transcriptionist

speaker

quality control associate

grounds manager

division manager

Productive-Playhouse

PRODUCTIVE PLAYHOUSE JUST LAID OFF 80% OF ITS HILLIARD WORKFORCE

When I first started at Productive Playhouse it was a nice place to work. Management were people that I felt comfortable conversing with and my coworkers, while quiet, were nice to talk with, when given the opportunity. In fact, Productive Playhouse was a place that I wholeheartedly would have recommended to anyone looking for a job but now I would do anything in my power to warn them away.

The first thing that someone looking for a job at Productive Playhouse needs to know is that the work you will be doing is the most mind numbing, soul crushing work that one could possibly do. While yes you are transcribing audio and that can be fun at times, a lot of projects that you will be working on consists of clicking two buttons and then submitting the prompt. Now multiply that by hundreds of times each hour. There is also very little chance for advancement at Productive Playhouse. While it is possible for a transcriber to ascend into a Project Manager role (don’t let the name confuse you, they aren’t managers! They are glorified transcribers who have the additional task of reviewing the work done by transcribers), the chances of a transcriber or project manager who make it into a On-Site Division Manager position or a higher position is basically 0 since the company prefers to hire outside. (Though upper management will tell you otherwise every time they regale you with their own rags to riches story.)

Secondly during the mass lay off the upper management (who you will basically never interact with since they have the luxury of working from home in California) called for an office wide Zoom meeting to explain what was going on. During the meeting each member of upper management gushed about how we did really good last year and that the client was really happy with our work, this was right before telling us that we were all being furloughed and that they had no idea when work would resume but they assured us that we were more than welcome to sit in jobless limbo and await their call to come back to the office. Oh yeah we weren’t informed about the time and date of the Zoom meeting until 12:30 am on Tuesday when the meeting was to be held the same day at 1:15 pm.

The largest problem with Productive Playhouse is that upper management is so disorganized and frankly seem uninterested in the lives of their employees. During my time at the company the COO visited our office a grand total of two times. The first time was because he literally had no idea about how the office was run (this is a running theme with upper management who make office policy without knowing how the office functions) and the second time was when he came to our office to brag about his book that he just published. The COO frankly seemed more invested in his vanity projects and real estate investments than he does with the operations of his country. The president never deigned himself to come and meet us lowly office workers, and I suspect that the first time 99% of the workforce met him was during the meeting where he informed us that despite Productive Playhouse having such a great year we would all be getting furloughed with no time frame on when we would return.

Finally the “benefits” that Productive Playhouse provides for its employees. First and foremost Productive Playhouse does (or at least did, who knows at this point) offer its employees 3 paid sick days a year, and while nice, this is still significantly below the national average. Productive Playhouse does offer its employees healthcare though good luck finding a plan before $200 a month (per person and all out of pocket) that covers anything, and I do mean anything. Oh and they provided snacks which was cool. Those were all the benefits that employees were provided. No vacation days, no bereavement pay, no other sorts of benefits that you would think to be normal at a company like this.

For these reasons I in good conscience cannot recommend Productive Playhouse as a potential workplace for literally anyone as my moral compass simply would not allow me to subject even my worst enemy to this nightmare of a company.


There are a number of reasons why I initially enjoyed my time at PPH, firstly it was the people there, the transcribers, project managers, FSM, and ODMs. Other than that, the other benefits were the free snacks and work schedule flexibility.

Other than that, the negatives are quite a few. Employee benefits were only 3 paid sick days a year for FSM and below. Despite FSM being apart of the internal team, they were the only internal position paid hourly with horrible benefits like 3 paid sick days a year. Even as an ODM we only get 3 paid sick days a year. The health insurance only covered health and eye exams, no coverage for adult dental or eye lenses/frames, all for over $170+ a month!

Everything seemed to start going downhill after Upper Management decided to fire our FSM for 'poor communication', when they were the only one who ever communicated with us and stayed in communication with us. They made our jobs easier and were exceptionally organized. After hearing them say they were let go due to that reason, it gives me reason to believe this workplace isn't about the people working there at all. It seems only those who go with the grain get to stay, and those who go against it get booted out.

