Pros
The fundamentals of what ACS is and what it stands for is highly important for the welfare of the nation and free world. There are some very good people (staff members and volunteers) who devote an extensive amount of time to this company and it's cause. Most involved wear their hearts on their sleeve for the cause to eradicate Cancer. The staff members for the most part (at least in the Illinois area) want to work for a cause that they care about.
Cons
I have heard on more than one occassion the phrase "they are like a Cancer" from Upper Level Managers when referring to an unhappy staff members and/or volunteers that are speaking up about various issues they dislike.....This should not be tolerated and those using this phrase in reference to those who speak up should be terminated on the spot if even uttered. It does a severe injustice to the cause that ACS is trying to eradicate. Staff members are pushed the limit with limited time constraints. Both hourly and salaried employees are not getting a clear picture when hired as to the amount of hours they will need to participate in "after office hour events." Even well organized staff members do not take lunches or breaks even though they are entitled by law. Existing high staff turnover rate at some Regional Offices need to be assessed. Is their bad or misleading hiring practices or are there bad management skills being utilized when hiring new staff members? There is always a reason for high turnover rates at a company. Especially when an excessive number of people "find new work".....There is always a reason they are looking. They are unhappy with something or something is going on that they didn't "anticipate" before hire. Event vs. staff ratio's need to be looked both in Income Development and at the Administration levels at the offices. There is no comparison in the increasing number of the events vs. the organizational increase in staff members. If the number of events increases so is the current work load on the current staff members. So the number of staff members should increased if excessive participants are expected or forecast. I believe this is why new events are developed. With the excessive turnover rate the current staff members who remain end up training new staff members making for very few experienced staff members at some Regional Offices. From what I have experienced management is doing nothing (that can be visually observed) to solve the turnover rate at the offices. This makes for a very disorganized non-for-profit office. Good stewardship is one of the backbones of this company and I don't believe a constant revolving door for employees is a cost efficient method in any company. It seems like some offices spend more money and time look for and hiring new employees constantly instead of supporting the current ones they have. They are experienced and can add great value to such a large operation. This methodology of management is eating up the donation money coming into the office that could be used on valuable research. The company is not quick to hire nor to add temporary administration staffing, if needed, with an increased workload.