cuisinier

Zajac Ranch for Children

Sad to be giving a negative review but cannot in good conscience recommend working here. The place and idea are beautiful, and front-line workers, i.e. counsellors really breathe life into the location and allow campers to have an amazing time.

Upper management is very divided and internally hostile, family-run, disputes bleed into management style, the right hand doesn't know what the left hand does, so the place is stuck in eternal limbo and ultimately, staff are blamed for "not getting things done" while structures and equipment on site become outdated, stop working mid-season, break down, etc.

Middle management is stuck between a team of young and enthusiastic counsellors, and an upper management rarely if ever agreeing on anything and with little to no appreciation for front-line staff.

Innovation is halted, either because family disagrees, or "we've always done it this way". New ideas are not welcome, status quo is to be upheld, which means do everything with almost zero resources provided.

Little to no onboarding/training/advancement, very rigid work structure, no guidance, as no one in upper management has any experience nor qualification in the fields they are supervising. Worked there for over a year, never had a single performance review. Professional feedback, analysis or advice regarding urgent matters is brushed off with "No, I don't think that is true" without any explanation as to why or fact-based reasoning.

No faith in their own staff, talking badly about employees to other staff. "They don't know what they are doing" is what you will hear said a lot about contractors, industry professionals, on-site staff... 

General atmosphere of secrecy and mistrust.
No open communication regarding overall strategy, upcoming projects, etc. Interactions between departments almost seem unwanted. Divide and conquer. Even for your own department, information will be drip-fed to you.

If you are happy to simply be a cog in the wheel and don't mind following ever-changing, contradictory or simply nonsensical instruction, by all means, the scenery is beautiful. But even with the best of intentions and trying to keep a positive outlook, this place will end up grinding you down and you will leave. Staffing is a revolving door for a reason, yet the conclusion drawn is that "there are no good people out there".

This place could be heaven - at least counsellors make it that for campers.

Turnover is very high, and for good reason. 

Everyone is chronically overworked. Despite requiring their counselors to have substantial experience and training working with neurodiverse people, they pay industry minimum wage, do not provide benefits, require round the clock work (counsellors sometimes don't get to sleep if they have to watch particularly active children), and don't allow counselors to use any of the camp activities on their breaks or off time.

Ownership is incredibly overbearing and contradict each other, leaving staff to try and figure out what established camp policies to follow that will get the least amount of the owners upset. It is a constant rock-hard place trap. Ownership always talks about the big visions and projects they have for the ranch, but refuse to see the constantly growing issues. The horses are chronically sick, activities have broken or are missing critical safety equipment, and tasks for counselors are arbitrarily made harder, like not allowing them to use one of the golf carts to move lots of heavy equipment to the lake. The ownership refuses to trust the staff that THEY THEMSELVES HAVE HIRED to do their jobs, so they constantly micromanage. The constant criticism, undermining of staff, and lack of any incentive to stay is why so many cannot tolerate working here in such a toxic, untrusting environment. 

I could work in a restaurant for more than double this pay and less than half of the hours with much better working conditions, work-life balance, and better mental health. There's also MANY more camps in the area that provide better working environments, pay, and management. 

From the outside it seams like a great place to work. But you really only need to be there an hour or two and it shows it’s true colours.
The drive in on the unsealed road is very bad when there’s dry weather, but once it rains it becomes out right dangerous. The maintenance on your cars gets expensive.
Once you arrive you are constantly watched on cameras. The place is a combination of two things, “The hills have eyes” and tiger king.
A lot of good people are working there and many people donate time and money towards making these children’s lives better. But all that money gets put towards asset and building creation that never or rarely get used by the kids. While many glaring safety issues get swept under the rug. I really think that it’s only a matter of time before there is a major safety problem occurring or is exposed.
The family run business is anything but family.
I’m very positive that it’s a tax right off and only that. I really hope the next generation grows a conscious and starts fixing the safety issues and really starts putting the kids first.
There really is truth in why there is a constant posting for pretty much all positions here. 
I hope this was helpful, I wish I had read these before giving up a good job to work here.

Honestly one of the biggest mistakes I’ve ever made was not trusting the employee reviews on here. After having worked here I can tell you they are all true!

The management is overbearing, frequently fighting and yelling at each and their employees. The narrative is constantly about “we need to make more money” which is strange considering it’s a nonprofit 👀

They bring in qualified people with years and years of experience in their respective fields and then refuse to listen to them often times belittling industry experts and making it seem like the owners know more than said experts. It’s a revolving door of staff- they went through 4 camp directors in under 2 years 🤯

The place could be a haven and everytime someone new starts they bring excitement and enthusiasm at the thought of bettering the place but inevitably they get worn down after 6-7 months and then leave causing the whole process to start over and resulting in nothing actually changing.

Until the family gets it together and learns how to properly treat their employees nothing will change and this place will continue to be a terrible place to work.

I work as part of the fundraising team for the Ranch, looking at grants, sponsorships, and individual donations. Coming from a larger nonprofit, there was definitely a learning curve readjusting to a small org where staff aren't confined to their roles. It's nice working somewhere that you can help out in other departments that interest you. Another plus of a smaller org is the autonomy each staff person has and the ability to make decisions when needed. This isn't the first family-run nonprofit I've been involved with and the dynamics are pretty similar; you just have to learn how to navigate and work with them. 

I love the work done at the Ranch and have seen how the experiences there can positively impact children with medical conditions. This is truly what drives the staff here - making a difference in kids' lives.

It’s hard to say a “typical day” when there is so many new and amazing opportunities and activities we do with the children, you get to live on the premises, (monday-Friday) and I believe for people out of town your welcome to stay the weekends, you are getting 3 meals a day plus snack, while taking care of and leading children in a memorable camp experience. It is so heart warming and fulfilling to get to be apart of Zajac ranch. The work place management and coworkers is incredible! The most kind hearted people you will ever meet, I’ve definitely made friends I’ll have forever. there definitely is some difficulties, but that comes with every job you may have. Not a single issue you will have though is anywhere near comparable to the amazing and enjoyable workplace you get to be apart of. You get to change and empower people’s lives. Zajac ranch is such an incredible place to be and work. 

Last summer was my second summer at Zajac. The first one I was the councillor and  since I loved my experience so much I decided to comme back as a Unit leader. It is very rewarding to work with the kids and you gonna make amazing memories. Yes it is a challenging work experience since you are working a lot of hours and a lot can happen in one day but it is all worth it in the end. What you are doing for those kids is meaning full and they are going to remember it their whole life. The team you are working with become a really big familly and lifelong friends. I am still in touch with a lot of my coworkers from my first year. The job is definitly hard but the whole team support eachother and you get to experience it all together which brings up it's magic. Come work at Zajac at least once in your life. You wont regret it and you will remember it forever I promise :)

I would not recommend working at this location. This place has no leadership, no safety policy. Don’t care a all about employees, I don’t know how you can throw a switch and care about the children. Two pieces of equipment I worked on had no brakes told daughter in charge of my concern and was told has been that way for a long time and not to worry about it. Hand tools require repair exposed electrical wiring covered with tape etc.etc. Not good not good at all!!!!!!!!  

Upper management is notoriously bad, and very hostile resulting in a high turnover rate between summers. As a camp counsellor you should expect a very high paced work environment with long hours and a physically demanding day-to-day. With that said, the comradery amongst counsellors can be great, and it is incredibly rewarding working with the kids who come to the camp

What is the best part of working at the company?
Being In a beautiful area was a great way to start the day 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Micro management this was a continuous issue gets frustrating at times

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Not the greatest seems no appreciation gorgeous hard work is acknowledged

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