Admin needs a lot of work - Anonymous employee The Broad Institute Employee Review

Although it's touted as a very open and progressive workplace, it's actually political to a degree that I've never seen elsewhere (other universities and non-profits). The science may be cutting-edge, but the admin depts are held back by 1) a lack of vision/planning/leadership, 2) a lack of fundamental organizational policies (let alone enforcement of them), 3) abysmal, antiquated financial/software systems, and 4) promotions gifted to those who have ingrained themselves into the right cliques. It's frustrating that these things have continued for so long (years) when things on the science side are on the fringe and apparently quite successful. Key point: admin teams function well - quite well - in spite of executive leadership, and certainly not because of it. It's a testament to the level of dedication, pride, and professionalism among the "worker bees" that things haven't completely fallen apart. And since catastrophes are quite rare, higher-ups seem to have convinced themselves that everything is fine and no changes are needed. The internal satisfaction surveys, though - extremely negative in the areas above - tell the real story. Also, as many people have mentioned here, career paths on the admin side are virtually non-existent. HR will say that they're implementing workshops and initiatives, but for most people in admin it won't make a difference. If you want a career path, you have to get experience at the Broad and then go elsewhere.