AARP Reviews

Pros

issues have impact on millions

Cons

passive agressive culture, excessive change

Pros

There are many great employees here who do excellent work despite management.

Cons

managers who aren't proactive, don't contribute to professional development of their team, etc. numerous cost-cutting measures that negatively impact the quality of the workplace.

Pros

Great people to work with.

Cons

Square pegs in round holes as far as management is concerned mostly in upper management

Advice to Senior Management

Too heavy on top and paying people for doing nothing

Pros

Passionate colleagues and work-life balance

Cons

Inept, ego driven senior management

Advice to Senior Management

Provide leadership driven by empirical creativity and selflessness.

Pros

Great location and lots of sharp people within an amazing digital strategy group. In three years I gained a wealth of knowledge and grew my skill set just by working side by side with these folks. The social mission is admirable in an ideal world.

Cons

Most of the people I grew from were not in management. No mentorship. The management varies from team to team and there are some great leaders in the organization. In the same breath, most of the management team I encountered on a daily basis were power hungry and paranoid, unwilling to share critical information needed to help in decision making across groups - and even "making up" false data to share instead from time to time, if the false data served a purpose for said management. Reorganization is ongoing on some teams, so many teams never reach the "performing" or even "norming" stage of team cohesion. Group think is a HUGE issue in many departments, with blatent favoritism supported by management. Critical issues tend to get swept under the rug instead of dealt with and improved upon in a professional manner. Often times hostile behavior from favorites is rewarded.

Advice to Senior Management

Learn to be accountable and then teach accountability. Learn to manage as a leader with your team as a central focus as opposed to managing as a boss with your career advancement as the central focus and your team as "weapons" in your "battle" to reach the top.

Pros

Taking time off from the office

Cons

Everything is up in the air right now. No structure

Advice to Senior Management

Hire more qualified people

Pros

A good company with a good mission and vision. The current initiatives are revelant to public work and seniors.

Cons

Slow adjustment to reorganization and lack of strong management team

Advice to Senior Management

More effective communication is needed. Leadership should interact more with team and own seek and improvise ways to encourge career growth and development for their team.

Pros

The mission and the people.

Cons

Hard at times to move through the process.

Advice to Senior Management

Focus on interdepartmental cooperation.

Pros

Above-average benefits, good pay, very good location in DC. Many of the employees do care about the mission and are reasonable to work with. And the mission of the organization to serve others, especially those 50 years old and older.

Cons

The only thing keeping this organization afloat is the large membership and the lack of competition. There hasn't been a substantial contribution to society from this organization in decades. They celebrate little accomplishments and minimize the failures. It is incredibly difficult to get projects done or to get anything through Procurement. When they want to get rid of poor performers, they re-org and eliminate positions. It is very top-heavy, with probably a quarter (or more) of the staff either Managers, Directors or VPs. There are a ton of VPs, some having only one or two direct reports - hardly anyone left to actually do the work. Decisions are either done by consensus (please everyone) or by senior management who don't have enough information but think they know everything. Lots of turf-protection and lack of coordination between groups.

Advice to Senior Management

Make people accountable and give them the ability to do their job or fail. Take some risk - be responsible for driving change in society, not just protecting social security and Medicare. Stop micro-managing and hire some real VPs. Be creative and use all those resources to help those who really need it.

Pros

Great benefits compared to rest of industry.

Cons

Very bad leadership and management at senior levels. Lack of vision and strategy. Lots of turf battles. An organization that has reached a peak a few years ago and it now on a long hard fall to failure.

Advice to Senior Management

Get a vision. Get a strong leader. Dump the old guard. Take real stands. Be bold.