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WestEd

Engaged Employer

WestEd reviews

3.8

76% would recommend to a friend

(39 total reviews)
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Jannelle Kubinec

72% approve of CEO

35% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

4.0

Work/Life balance

3.8

Compensation and benefits

3.7

Culture & values

3.7

Diversity & inclusion

3.2

Senior management

2.9

Career opportunities

Ratings by demographic groups

Reviews by job title

39 reviews

Reviews about "Compensation"

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3.0
Feb 25, 2019

Best place to work, except . . .

Research associate
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Wonderful, compassionate people who are committed to the mission.

Cons

Only three weeks vacation for first three years. Work is intense, expectations high. I’m exhausted from lack of time off. I definitely am not my best self at work due to this lack of time off. I am interviewing elsewhere even though I am otherwise happy here. Several people who started at the same time as me have already left for organizations with more generous time off benefits. It’s unfortunate that these talented people were lost. Although some managers allow employees to take unpaid leaves, this is not financially feasible for people living in the Bay Area. Another con is that people are paid the same regardless of geographic location. We have staff working in New Mexico getting the same salaries as those working in DC, San Francisco, and Oakland. Staff in Sacramento office are able to work 80% FTE because their pay is so good relative to the cost of living. This is a major inequity. We have staff in large cities barely scrapping by while employees in areas with lower cost of living can live like kings. Staff have complained about both of these issues but leadership refuses to acknowledge their concerns.

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WestEd Response
7y
Thank you for your work with WestEd – we are so appreciative of current employees who take the time to provide their views and constructive feedback on WestEd’s policies. I’m pleased to hear that you’ve had good experiences with the people here – we pride ourselves on being a supportive and caring workforce. WestEd has a complicated web of staff that work from their home office, one of our remote offices, or in our corporate headquarters in San Francisco. Within that web are a range of reporting relationships. We pay staff equitably based on a number of factors. It is rare that we have two people doing exactly the same work that brought exactly the same experiences and value to WestEd. On average, staff that live in higher cost of labor areas make more than those in low cost of labor areas but we don’t believe a strict geographic compensation policy is in WestEd ‘s or our staff’s best interest. We feel that our wages are competitive and in line with the work we do. Regarding vacation time, we also provide 12 paid holidays per year, as well as paid sick leave. After your 4th year here, your paid vacation time goes to 4 weeks per year. Thank you again for your work and taking the time to provide your opinion.
5.0
Jun 5, 2018

Overall good entry-level RA job

Research assistant
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good pay and benefits for the position Great benefits (20 vacation days, 12 sick days, and holidays even for new staff) Somewhat flexible schedule

Cons

Cannot bill overtime even if you have things you still need to finish Little room for growth unless you have an advanced degree Offices don't have much community except within immediate co-workers

4.0
Sep 3, 2017

Great Benefits, Great Colleagues, can be unrealistic work demands

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Benefits- especially if you do not have a good ss acct- the 401k&b plans are great. Also excellent PTO and health benefits Mission driven smart, open minded interesting people to work with

Cons

Its all soft money, so to move up you need to be able to get your own money- and since the overhead is quite large, that means big federal grants. problem, no easy path to get to that spot, and absolutely no support for writing peer reviewed articles. So its being a pre-tenure assistant professor with out any salary guarantee.

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WestEd Response
8y
Thank you for your feedback; we are always happy to hear from our current employees – and thank you for your length of service here. Employees consistently tell Human Resources that our health benefits and 403(b) / 457(b) plans are excellent, and we agree! We also strive to provide a generous PTO policy, including both paid personal time and paid sick time. Our employees know that the mission is the key to our work here, and providing access to education and services for families and teachers are critical to student success. As a non-profit and a quasi-governmental organization, there is fluctuation year over year in terms of funding and contract renewal, so much of our revenue comes from sources that our employees actively seek and apply for. WestEd is proud of our many varied streams of funding, and aims to continue seeking grants and contracts in all areas of education and research. We encourage all employees to discuss their concerns with Glen Harvey using her open-door policy, with their manager and with Human Resources.
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