time or else" is ridiculous. 

3) Unnecessary amount of meetings:
Monday-Thursday, there is at least one meeting (sometimes multiple) every single day, most of which are to critique and/or talk about how to improve performance. To me, this was overkill and hindered performance more than it improved it. 
Not only do these meetings take up time that advisors desperately need in order to get work done, but they (especially 1:1 type meetings) often bring advisors so much more stress, anxiety, and second-guessing about what they are doing wrong that it affects their performance for the rest of the day, affecting the student experience whether we want it to or not. The frequency of these meetings should be dialed back to once every few weeks at least. 

4) Student misunderstandings:
Although we do not cold call people, the inquiry process is misleading. People who submit their info in order to find out more about a program are not actually told "You will be called for a lengthy interview and are required to follow the next steps in order to actually apply for this school/program." Even when we get a hold of people, we still have to use specific wording that prevents students from fully understanding why it is we keep blowing up their phone, especially in the beginning. People often think we are telemarketers or an optional resource. And in those cases, people refusing to answer our phone calls still falls back on advisors.

To management: 
Being numbers/stats driven and being motivated by harsh, blunt pushes regarding performance may work great for higher up positions. 
But the type of people who are typically hired for an advisor position are people who are driven by empathy, patience, understanding, etc. These traits are WHY we are so good at building the required rapport with students. 
When coaching and leading employees in 1:1 meetings and pipelines, use these traits and strengths to your advantage.  Saying something like "you're never going to hear from this person again" or essentially that our numbers are trash, does NOT help us perform better, even if we plaster on a happy normal face in the meeting. 

Also, a struggle occurring in one individual vs an entire team is an important distinction and communicating that is valuable. For example, there were multiple times where an advisor would leave a meeting feeling so beat down and self-conscious because they were made to feel like a low conversion rate, or amount of students for a term, etc. was an individual issue - as if they were an inadequate employee - only to reach out to the rest of the team and find out that everyone was struggling with the same exact thing at that time.  If an advisor is working their butt off and honestly trying their best, they should not be made to feel like they are incompetent, especially about something that the whole team is struggling with. Because if a whole team is struggling with the same thing, that implies there are more outside factors at hand. And that is an important distinction.

I started with Orbis Education several months ago and have had a really positive experience so far. The company is very centered on growing its partnerships and hiring individuals’ that are going to succeed and grow with the company. What I admire most about management is that they are driven to grow the program and provide positive services to each one of the company’s partners. In my last position, I felt like I was in a dead-end scenario as there weren’t many opportunities for advancement. It wasn’t common for the supervisors to provide feedback as well. My experiences with Orbis has been the complete opposite as I receive regular coaching and feedback from my managers.  I can really tell that my managers want me to succeed and reach my professional goals. With Orbis, I don’t feel like just another employee, I feel like my accomplishments are recognized from my Site Director, all the way up to the CEO. I respect that Orbis values its employees and promotes from within. That was definitely a major reason why I decided to join the company, as I had two other job offers at the time. I have no regrets with my decision to join the team at Orbis and encourage anybody with a positive attitude and hard-working mindset to apply and contribute in helping the company succeed! 

Pros:

Constant opportunities to grow professionally through regular coaching and training sessions, Great co-workers who encourage a laid back and fun environment that leave me wanting to come into the office every day, The company provides the necessary tools and training that allows each employee to complete all of the required job functions, Every employee is kept in the loop with what is going on within the company and is made aware of any internal news and changes, Management has been flexible with my schedule contributing to a good work/life balance which is important to me, The company culture is to prepare its employees to advance as they work to promote from within.

Cons:

The location of my particular site is difficult to get to each day. I would prefer to live closer to the office, but the cost of living in this particular area is through the roof and I’m having to commute one hour each way on a daily basis to get to work. The company has expressed purchasing each employee a transportation pass which would be a really awesome perk, Some days leave me extremely drained and stressed, as do most jobs that require public interaction will do. I would definitely say that being able to help students succeed and reach their goals definitely outshines the stressful times.

