Pros
- The benefits, obviously. Complete wraparound healthcare, dental, vision, FSA/HSA, CSA, 403b, IRA, and A PENSION after you meet the magic number (75) which many people get as the majority of employees have 20+ years with the company. Your PTO earnings go up every milestone anniversary to a max of 500 hours with cash buyout options, KPIT and a many other positions are remote capable, tuition reimbursement up to $1k a year, ample opportunities for online/webinar/in person learnings/trainings (typically self-directed for personal growth), EAP program (5 sessions per year), competitive salaries with annual bonuses based on department/personal performance; annual/quarterly reviews, annual raise (usually 2-5%) - you can build long lasting relationships and friendships due to length of employee time - difficult to get fired unless in the KP IT department - ample opportunities to join clubs/groups within the organization for networking and issue related interests (Women in the Workplace, PRIDE, etc.) - annual extracurricular fundraising events like the HeartWalk around Lake Merritt for the AHA, PRIDE Parade Float, MLK Day of volunteer through various partnered orgs, etc. (fun/team building) - Lot's of women in positions of power (VP's and below; one CEO of the Medical Group is a woman). - The current and former CEO is a POC - Kaiser sponsors a lot of community benefit programs, events and organizations that support communities around their hospitals and the community at large (Huge Katrina rebuilding program, Health Vans to homeless encampments, weekly farmers markets, etc)
Cons
- Highly matrixed organization: lots of backroom politics and power struggles for control of initiatives and resources; many different "bosses" or leaders one must keep happy - zero visibility into what people actually do: Kaiser has 250,000 employees across various regions and about 150,000 of those are clinical workers so if you're working on the business or IT side it is extremely challenging to find the right SME's or technical expertise without knocking on doors a bunch. There is visibility into org charts and job titles but these are vague at best. - Success greatly depends on your own personal network and ticking boxes: it's about who you know, and the majority of projects relied solely on ticking boxes rather than doing what makes sense or is less bureaucratic or tedious. - Not really a "speak up culture": they claim to have a desire for people to suggest process improvement or point out compliance issues or even workplace harassment - but the reality is very different. Compliance or workplace harassment issues can be reported anonymously but they go nowhere or find no fault. Then you're blacklisted. Complaining about bureaucratic red tape and non-stop tedium and entries to barrier for engaging certain workgroups falls on deaf ears and often marks you as a boat rocker. - Change Management is a joke: Kaiser is constantly trying to revamp processes (every 2 or 3 years) for project implementation but a distinct lack of change champions at the executive level means nothing gets adopted and is instead a colossal disruption and waste of time. KPIT will do a massive layoff of employees every 2 or 3 years (they always get cuts first during hard times) because the new "Process" deems roles unnecessary leaving those behind to absorb yet another 2 or 3 persons worth of work. - No negotiating for a raise on your own: it is impossible to request a raise or a promotion for strong work. You are subjected to the small annual raise and that's it. Managers claim they have no money in the budget and promotions are non-existent unless there is a REQ open and then you're competing with everyone else for the position your worked hard to earn. - difficult career trajectory/movement: You have to know the hiring manager of an open job req in order to get your foot in the door for any open positions or be subjected to the same ATS bs as everyone else. Zero transparency on who the recruiter or hiring manager is for any job opening. It's all about your network and who you know and word of mouth, which makes career progression nigh on impossible. - worker technology is usually 10 years behind: we were using Lotus Notes and blackberries well into the late oughts. Provisioning work needed software takes pulling teeth to get and approval from bosses for licenses. Very outdated systems stick around until it's painful and then if you leave for another job you're woefully behind. - Difficulty for career movement and those golden handcuffs results in people staying in a position for decades and becoming lazy and complacent with zero sense of urgency. It feels a lot like working for a government agency sometimes. - The workforce consists of 3 major types of roles: Clinical (MD/RN), IT, and Business. There is an overt and promoted policy of always elevating the Physician's voice in projects and needs for the goals and business initiatives. This is understandable, to some extent, but this also breeds a culture of Physician abuse and an attitude of holier than thou where overt and distinct abusive behavior is ignored and/or promoted. - Fairly DEI inclusive in theory and messaging; but there are very few POC in high level management or director positions (the CEO excluded). - Main CEO position has never been held by a woman