Whenever we went to our TM about anything, it felt as if it would fall on deaf ears. I always left feeling more anguish than relief, because I knew nothing would come of it. The lack of sympathy he had was astonishing that I never felt comfortable confiding to them about anything. Why would I bother when I felt they wouldn't even care? Anytime you needed anything, it would be forgotten or take forever for anything to actually get done, leaving ODMs to hang high and dry whenever we needed guidance. Communication on the level of TM and above is abysmal and downright disrespectful to anyone below that level. I have always felt constantly disregarded, especially when they took away overtime. ODMs were dealing with a massive amount of people and being severely understaffed, so we weren't allowed to do overtime anymore, despite the need to try and cover for those missing on the team, or a 1st or 2nd shift would have to open/close by themselves.

Never before in my life have I dealt with a company so far out of touch with reality. On 1/10 they announced the layoffs that would affect the transcribers, project managers, and ODMs. I didn't see an ounce of sympathy as we were told our livelihoods were at stake. It was essentially, "Most of you are going to be laid off, and some of you we're keeping. For those who are staying, get a job cause we don't know when we'll be open again." Even for those who get to stay, are essentially SOL in terms of trying to financially recover from lost wages.

Time and time again they show their unprofessionalism and lack of awareness for the very people they rely on for work. We were told we would find out within 24 hours if we were included in the lay off, by also being provided resources to apply for unemployment. Now it's reach to be 48-72 hours that we should expect that. It is 1/11, and we've been out of work since 1/5. Granted they are paying us half our scheduled wages from 1/5 to 1/8. But from 1/9 onward we were left without pay and no way of knowing what was to come until 1/10, where now we won't find out until 1/11 or 1/12 if we keep our jobs. Meaning a total of 3-4 days of lost wages when we could've been told a lot sooner and try to get ourselves jobs to prevent a loss.

Do yourself a favor and stay clear away from this place. Upper Management only cares about themselves, and I had high hopes it wouldn't be like every other corporation out there, but it is. Highly disappointing.

I am going to attempt to be as objective in this review as possible. I felt my leaving was unfortunate yet necessary for my happiness. The hiring process is quick and upbeat, but the onboarding is long and tedious, and often makes new employees very nervous. Once at work, you will enjoy a well stocked kitchen, flexible scheduling, mindless tasks, and really, really cool coworkers. However, for me, the cons outweighed the pros. The job openly requires employees to take criticism about the quality of work, and this is handled professionally. However, there were many conversations which happened 'off the record' or in private in regards to concerns in the workplace which would then turn into passive aggressive office-wide emails, often making people feel embarrassed. This was a shocking contrast between the encouragement of new ideas and socialization and the juxtaposition of administrative strife actually delivered to outspoken employees. It was never formal, just passive aggressive chafing and discomfort which was often times never smoothed over or talked out. You'll be fairly compensated, but at times find the work lack-luster and upsetting in content. Management swears by transparency yet rarely delivers the full reasons or stories behind newly implemented rules. The office struggles to strike a balance between professionalism and a laid back culture which leads to employees feeling unsteady and confusing regarding the seeming flexibility of rules. The office claims to be diverse and friendly and is outwardly very much so, yet there is an undeniable pattern of certain people feeling unsupported or put under the microscope while others do their job in peace.  9/10 days you can go to the office, put your head down and do your work in quiet. I genuinely liked the human interactions when they were allowed and met some astounding folks on the 'floor' and in the 'offices' alike, yet constantly found myself struggling to connect with others in ways reminiscent of high-school drama. There is a high turn over rate, and I think I understand why. Nobody ever wants to be the 'bad guy' and I can respect that, but it feels equally as bad to feel restricted and cornered by unspecified rules which you can't ask questions of without raising eyebrows. There is no 'moving up' either. From the time I started all but one of the hires into management positions were all external or sudden. It would confuse and cause upset for employees who had worked for months and expressed interest in higher jobs to not even be considered over folks who had worked at the office for mere days or a weeks at most. This job is ideal for someone in between things-who needs to kill a few months or maybe a full year and make decent money. But it certainly isn't a career and doesn't have the capacity to be. You will constantly feel that your job is on borrowed time and be confused and 'jerked around' by new rules and changes. A great job to have for a while but always keep your resume in your back pocket. Inconsistent and distant would be two great descriptors. 

Overall, it was pretty good work, very nice for introverts (you pretty much never talk to coworkers and have minimal interaction with most managers). Unfortunately, I had to quit after a short duration due to time issues (PPH was a part-time job in addition to my full-time job and a Master's degree), but I would have liked to have stayed much longer.