- This company’s missions is an incredibly fulfilling line of work; we study healthcare workforce shortages across the United States and connect areas with need a supply of solutions (healthcare education online in order to graduate therapists and nurses).

- Two way open communication is welcomed and expected; this keeps the floodgates open for ideas on how to continuously improve...This makes work here really fun!

- Leadership with transparent and open communication focused on developing great leaders – I am proud to be a part of a growing company, cultivating great leaders from within and bringing new people on board. That to me is healthy!

- There is a nice balance of autonomy, leadership, tools and technology to allow us to optimize our own job performance and to build high performing teams that have fun – I feel happy, challenged, supported, motivated, and creative at work (every day).

- We embrace data, integrate data collection into our day-to-day operations, and share it company wide. There is always someone available to help train and make use of data - It's a powerful tool and it helps us make calculated decisions on a daily basis. 

- In this company, there are some remote employees, many offices, and a lot of great people. Weather you are in a building or not, daily interaction and recognition is important and it is something we understand is meaningful. Whether it's through video, chat, email, or a phone call - I think we do a pretty good job at it.

At Orbis Education the end goal of helping students reach their education and career goals to advance their lives and well being. Crossing multiple departments throughout my time at the company, there is consistently the reminder of what we are doing and the end result. 

The company management and leadership recognizes those who take initiative and provide solutions not just problems. I have watched others move up the ranks and have done so myself with the support and mentoring from leadership. The company has provided opportunities to attend conferences and seminars to build my ever changing skill set and empowers those who wish to advance by providing opportunities with challenges and training.

The culture overall has changed overtime. In the past there was negativity that was fostered by certain groups but that has dissipated. Some departments have silo'd themselves which can cause some disconnect. It is obvious that leadership is continuing to break down the barriers and silos between departments to develop stronger communication and collaboration across the company.

The people and mission of Orbis drives the tasks and responsibilities of the staff. The relationships developed among teams and from leadership down continues to grow. The matrix structure changes from Admissions and Operations have strengthened relationships and provided more teamwork among the departments.

My location was great at first... but as I progressed I was met with unrealistic expectations and an horrible unproductive attitude from the program director. I was regularly discouraged from trying to advance the program using realistic real world experience. I put in maximum effort with no appreciation. I regularly worked 4-8 hours of overtime each week and  when separating from the company I was not reimbursed for the extra time I put in, including required overtime! One of the Instructors would make unrealistic demands and then complain that the work was not completed.

This was one of the most interesting jobs I have held to date. I learned something new every day.

My off site Orbis manager was actually nice and supportive, the on site program director was vengeful. The on site director was extremely supportive. The one off site director was extremely high strung but still supportive. The other staff members at the site were wonderful to work with.

Human resources WILL lie to you. They will tell you complaints are handled by an independent third party, they are not, they are investigated in house. If a complaint is filed they will automatically suspend you and not tell you anything then surprise you with the complaints and expect you will answer for them immediately with no preparation. They will terminate you without hesitation to protect their image with the clients regardless of inaccuracies of complaints.

This is a "survival of the fittest" workplace. (Don't be fooled by any talk of "family," "collaboration," "inclusion," etc.) If you are someone who is naturally cut out for that kind of environment, you will probably be repeatedly promoted in a very short amount of time, often with little regard for your actual experience or hard skills. If you don't have the stomach to go Machiavellian and throw people under the bus left and right, or even if you're just not that great at office politics, I recommend you do not apply. 

Processes and procedures, at least while I was there, only encouraged this atmosphere. DEI is not a priority in any way, shape or form, which is a big part of why it's so cut-throat. It was expanding very rapidly during my time there, and it was easy to blame the ethical issues on that. But looking back, I can now see that the cracks were there all along, and the pandemic just exposed them. This company would need a serious ideological overhaul on every single level of the org chart in order to be a tolerable place to work. It's unfortunate, because the mission of educating nurses and other healthcare workers is so important and relevant (especially now!) 

