Step up for students

When you look at a company like this you would think they are trying to do good, but when you work for a company like this then you really get to see what kind of company it really is. Our first week of training was a disaster and did not learn much but just enough to get started but now enough to know to what we are doing. This organization requires A LOT of documents for any parent that applies for a scholarship. Working in the customer service part of it i really got to see how this company treats there customers which is really not good. This organization say they care but from what I've seen working there they do not at all. These parents are trying to get a scholarship for there children to get a better education but all this company cares about is being popular. I strongly advise not to use this organization for your child. The application process is such a joke and so long and they never keep there word of getting it done. when a parents application goes on hold and once they send documents the time frame that we have to give was 2-3 weeks which is way to long especially when the school is asking for the award letter and cannot hold the child's spot because school is about to start. They do not care about there employees at all, they expect way to much out of us and get mad at us and threatening to fire us for something we did not know because they did not teach us in training. Management does not care and when a parent ask to speak to a manger which they have the right to the manager laughs and says no because its a waste of there time. This company made be me someone I am not, they made me state answers to parents that were wrong and not correct so they wouldn't look bad for the mistakes that they made. I strongly advise to go somewhere else for a job or a scholarship for your child because this company does not deserve anymore good workers like me and my team was.

I have been with the company for 3 months now and I love it. Everyone is so nice an helpful. Step Up is a very family oriented company. I started Dec/2018 and everyone on my team, HR, operations etc. all knew my name. On my first day my managers took me out for lunch and they gave me secret Santa gifts and made me feel at home. People in other departments are extremely courteous and friendly as well. I normally don’t like working at call centers so I feel like I really lucked up when I found this job. I feel so at ease when I’m at work. Step Up is a very laid back call center I never NOT wanna be at work.  I make $15.50/hr, managers are not watching your every move, my cubicle is huge, and everyone on my team is willing to help me with my calls when I have questions. If I need to call out or miss days at work mangement is completely understanding. Being part time I take 15-20 calls a day or less. Full time employees take about 30 calls a day. Business hours are Monday-Friday 8-5. I love my job a lot.  Honestly the only bad part about my job is when a parent calls in with an attitude and that’s every blue moon other than that I enjoy every single work day.

What is the best part of working at the company?
You genuinely have to love what you do in order to work here.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Lack of guidance from leadership. Management can elevate while doing the bare  minimum while those who actually hold the company down and leadership accountable are targeted and retaliated against for doing what is right and speaking up against toxic work culture. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
They say everyone is an assett and every opportunity is a learning opportunity but it is quite the opposite. I don't know what other company allows a hiring manager to hire their blood relatives and those related by marriage and have them as their direct reports. SUFS does. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Working independently was the best part of my job. Working closely with management was stressful because if you weren't a part of the "clique", you were disposable.

The culture is ever changing and toxic.  When the new CEO came onboard everything changed and employees were concerned about job security.  The words were said we are growing not shrinking however people have been let go for reasons the company is going towards a more senior level path, but those individuals were senior level employees.    

You never know what is going to happen.  C-Suite Executives create and hold 3-4 hour meetings that noone understands what they are for until weeks into them.  The CEO has to make all decisions which ends up stopping work for weeks at times and severely slows down progress because she is too far in the weeds with the work.   Employees are extremely micro-managed and communication is poor .  

Teams are not encouraged to communicate with their peers rather than to just escalate to managers.  Upper management will ignore emails until its called out as a risk because. you cannot get information on work status from other teams.



Leadership at Step Up is highly questionable; particularly the executive team.  Like in a lot of companies, they play favorites, but when you are small like Step Up, you can feel the impact of that.  So, because of this, doing a good job and working hard doesn’t guarantee your advancement.  Being a favorite does.  Also, if you professionally disagree with anything, will stunt your growth.  They say they want your opinion, but they really only want you to tell them what they want to hear.  Period.  I would not recommend that a rising star work at SUFS because knowing too much and being good at what you do will intimidate most.  They are not ready to receive your strength.  Run far away.  Any positive ratings that you may read here are coming from those in Operations, a team that is highly favored, while others are treated like step children.  #Truth

Worked there almost 3 years and loved it!! Salary was quite progressive. The work they do is phenomenal...second to none in their industry.
Immediate Supervision..not so stellar. Made work less human..and more mechanical based on statistics and bottom line numbers.
The product is People/Families, I feel if the focus went back to the original blueprint..and the cold environment created by Immediate Supervision..it would have been an even greater place to work

A typical day at work at Step Up was sitting in a small cubicle at a computer reviewing applications. I learned a lot about income calculations, Florida Laws in regards to the scholarship program, and that I truly enjoyed working for a non-profit organization. We did not have a lot of interaction with other co-workers, but I worked with a lot of really nice people. We had some team building events about once a month where everyone in the office would get together and we would play team building games. I think the hardest part of the job was not having any interaction with other people, but I enjoyed working non-profit and giving people scholarships, and that made it worth it.

It was great at first but then my perm date arrived. They promised a bonus and didn't tell me there would be a delay in being hired on directly (I was on a temp to perm contract). I and for a start date. They gave me one and that date passed. Nothing. I waited a month and told them that I had planned for that bonus and they put me in a bad spot (health related costs).
They responded by locking me out of the network and had the temp agency call me to say that I had been let go.
It's great until it's not and they truly don't care about you despite appearances.

Management is unwilling to actually manage, possibly because few who are in management have the skills needed to do so. As a result, strategic direction is left to individual departments to figure out. Management employs a "shoot the messenger" approach to problems and routinely stifles any sort of creative problem-solving. Anyone who challenges the status quo is denigrated.  Overall, employees are discouraged and fed up, which is a shame because the company's mission is solid. Best part about working here is the option to be remote,at least some of the time.

Aids underprivileged families in obtaining academic scholarships for students to improve their educational opportunities.

  Learned to aid families in applying for Private School scholarships.

  Hardest part of job is advising applicant that they were denied the scholarship.

  Advising the applicant they had been awarded the scholarship.

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