Frontier Management (OR) Lifestyle Director reviews

- Severe lack of support from corporate and upper management. - Chronic understaffing and under-resourcing. - Broken or nonfunctional tools needed to do your job (equipment and appliances, credit cards, internet, transportation, etc.). - Repeated internal and external payment issues — including bounced checks and significantly delayed pay. - Requests for physical or mental health accommodations met with indifference or retaliation. - Toxic top-down culture that discourages speaking up and rewards silence and compliance. - Unreasonable expectations to perform tasks outside your job scope and pay grade (including overseeing legal disputes). - Unreasonable expectations to perform job tasks without necessary resources. - High turnover and burnout among passionate staff who feel trapped in moral dilemmas — for example, an executive chef who felt compelled to stay despite severe frustration, knowing that walking out would leave residents without meals due to inadequate staffing and support. --- If I could give zero stars, I would. My time with Frontier was one of the most stressful and frustrating experiences of my professional life. I ultimately reported my concerns to multiple state and federal agencies —not out of spite, but out of genuine concern for both employee and resident well-being. - Lack of Training & Support From day one, I was expected to manage a demanding role with no training, no guidance, and no access to essential company systems. I had to figure everything out on my own, and by the time anyone checked in with me—months later—I was already drowning. Every other department head I spoke with had similar experiences, and management turnover was alarmingly high. Beyond the personal frustration, the lack of training created serious safety risks for residents, some of which resulted in preventable incidents. - Lack of Essential Resources My role required transporting residents, yet the company vehicle had been inoperable for nearly a year with no resolution (and still remains out of service). The internet was so slow that completing required tasks was nearly impossible. Vendors went unpaid for months—sometimes over half a year—leading to regular complaints from service providers and vendors refusing to work with us. Issues like these made it impossible to provide the quality of care residents deserve. - Neglect & Retaliation After my brother passed away unexpectedly, I received no acknowledgment or support from my superiors. Later, when I requested a temporary reduction in hours to focus on my mental health, I was met with cold indifference, then reprimanded for performance issues—despite the fact that I had been working without training or necessary resources from the start. It felt less like concern for my performance and more like retaliation for advocating for myself and the residents throughout my time there. During my short tenure, multiple managers were fired under questionable circumstances, which only added to the instability. - Serious Compliance & Ethical Concerns The company repeatedly failed to pay vendors and employees, neglected to provide employees with the resources needed to do their jobs, and showed a general disregard for regulatory compliance, let alone overall resident and staff morale and well-being. At one point, I was expected to handle a legal dispute involving a lawyer, police, and a resident custody issue—far outside my role and expertise. Payroll issues were common, with employees being underpaid, paid late, or not paid at all. Raises that were promised never materialized. I was even denied compensation for work done from home, despite having prior authorization. Additionally, critical vendors—like those supplying food and cleaning products—were on the verge of cutting ties due to nonpayment, putting basic resident care at risk. - Unrealistic Expectations & a Culture of Disregard The workload was simply unmanageable for a single person, made even more difficult by inadequate staffing and resources, as well as the lack of support. Although Frontier promotes its Montessori-based life enrichment program as a core part of its brand, their actions tell a different story. Requests for support and necessary resources were consistently ignored, and decisions were made that actively hindered the program, making it even harder for staff to do their jobs effectively. Large events, outings, and daily resident engagement were still expected to happen, yet no meaningful resources were provided to support them. In some cases, resources were even deliberately taken away, including access to a sufficient, appropriately dedicated activity space. Despite these challenges, when I reached out for support, I was repeatedly met with indifference and dismissiveness—responses that eventually escalated into outright criticism and what felt like a clear attempt at "constructive termination." This was especially disheartening given that I was navigating personal tragedy at the time, following the unexpected loss of my brother. I wholeheartedly agree with the former executive director who called this “the absolute worst senior living management group out there.” It’s clear that Frontier prioritizes convenience and cost-cutting over care—both for residents and employees. Allegedly, they have recently lost management of over half of their communities, which speaks volumes. If you are passionate about senior care and want to work in a place that values both employees and residents, I strongly encourage you to look elsewhere. There are companies that genuinely care about creating a supportive and ethical environment—this, unfortunately, is not one of them.