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Executive Director

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Executive Director reviews

3.6

61% would recommend to a friend

(112 total reviews)

Kay Whalen

70% approve of CEO

59% positive business outlook

Executive Director has an employee rating of 3.6 out of 5 stars, based on 112 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Executive Director employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Administración y consultoría industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

112 reviews
1.0
Oct 1, 2014

A lot of work without any return

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great experience for future positions (may have more than one job). Travel a couple times a year is a perk. Continuing education support from the company. Young workforce, great for social experiences. Location is great.

Cons

A lot of work and hours put in without a lot of reward in return. Benefits - really lacking in what they offer employees, although they think they have great offerings. HR does not support staff what so ever. They are there only as a formality. The management style for clients is odd. There is one person in charge of a lot of moving parts and is not always there for support. Consulting partners have final say. Therefore executive directors that should have the ability to make decisions, don't. However, the people within the executive director position have really only been put there because they are amicable and willing to go along with what is dictated to them from the partner level. They lack the experience and ability to manage staff accordingly and that only funnels down through all of the positions below them. Constant turn over in staff is frustrating for those wanting to continue in their positions. A lot of duties are delegated to current staff and they are never recognized or compensated for those extra duties. No long term vision for staff that could be an asset to management. You may be promoted and you may receive more responsibility, but you will always be seen as replaceable and someone younger who requires less money will always be around to take your place. If you're not interested in becoming an executive director at some point, you will not have the ability to grow within the company. Any other interest is seen as not worthy of focus and will not be rewarded in any way.

2.0
Mar 27, 2018
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good location Small gym in basement Attracts well-meaning people Reasonable salaries at more senior levels

Cons

For-profit company that manages non-profit medical societies (‘clients’). EDI partners have financial stake in company and use non-profit relationship as justification for low salaries. Several partners are executive directors of ‘clients’, which is overt conflict of interest! Claims it supports professional development but only true for association management careers. Many valuable opportunities aren’t supported. My offer to train staff in foundation-level science was turned down as ‘unnecessary because the client isn’t complaining’. Inflexible. Working part-time or intermittently from home is almost impossible (even if they agree to it during the interview). Emphasis is on being seen to work long hours, not on quality of work. Revolving door company. Hire mostly 20-somethings so many key roles filled by people with inadequate experience. Senior staff with experience (and higher salary demands) are considered dispensable. Approach to hiring is to keep seats warm until people leave and are replaced. Extreme micromanagement. Lateral, creative thinking and original ideas frowned upon. Creativity is quickly stifled. Favoritism towards compliant staff that don’t challenge status quo. These staff are used to keep tabs on others who ask questions and make suggestions for improvement, which is seen as a threat.

1.0
Feb 12, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The pay was ok, I guess. They give me a 10% raise after only a few months of being there, in addition to a [v small] holiday bonus. They also gave the week between Christmas and New Year's off, although you were still expected to answer any/all emails received, so... not really.

Cons

EDI has little to no interest in diversity, with the DEI "committee" (now dismantled) being a figurehead that was tasked with doing silly events rather than any interest in making measurable change. (Illustrated by how the vast majority of the company is middle-aged white women.) They do not offer one single day of sick leave. If you need time off, it comes from your bank of PTO. (15 days to start, moving up to 20 after 5 years of service, if I remember correctly.) When traveling, the work expectations were intense, often clocking 16+ hour days, with little to no incentive for doing so. After suffering a life-altering injury and returning from my federally-protected (FMLA) leave, I was put on strict performance plan, though I had zero performance issues prior. (And, in fact, I'd been awarded a huge raise only a few months earlier.) HR (and management) were legitimately cruel, especially in relation to my FMLA leave. My time with EDI was legitimately the worst of my entire life-- even worse than when I was widowed. If you're considering employment with this company, I would highly suggest you don't.

Viewing 22 - 24 of 112 Reviews

Glassdoor has 135 Executive Director reviews submitted anonymously by Executive Director employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Executive Director is right for you.