Due to client privacy requirements, there is a lot of secrecy about location and client before you get onboarded. The building looks kind of sketchy from outside, but it's pretty nice indoors.

I believe compensation per hour is the same for all transcribers, regardless of language. I only worked part-time, so I may be wrong, but I don't think any additional benefits are available.

There seems to be a lack of connectivity/communication between the three office locations across the country and, especially as a foreign language transcriber, I think that certain issues stemmed from me not having anyone else working with my language in my office. The biggest problem was that my language uses a completely different script than English and so requires a different keyboard. Many computers have it built in to enable, but the PPH computer did not. I brought this up to the office managers several times, starting from my first day. They (apparently) tried to get in touch regarding this with managers working in my language in other PPH branches, but never got a response. A few weeks in, one of the office managers randomly told me they had ordered a special keyboard for me, which I was delighted to hear; that special keyboard never materialized and nothing about it was ever mentioned again. I have no idea why she even said that to me. So, I had to struggle with a subpar keyboard that did not allow me to type what I needed to, my entire time working at PPH. Employees should be given the tools to do their jobs properly. Moreover, despite officially being a foreign language transcriber, a lot of my audios were actually in English (customer service calls, for example), which were not only boring, but also very difficult to transcribe without having the proper keyboard.

You don't have an actual assigned manager. There are a bunch of rotating managers who basically take care of the office, as well as a different category of managers who sit in the office but who I don't think interact with transcribers. This is not an issue for daily needs, but if you're hoping to grow professionally at PPH or get professional references for other jobs through this position, I don't think you will have much luck, since no one will really be able to speak to your work or who you are as a person.

I began working in March 2023 as a Division Manager in the Translation Department. Within two months, due to my performance and dedication, I was entrusted with additional leadership responsibilities in the Public Audio Department. This recognition reflected not only the trust I earned but also Productive Playhouse’s culture of rewarding excellence and professionalism.

Throughout my time at PPH, I successfully completed numerous projects and have recently rejoined the company, further demonstrating their confidence in my abilities. I was also offered additional management opportunities in other native-language divisions and in LV. As a bilingual professional consistently delivering high-quality work, I have experienced first-hand how much the company values expertise, nurtures growth, and fosters an environment where ideas are welcomed, innovation is encouraged, and every contribution is recognized.

The workplace culture is exceptional. From day one, I felt fully supported by the entire team, including upper management. Collaboration, transparency, and encouragement are at the core of PPH. Payment rates are excellent, always delivered on time bi-weekly, and even transfer fees are covered, which is rare for global companies.

The most rewarding aspect of working here is the sense of belonging. The team supports every question, values new ideas, and encourages professional development. I truly felt part of a family where each member’s contributions matter. Besides the professionalism and high standards, I consider myself extremely lucky to be part of the Productive Playhouse team. I am proud to be part of this team, and I would gladly rejoin Productive Playhouse again and again, whether in a managerial capacity or for smaller tasks. It is a company built on trust, fairness, and professionalism, and I consider myself fortunate to contribute to its mission.

For those concerned- this company is actually legit. So don't let that deter you from applying.


Why should you work here?
*you don't deal with customers/people. You get your own assignments and the work is very straightforward and not difficult (usually). Nobody bothers you and let's you do your own thing.
*flexibility. Schedules are week to week so it's easy to request off and be approved. Hours are pretty flexible, work as much or little as you want. Management also understands things happen and works with you.
*paid training (from home!) 
*pay is reasonable
*indoors, equipment provided


What should you be cautioned about?
*zero benefits. Literally the only benefit is you have schedule flexibility as long as give a week notice. Doesn't matter if you work 4 hours or 40 hours in a week.
*management structure is very confusing- there are managers on site but to have questions answered need to go to GM who is virtual (along with hiring team) it's unclear who to go to to actually get answers without hopping around
*GM is difficult to get responses from. Nice guy but it's not uncommon to be overlooked and have to ask again or get another manager to ask. 
*Things told in hiring didn't turn out to quite be true (made it seem like there would be the type of environment where company stocks snacks and things. But there isn't anything except coffee?) in general it seems you're a worker. Not really much else going on. I'd even say there's zero culture which sounds weird but it's accurate. 
*very repetitive, stare at a computer screen all day


Overall it isn't a bad job, it's very straightforward but for those needing stimulation you'll probably get very bored or lose motivation quickly. If you're looking for a company with no frills that leaves you alone, as regular and secure sidework, you found them. 

