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The Broad Institute

Engaged Employer

The Broad Institute reviews

4.0

76% would recommend to a friend

(805 total reviews)
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Todd Golub

82% approve of CEO

57% positive business outlook

The Broad Institute has an employee rating of 4.0 out of 5 stars, based on 805 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The The Broad Institute employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology industry (3.5 stars).

Reviews by job title

805 reviews
3.0
Feb 1, 2021

Fast-Paced, Understaffed, Great People, High Expectations with Little Support

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good people Good benefits Good amount of time off Stable work (never was afraid of losing my job even in the pandemic) Relatively easy to transition to different roles/teams

Cons

With a huge hiring increase did not come an increase in scrum masters - this is a huge problem because scrum masters are responsible for "culture" but there are too few of them to make a difference. They tell us to take time off but there's so much to do it's not always realistic. There isn't any systemic support which makes taking time off easy for folks as overworked as the scrum masters. The onboarding process is near-nonexistent. You learn to sink or swim largely on your own. To non-scientists, the Broad is a huge, complicated, confusing place. DSP in particular is VERY confusing. I've worked at the Broad for two years and I barely know more about it now than I did when I started. DSP leadership is not bought into the practice of scrum, even though every team who has a scrum master values the role and/or wants more scrum support. This trickles down to little scrum support and little to no interest in hiring more scrum masters. This is quite frustrating whey they keep reassuring us they listen and share our values. As much as DSP talks the importance of culture, I don't always see this value in practice. This shows up a lot in relation to scrum masters in particular, as they are, again, the "culture" people. During a particularly difficult time for my team, I in my role as scrum master could have been a huge help, but leadership did not involve me in the process of finding support for my team. My insight about my team's culture was not taken seriously (and even ignored altogether) despite the fact I was hired to be the person who could offer just that. Why hire someone for this role if you aren't going to consult, listen, or work with them? In my own, personal experience, I burned out from this role quite quickly due to constant frustration with management, who said they would do things to support culture but then fell short when it came to supporting the scrum masters, who are essential to cultivating the culture they want to influence. I was placated with (what I came to understand were) empty promises so regularly I stopped trusting management nearly altogether and resigned myself to "this is just how it is": that is, feeling constantly overwhelming and without meaningful guidance or managerial support. I don't doubt upper leadership cares, I just don't think they realize how they THINK culture works in DSP is not aligned with how it actually works. In my role as scrum master, there was little opportunity for upward growth, just lateral changes. Your experience at the Broad varies so dramatically depending on which department or team you're in. Therefore, it matters that my review is for DSP specifically, not the Broad in general.

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The Broad Institute Response
5y
Thank you so much for your frank feedback. It's unfortunate that your experience was so frustrating and I'm sorry you felt disconnected along the way. We plan to take action on the information provided and I'd welcome the opportunity to learn more. Please email me, jasonr@broadinstitute.org.
5.0
Sep 15, 2020
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

1. Flexibility, 2. Healthcare 3. Infrastructure and support 4. Friendly place to work 5. Great brandname

Cons

Salary lower than industry but its not-for-profit and the science can be unbeatable

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Glassdoor has 926 The Broad Institute reviews submitted anonymously by The Broad Institute employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if The Broad Institute is right for you.