Depending on the location hired for there are available accommodations. After covid the location in Parsippany did not support staff that needed accommodations for the active covid restrictions still in place. The location is run disorganized. Employee turn over is high. Work overload is abused. Not enough employees for the work load. Everyone is expected to do everyone else’s work if able to not considered just for the pandemic a person had temporary restrictions. The company itself is nice to work for depending again on the location. The Parsippany location is not a great location to work for. Anyone should always experience it for themselves and soon will understand why. Communication is horrendous. Scheduling is not organized. Students are not upheld to policies in place regarding testing. Tests online are not reviewed for cheating. There have been cheating caught and students continue in the program. They prefer money over quality of education with students. They focus more on number of students than quality. Students who are actively failing they continue to accept their money even if they are failing. Getting school for yourself or family is a great benefit to take full advantage of. Pay is acceptable. 

I've been at Orbis for 2 months now. I am an entry level developer, so don't have anything to compare it to in the tech industry. However, I have been at other corporate jobs and the culture here is great. Work-life balance is better than anywhere I have ever worked. Very flexible with adequate notice for reasonable requests. Management takes an approach of "what can I do to help you" vs being too production focused. I think sometimes the direction/vision on some projects is a little lacking, but that may just be growing pains and trying to make sure there is enough work for everyone. There are quite a few new employees, but the management team seems vested in improving the onboarding process and it's documentation. The influx of new employees seems to be because of sustainable growth, not because of turnover. There are many employees in the product department that have been here for several years. There is a variety of tasks and subject matter to work on. Management wants employees to learn new skills and languages. It is understood that you don't know everything and there will be time dedicated to learning and research. Typical day is 9-5ish; starts with a team stand-up, then working on 2 or 3 different projects including random check-in meetings for those, with a flexible lunch break at your discretion. 

I can't say enough good things about this growing company!  I've been with Orbis Education for 4 years this month (August).  I had just finished graduate school when Orbis gave me the opportunity to join the company in an entry level position.  At that time, the entire company consisted of around 50 people: now the company is well into the hundreds! From that first day, I was promised growth for the company and professionally (if that was something that I was interested in - and I definitely was!). Everything that leadership/management has said/promised for this company and its employees I have seen come to past! This company recognizes hard work by promoting from within, and I've been a direct recipient of that several times! This company has a high regard for professional development. I feel that Orbis Education has invested in me as an employee, and coming from a previous field where that did not exist I can't tell you how amazing that feels!  If you want to learn other aspects of the company or grow in your current role those opportunities await you at Orbis Education!  It's an exciting time to grab a seat in this company as we are rapidly growing and continuing to blaze our path in the industry!

I love working for Orbis. The company is very supportive and engaged in every employees’ success. My manager works with me to make sure I have the tools I need to be successful and help students. It can be stressful sometimes when we are close to a start, but everyone is laid back and very supportive and that really helps to make sure even if we are stressed out, we are having fun and we remember the most important thing is the student experience. This is the focus of training and coaching, doing the right thing by the student which is very refreshing. I have worked in admissions before where it’s all about hitting numbers and that makes it really stressful. That is not true at Orbis and you can feel good about what you do every day. Team work is also very important here. Everyone works very hard and everyone who still works at Orbis is willing to do their part to help everyone be successful. If people don’t want to actually work, they probably won’t like working here or last very long. 

I love Orbis and I love what I do.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Admissions advisor 3 salaries reported	$60,000 per year
Instructional designer 3 salaries reported	$61,667 per year
Program administrator 5 salaries reported	$46,000 per year
Senior support specialist 3 salaries reported	$52,000 per year
Plumber 1 salary reported	$50,000 per year

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