This organization has a serious problem. When I worked for them, they did deliberate things to make it impossible for me to do my job effectively, and then proceeded to hold me responsible for the fact that I couldn't get anything done!
The President of the Board of Directors has held that office for over 10 years, even though the organization's by-laws clearly state that the officers must rotate every couple of years. The Society's hiring practices and personnel procedures are totally sub-standard or nonexistent.
I am certain that I was perceived as an outsider because I was not from the area, and that I was also perceived as a threat to the board president's personal power.
Every idea I had was either never presented to the board or was shot down by the president herself. And then I was told I was not performing my job satisfactorily. (How do you perform your job satisfactorily when everyone around you is trying to sabotage your work and no one is interested in implementing your ideas because they didn't think of them first?)
I was publicly humiliated and was also the victim of malicious gossip and rumor-mongering on the part of my supervisor and one co-worker in particular, who I'm certain was jockeying for my position. (Which she had previously held.) A performance review I was given contained several out-and-out lies. I attempted to have the review amended to reflect this but I was not successful.
It was also expressed to me by a coworker in no uncertain terms that I was expected to use a large portion of my own salary to pay for the supplies I needed — things such as postage, photocopying, research materials, etc. I attempted to recoup these expenses after resigning but again, nothing was reimbursed. (Nor was I reimbursed for mileage for all the driving around I did on behalf of this organization!)
Now, you may be thinking, "OK, this is one person who has had a bad experience with them, so what?" The reality is I am not the only one who has had a serious problem with this organization.
The turnover rate there is exceedingly high — in the short period of time I was employed there (less than six months), I saw five people quit or get fired. And that's not even counting my (forced) resignation, so the total is really six people!
Some might argue that the high turnover rate is due to the stress of working with homeless animals and having to face the euthanasia of so many unwanted pets on a daily basis, and I believe there is some merit to that argument.
However, I also know that this organization has a DISPROPORTIONATELY HIGH number of disgruntled ex-employees and board members. I think that says something about the way they do business.
I also witnessed a good deal of racial discrimination on the part of the office staff towards customers and potential customers — basically, if you have a name they can't pronounce or your skin's the wrong color they automatically assume you to be some kind of criminal. I saw this and it disgusted me.
There is a board member who is a misogynist and who openly discriminates against women and insults the intelligence of the women around him on a regular basis.
This contributed to an exceedingly hostile working environment while I was employed with the organization. I wasn't allowed to finish a sentence around this man and he is only retained on the board because of his contacts in the community.
Basically, if you live in Southeast Missouri and you care about fair employment practices and mature, healthy working environments, DO NOT support or adopt a pet from the Humane Society of Southeast Missouri. Take your business (and your charitable dollars) elsewhere!
0 comments