direct support professional

employment consultant

senior employment consultant

case manager

transport driver

Rise, Inc.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The only positive of this role is the relationships built with the persons served. Getting to know them as individuals — their personalities, strengths, and goals — makes the work meaningful. Seeing their progress, celebrating their achievements, and earning their trust is incredibly rewarding.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Taking the Program Supervisor position sounded like a step forward in my career. I was ready to work hard and learn. What I wasn’t prepared for was being handed a set of keys, shown where the office was, and basically left to figure everything out on my own.

There was no real training. No walkthrough of procedures. No clear explanation of expectations. I was expected to just *know* how to handle scheduling systems, documentation requirements, staff conflicts, state regulations, family concerns — all of it. And when I didn’t magically know how to do something I had never been shown, the response wasn’t support. It was frustration. It’s incredibly discouraging to be set up without guidance and then made to feel incompetent for not knowing what no one taught you.

The stress level is constant. Call-outs happen almost daily, which means you’re either begging people to come in, covering shifts yourself, or trying to juggle direct care responsibilities while still somehow managing all the administrative work. There’s no breathing room. You go home exhausted, replaying the day in your head, already anxious about tomorrow.

For the amount of responsibility placed on this role, the pay simply doesn’t match. You’re responsible for staff morale, compliance, crisis management, scheduling, communication with families, and keeping the program running smoothly — often with little backup. It feels like you’re expected to carry everything on your shoulders while being told to “figure it out.”

I wanted to succeed here. I wanted to grow with this program. But it’s hard to thrive in an environment where you’re given no tools, little support, constant pressure, and compensation that doesn’t reflect the weight of the job. This role could be so much better with proper training and real support — but as it stands, it feels overwhelming and honestly defeating.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
One of the most difficult aspects of this workplace is the negative culture. There is a noticeable lack of support from leadership, and the overall tone often feels reactive rather than collaborative. Instead of working as a team to solve problems, there tends to be blame placed when things go wrong — even when the issues stem from lack of staffing or inadequate training.

Communication is often inconsistent or unclear, which creates confusion and tension among staff. Concerns don’t always feel welcomed, and when employees voice challenges, they’re sometimes met with defensiveness instead of solutions. Over time, this creates an environment where people feel unheard and undervalued.

Morale suffers as a result. When stress is already high due to staffing shortages and workload demands, a culture that lacks encouragement, transparency, and teamwork only makes it harder. A more supportive, communicative, and accountable leadership approach would significantly improve the overall work environment.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
A typical day starts before you even walk in the door. You’re already checking your phone to see who has called out and trying to figure out how you’re going to make the schedule work. Most mornings begin with scrambling to find coverage, rearranging staff assignments, or preparing to step in on the floor yourself.

Once the day officially starts, you’re juggling multiple roles at once — supporting persons served, addressing staff questions or conflicts, responding to emails from upper management, handling documentation, and making sure compliance standards are being met. Just when you sit down to focus on paperwork, something urgent comes up: a behavior issue, a family call, a staffing gap, or a last-minute directive from leadership.

Lunch breaks are often interrupted, and the to-do list rarely gets completed. By the end of the day, you’ve likely filled in wherever needed while still being expected to complete administrative responsibilities. You leave feeling mentally drained, knowing tomorrow will likely look very similar.

It’s a constant balancing act between crisis management and trying to keep the program running smoothly.

At Rise, we believe that everyone deserves the opportunity to have a good job, live in a safe environment, participate fully in the community, and enjoy a self-determined life. Rise unlocks potential and opens doors to success for people with disabilities and other challenges through creative solutions and customized support in the areas of employment, housing, and personal growth.

Incorporated as a private, nonprofit 501(c)(3) agency in 1971, Rise serves more than 2,500 men and women each year who have a wide range of disabilities and other barriers throughout the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota.

We envision a progressive, supportive, and collaborative environment that fosters meaningful growth and provides opportunities to live a life filled with purpose.. We invite you to take a closer look at how we are working to help Minnesota communities prosper through our customized, effective programs and services.

We would work from 8:30 to 2:45. We would get three break's during the day two fifteen minute break's and then thirty minute's for lunch, I would take MTC bus to and from work, I would get there and clock in, and go ask my floor supervisor to see where I would be needed to work and go there and get started, there are different area's at Rise Inc, to work on. Everybody there has a certain work area, but if one area was short on people they would have someone from a different area come over to work there, We also got to go offsite to other company's and do different kind of production assembly work there. After the work day is done I would clock out, and head to the nearest bus stop to catch the bus to go home.

There are plenty of jobs available at this company. They truly recognize the work that is given by its employees. The trainings are clear, structured, and helpful. Clients have behaviors and are on the lower functioning scale with many diagnoses of Autism, MR,Bipolar. There is opportunity to move up. The pay is very low and even supervisors only make about 13.50-14.00 an hour which is very low with the amount of responsibility. Therefore, I do not recommend taking a supervisory job here its too much for too little pay.

Never properly trained, and upper management operated like a clique, enabling unprofessional and unethical behavior. It seemed like the longer you’re there, the more power you have, which contributed to a toxic environment. Turnover is high because of low pay, a lack of support, and poor leadership that gets away with mistreating employees. I left the job feeling emotionally drained and unsafe, and I wouldn't recommend working here to anyone.

At RISE Inc, I was creating certain products, such as Roboshop cards, mathematical card games, and sorting out nuts and bolts. Additionally, I was going off site to various facilities, such as Faribault Foods, to package up large fruit juice boxes, and to Medtronic, to fold up FedEx boxes. Though the hardest part was dealing with creating some of the products in a certain pace, the part that I enjoyed was going off site to create other projects.

It very satisfying to see clients get jobs that improve their mental health.  The challenging part of the job is constantly getting critiqued by clients, and company managers.  You need to protect your self image to be able to do a good job.  Rise has some of the best training and can prepare you well for work after Rise.

At the local level it's a great place to be.  The manager tries to help you succeed.  The clientele appreciate you being there for them.  Mostly we serve clientele that are developmentally disabled or physically disabled.  It is a rewarding job if you enjoy working with people.  There is a huge disconnect between the local job sight and the corporate job site.  They don't show too much appreciation towards their employees. They are too worried about their profits.

I enjoyed providing services to persons served. However, management seems really disconnected from actual mission and work. There is little room for advancement. In addition, their turnover rate is so high that most employees don't do much in their role as they leave before being fully trained in to the point that they could help anybody. 

As a nurse with 20+ years experience, I can honestly say that this is a great company. The values and mission of Rise Inc. reflect the work that we do, work that is invaluable to our communities. Upper management listens and genuinely cares about persons served and employees. Pay is competitive for a social services setting and benefits are excellent (medical, dental, and PTO). This a a great place for anyone wanting to work in social services!

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Direct support professional 194 salaries reported	$19.55 per hour
Employment consultant 43 salaries reported	$20.18 per hour
Senior employment consultant 80 salaries reported	$22.44 per hour
Case manager 14 salaries reported	$20.14 per hour
Transport driver 6 salaries reported	$18.39 per hour

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