Pros
-Working with families, volunteers, sponsors and colleagues -Office comraderie with co-workers -Generous time off policy, including PTO, holidays and special summer hours -Financial contribution to help fund HSAs for staff -403B match -Implementation of performance-based raises in the last two years -Spot cash rewards for staff (nominated by direct supervisor) for a job well done -Greater focus on research
Cons
-There is a clear and disturbing disconnect between the CEO, Lynn O'Connor Vos, and senior leadership with the field team. This has caused a severe deficiency in morale. -Restructuring, while necessary to remain relevant and competitive, occurs with what appears to be very little thought to implementation. There is a "let's figure it out later" mentality. This leads to a constant state of turmoil. -Inconsistent internal promotion practices. Senior leadership plays favorites and this appears to go unchecked by the Board of Directors and HR. Oftentimes, positions are filled that weren't announced which unfortunately excludes the ability for someone more qualified to apply. Optics are everything. -Dwindling direct services for families. MDA has gone from a robust provider of a vast menu of services to only summer camp and educational events, which are expensive to produce and aren't well-attended (educational events). -Little innovation in fundrasing programs. From what I can see, not a lot of cultivation of big donors locally or peer-to-peer fundraising outside of Muscle Walk and other events. -Perception of disorganization from healthcare partners -Mismanagement of finances. MDA has operated in the red for several years and it is shocking that they are still able to garner grants in spite of this. -Little staff participation in employee giving program. If your own people won't invest in you, why should anyone else. -While the MDA staff can't be privy to every decision made before it is announced, there is a spirit of secrecy and lack of transparency. -Staff has to stay at the ready because you never know when another reorganization is coming and when your position will be eliminated. It's very stressful. -Lack of SOPs (standard operating procedures) on the Innovations in Care (healthcare) side of the business. True data extraction is always iffy because of this. -Monthly programmatic financial reports have become obsolete so staff has no idea what the status of their budgets are -Lack of trickle-down communication between the Innovations in Care and fundraising teams unless you are fortunate enough to work in a highly functional office where teamwork between departments is a priority