If you're seeking something with stimulation and varied tasks, with benefits, or even as a career, then this probably isn't going to go well for you. Between the same type of audio days on end and lack of interaction/culture (everyone is working and there were like... 2? "appreciation" days where bagels were left in break room but nobody mingles) it got old very quick.

The bad parts first:
The main job PPH is doing (transcription) is boring. I have never heard from someone who actually enjoyed doing that all day. Most are at best "ok" with it. The company is right now experiencing RAPID growth that far out-paces managements ability to cope with laws and regulations or common business practices. This causes generally a lot of confusion for employees who often don't know anything about the company beyond their immediate supervisors. I must add that this is not by design and the people at the very top of PPH are actually caring individuals who have started as transcribers themselves back many years ago when the company was a handful of people working remote. They seriously do want to make everyone feel welcome and enjoy their work, but are limited by reality. If you can deal with a very boring core task that you will do all day, you should be fine.

The good:
Managers on-site will bend backwards to ensure you feel good at work. The office atmosphere is usually very friendly, since you will relish every opportunity to talk to a real human person after spending hours glued to your desk. This means you can usually ask for days off, or go home earlier if you need to. Or just come later. Usually no one cares, as long as you bring in the required productivity, you have an almost unprecedented amount of freedom. Benefits are not great, but the pay for what you do definitely is. Advancement within the company is common and not difficult, since ALL managers and even the CEO have started out as transcribers. Especially now since the company is still growing a lot. Up to a point of course.

This company is perfect for people just starting out in the work force, or for foreigners who need work experience in the US. It is not a career job for 98% of all people involved. But for a year or two...go for it.

I worked at PPH for about 2 years. The work is mind numbing but relatively easy.  Every morning you sit at your desk and execute the same task 1,000 times. There's not a ton of direction but it's repetitive work and I rarely had questions. Though management is pleasant and thanks you for coming to them with questions. 
The staff is a bit odd and standoffish. Everyone seemed nice enough but very very quiet. 
I would not recommend PPH as a full time job to anyone. The work isn't stable and a mass lay off in January left most of the staff jobless. It came as a horrible shock right after the holidays. One day we had jobs and the next we were unemployed. Favoritism does play a pretty big roll at this company. The few people who kept their jobs were good friends with the boss. 
The job is decent but not remotely reliable or safe, especially if you're the breadwinner.  The CEO actually called a meeting to apologize for not making more of an effort to branch out and find other clients. If you value a reliable paycheck, look elsewhere for work.

This place paid pretty well for an easy job. On site shift managers are nice, coworkers and environment are chill. Decent snacks. Job itself is super easy. But don’t make the mistake of putting in extra effort because you’ll get paid either way. I made the mistake of trying and putting forth effort. Upper management does NOT communicate with staff. They promote from within if you’re okay with lying (even by omission) to your former coworkers. They use hazy language about contracts/employment periods so they can drop you with no forewarning. 

Also, if you DO get hired by them, talk to your coworkers about your compensation. There’s a good chance someone got hired after you that’s getting paid more for the exact same work/language. 

Workers: talk to each other and seize the means of production. 

And PPH: don’t bother responding to this, you’ve made all of our lives harder with your ZERO communication. It will take a long time to crawl out of the hole you’ve put us all in. There’s no response or defense that really makes it okay. But “that’s just how the tech industry works” isn’t it? 

Upper management is a complete mess and there is nearly no communication with the transcribers on the ground.
There was almost zero "training" of any kind and confusion about work expectations runs rampant. No consistency with communication.
Between mass layoffs due to projects being pulled by clients, rehires, and being laid off again due to lack of work, you would think these guys would learn to plan their projects with a little more forward thinking instead of allowing employees they claim to care about to be jerked around mercilessly. Many employees find themselves having to have their paychecks corrected constantly.
 If you are looking for a job with security or benefits, this is NOT it.
While the people are nice, the pay isn't bad, and the transcription work is easy, the stress and confusion induced by this place is not an even exchange.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Transcriptionist 7 salaries reported	$20.14 per hour
Speaker 175 salaries reported	$29.91 per hour
Quality control associate 8 salaries reported	$28.00 per hour
Grounds manager 27 salaries reported	$28.00 per hour
Division manager 5 salaries reported	$23.00 per hour

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