WA State Kaiser: Inexperienced & Untrained Supervisors & Managers, Bullies, Unbalanced Allocation of Work
Pros
WA State Kaiser: Great medical insurance with low out of pocket costs, if you don't mind HMO plans. WDS PPO dental coverage is great with only slightly higher premiums than other area nonprofits. Orca card is affordable ($45/yr), though other area nonprofits provide this for $0-15/yr. Ability to work from home (depending on team/role). Beautiful new campus: 20 minutes from downtown Seattle, right by the Tukwila (Southcenter) train and transit station, lots of windows, a small gym, nice locker rooms with showers, indoor bike storage.
Cons
WA State Kaiser: Numerous layoffs and reorgs in the years leading up to the Kaiser acquisition led to tenured employees filling positions for which they are unqualified and unsuited. The layoffs and reorgs created a culture of fear among tenured employees, some of whom are threatened by high performing new colleagues and protect one another by withholding information, bullying, and slandering to the point of pushing out top performers. Nepotism and 'promotion to incompetence' have been par for the course, so leads, supervisors, and managers often lack experience and proper training. All of the above contribute to an environment in which people are fully disengaged. So much has changed and the turn over has been so high, it is often difficult to find the resource or information you need. Archaic tech and slow adoption means you're not going to be gaining many new technical skills. Email and meetings are misused. Advice to job seekers: If you accept a job, here, make sure you take the time to find a new job *the second you begin to disengage*. Match the effort of your colleagues and then add 20 minutes. Ambition is punished by insecure colleagues, supervisors, and managers. If you would rather keep your self worth and work ethic, don't work here. You won't gain the technical skills or business acumen required to move to another org, and you'll be lucky to leave with your dignity. More for those interested: The following 2 observations illustrate the severity of the problem, here: 1. Every new hire in a certain department is warned about specific individuals. The supervisors and managers are aware of these individuals and even have a nickname for them. Yet, the bullies are still employed without disciplinary action because they hold certifications for which the org paid $10K+. 2. Within 9 months, an inexperienced supervisor lost 5 people of a 10-member team. 3.5 left on their own volition; 1.5 were asked to resign. This usually signals issue with the supervisor/manager. Not here.