Habitat for Humanity Employee Reviews about "low pay"

Pros

Great work life balance, focus on professional development and leadership training for employees.

Cons

Organization could run a bit leaner and pay high performing employees more of a decent living wage.

Pros

The mission at Habitat for Humanity is a great cause for the public,providing affordable housing for people who would other wise never be able to own thier own homes..and it helps the community as well as the environment.

Cons

very low pay scale.. unless your in administration..and administration has lost sight of the proud mission .

Pros

Love working here. Rewarding family atmosphere.

Cons

Compensation has no real set structure and there is a tremendous pay gap between equally qualified employees.

Pros

Staff who want to make a change are kind, giving, and intelligent. A mission to completely believe in: affordable housing. Repair program counters gentrification around city. Great staff trainings. Rising up the ranks is possible with such high turnover.

Cons

Fast turnover because the pay is low and staff need money to live and... pay for their own housing. New young staff stay 1-2 years which is sad, they had so much hope and energy! HR is too close to leadership to recognize unfair biases and perks they are giving to each other. Important trainings are not required for all staff, a problem because the message doesn't get to those who need it. They are also never followed up on, so we act like we are improving, but are not holding each other accountable. Typical sexism of older adult men volunteers on site which is tiring to work with. Not enough staff and resources are behind a really essential department, Neighborhood Revitalization, to serve community members and advocate for affordable housing policy. AmeriCorps generally takes advantage of people 21 and over. Any younger and it feels a little better to get paid so little for experience.

Pros

Regular people - Some of your effort might actually result in something being built. Eventually. - There are always idealists around, even when it's so bad the company should be shut down. Executive positons - CHARITIES HAVE NO OVERSIGHT. Anyone who gets 10 of their closest friends to vote for them at an AGM can weasel their way into management or to CEO via the board of directors. - You can have your friends on the board vote you a raise every 6 months - don't worry, it's only money from a charity, so it's all tax-deductible anyway. Like stealing from the government; a victimless crime, right? - You can "borrow" things from fundraising and the thriftstores and never bring them back, no matter how many thousands of dollars they are. - You can bully, harass, abuse and terrorize the people who work there, because volunteers aren't really employees and therefore aren't seen as having rights of employees. Staff are paid with checks you sign, so they know who their master is if they want to keep feeding their families. - If you get sued for breaking law(s), the charity's insurance will pay, not you. - Using sub-standard building materials resulting in health hazards for the partner families is acceptable if it means you can make it look like the build is done early. - Legally binding contracts like mortgages and the like are open to interpretation, not enforcement. - You'll know you've left a permanent imprint on a small and struggling charity trying to help people far poorer than you have somewhere decent to live.

Cons

- At the top of the extremely short chain, execs can literally do whatever they want. - By the time anyone can do anything, execs are long gone with the money and items they 'borrowed'. There is no tracking and no accountability. - The pay is far below industry standards. - There is no longer an RRSP and dental coverage is tiny and very particular about what it will pay for. - There is no room for promotion due to excessively small staff numbers. - Time off is difficult to get because volunteers make up the bulk of workers and need to be supervised. - Work/life balance only exists if the person in power at the moment thinks it does. - No real training, people are allowed to oversee others and do training for dangerous acts without qualification or oversight by a qualified person. - Lack of training means huge details are missed, many of them safety-related. - Board of directors manages budget allocation and money management without experience in the sector the charity is in or in the commercial endeavours the company pursues to make money (e.g. the retail stores). *THERE IS LITERALLY NO QUALIFICATION NEEDED FOR BEING ON THE BOARD BEYOND BEING VOTED IN AT AN AGM.* Often there aren't enough people running, and new board members are acclaimed. - The charity is 'self-governing', meaning even the national office 'can't' discipline or make necessary changes. - The tenets described in the registration papers for this affiliate are meaningless. If you're looking for somewhere to break your back because you owe a debt to karma and aren't particular about who you do it for, this is the place for you.

Pros

Great working atmosphere with team members that are nice and supportive. Management cares about its workers as they have occasional days off for excursions (we had softball). Also a great NGO model where you know you’re making a difference for the better in peoples lives.

Cons

Pay is alright and minimal advancement in career

Pros

Mission-driven environment. Rewarding work. Great colleagues.

Cons

Mistreatment of lower-level employees is ignored. Management-level employees are protected by HR and leadership. Pay is low and raises minimal. There is a policy that states you cannot receive a merit-based raise in your first year of employment. Even if you have worked in your position for 11 months at the end of the fiscal year, you will be denied the opportunity for a merit-based raise.

Pros

Good staff and volunteers to work with.

Cons

The pay is low and not competive.

Pros

The company mission to build decent, affordable housing for low-income families is a great cause to continue working with this company.

Cons

Competitive wages are needed to avoid losing staff to other companies that pay better to pay the bills.

Pros

Get to work on housing issues which is a focus area that is often neglected in international development

Cons

Old fashioned and full of expats. The organization is choking with old fashioned ways of doing work and riddled with expats who 'know' better than locals. While expat experience can be appreciated and add value to projects, a lot of weight is given to those inputs versus locals who live and understand housing issues. There is also a significant pay and benefits disparity which caused a lot of colleagues to eventually leave. They hire really good folks, but they end up leaving because of the politicking of tenured staff. New ideas are shot down and never see the light of day. I personally experienced harassment and sexism and HR didn't do anything.