The CEO and board (which is extremely small) micromanages the budget in a way that is completely unsustainable for a company as large and growing as this one. The result is an enormous disconnect between what people on the ground need and what executives can and will provide for them, and there seems to be no intellectual curiosity from that group to learn more from their employees asking for help. Authorizing hires for departments that don't directly effect revenue is difficult, and seems to require stats and evidence the board is not willing to define, but still expects. Many departments are underresourced, and count on dedicated people who want to do good work, rather than sufficient staffing. Imagine if they had both?
For example, the HR department has been underresourced for over a year. While that may make good business sense on paper, it means the same 3ish people are managing all HR duties for a company that is acquiring new companies, moving offices, and hiring new people rapidly. The result is that things fall through the cracks, people don't have the capacity to do things that need to be done, and the company can point to the small number of HR staff to defend themselves for not doing things they should (like standardizing job descriptions and pay ranges for all job postings) because they don't have the capacity. Meanwhile, new executive positions are created with almost no communication about why or how they're being hired for. The result of this is an executive level that is largely an echo chamber of people who know each other and have worked together before. Not coincidentally, it is not a diverse group.
I know someone on here mentioned that the pay here is "better than average" in DC but the truth is they have no way to say that because there is almost no structure or realistic ranges available for positions (some job postings go up with ranges stretching $80K!), and there is secracy and discomfort around having discussions about money in the open. Some may be paid more than average, but I know from my experience and knowledge of some people's salaries, that many are paid much less than market value and much less than they need to survive and thrive in Washington DC (where rent is one of the highest rates in the country) in the year 2019. The salary negotiation process is secretive and undefined.
Also -- PTO is part of our compensation, and changing that policy to better reflect the way it's described in all our job descriptions ("generous") is not a favor they are doing for us, but a necessity. I appreciate that they tried to be open about the change, but was pretty disappointed by the unanswered questions in the finished policies.
