Hype May be Overshadowing Long-Term Success - Sr. Data Architect Health Catalyst Employee Review

4.0
Mar 22, 2015
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

As mentioned already, this is a great place to work in ways of benefits, work environment and compensation so I will not go on about how awesome of a company Heath Catalyst is in those regards. There has been a lot invested in building the great culture that we see today at Health Catalyst. Great place for entry to mid-level Team Members that need to advance their skills.

Cons

This is great place for entry to mid-level Team Members that want to learn the skills they need in order to take their careers' to the next level, but that's about it. There are a lot of direct family and close-knit Team Members in executive positions all the way down to VPs and Directors. There doesn't seem to be much more opportunity in those types of positions unless a new position is created (at this stage of the company, how many more VPs can we justify?) or they are able to fire family and friends. No, I am not saying there are people that need to be fired, but when the time comes, will the right decisions for the company's best interest be made? With so many family members and close friends involved, it is worrisome to know for certain. Project Management / Project Managers seem to be to non-existent. It's difficult to know the scope of a project, in regards to man hour allocation, scope, time, execution etc. This shows in the products and it's becoming apparent to our customers who resist upgrading to the latest product version for fear it'll break whats already in place. Product deadlines will be met, followed by multiple hotfixes released soon after to fix features that weren't properly tested. These are issues that a start-up can justify but lets be honest, we are not a start-up anymore. We are going on 7 years as a company and need to eliminate the "we can't fail, everything is awesome" attitude. I feel that a lack of PM also gives the impression to Team Members that we can come in at any hour, hit the gym, take a long lunch and still make it on the 3:15 shuttle to go home. These are a few examples where all the hype may be overshadowing the real issues that could stop us from becoming a huge success.

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Health Catalyst Response
11y
You bring up a lot of great points, from project management to product line efficiencies. All are valid, all are areas we believe we are working hard on making better, and all are areas I've addressed in previous responses, so I would refer you to some of those entries for further thoughts. I wanted to address your concern around succession planning, and the fact that there are several members of the management team that are family members. I would say that this is an issue the management team takes very seriously, and strives to be very market based in its approach. There have been times (and there will be times in the future) where it becomes necessary, in the best interests of all involved, for a change to occur in various positions within the company. I can think of two examples. The first, Dr. David Burton, ostensibly the originator of much the Catalyst IP, served as both CEO and chairman of the board early in the company's existence. When the time was right, and the needs of the business dictated, he moved out of those roles. Another example. Tom Burton (Dr. Burton's son, and a founder of the company) exited his seat on the board of directors because we needed to make room for another investor on the board. Both of these moves were made willingly by Dr. Burton and Tom Burton, because it was felt that this was the right decision for the company. If other moves like this are required in the future, I fully believe that those affected will look at the issue, first and foremost, using the lens of "what is the right decision for Catalyst?". Look to hear from Dan Burton in a future all team member meeting on the topic of the current hype around Health Catalyst-- should be really interesting!

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Great Talent & Culture: The people here are highly capable, collaborative, and committed to helping each other succeed. The partnership between onshore and offshore teams works well and is a real strength. There’s a culture of grit and stability that has helped the company navigate multiple major transitions over the years. Mission-Critical Engineering: The work involves complex data infrastructure that requires deep technical expertise. It can be demanding, but seeing these systems run successfully and support real-world operations is consistently rewarding.

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Wage Compression and Retention Risk: Compensation for tenured and high-performing staff has not kept pace with the market for specialized data engineering and support leadership. In practice, tenure can feel undervalued or even penalized. This creates risk around losing institutional knowledge and operational continuity. Stagnant Career Progression: Contrary to stated expectations, strong performance ratings do not consistently translate into meaningful, market-aligned compensation growth. The process of how compensation is benchmarked lacks clarity in practice, obscuring how compensation decisions are made and what is required to advance.

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