The Black experience - Recruitment Manager Year Up United Employee Review

Year Up is heavily dominated by a culture of elitism, veiled white supremacy, & blatantly obvious severe imbalances of power across the spectrum. When I first joined Year Up, I gravitated to the familial, open environment it attempts to foster. At the local level, there are everyday issues & disputes that can only be described as typical in any employer, yet tolerable. However, the main issues overwhelmingly stem from upper management, specifically at the NATL. level & their complete lack of reason, coupled w/ extreme disregard for employees of color at the local level. For me, frustration began to occur when ideas, suggestions, & solutions to the daily conundrums that would arise were discounted. Year Up wants you to spend hours at a time with members of the NATL. team who, quite frankly, were under qualified in varied areas & out of touch w/ the realities of the program at the local level. In many, if not every instance, the NATL. teams would hold frequent ZOOM & SKYPE meetings that were dressed up as collaborative efforts, however, it was nothing more than a share-out session where the Senior leaders of specific functions would glean information to nauseam from local level employees. The only thing upper management would bring to the table were corny warm up questions that, if you didn't buy into, would get you slighted from any sort of recognition for actual accomplishments. In addition, Year Up fails to hold many of its Caucasian Managers accountable for poor leadership, failed metrics, and unhappy employees under their guidance who've taken the necessary steps to report their disappointing experience. Also & unfortunately, I've seen numerous employees of color work in silence because they know that reporting actual thoughts and feelings to the majority, white management & decision makers may result in retaliation and an unpleasant work experience. Conversely, I've seen numerous employees of color conform to a culture that forces you into what Caucasians deem to be the standard of professionalism. That, more than anything, saddened me. Lastly, the pay for local level employees who are overworked can only be described as abysmal, especially in comparison to the salaries of members on the NATL. team & the frivolous spending the organization has done.