Pros
Working with certain staff that understand the mission The relationships made along the way The culture before the current CEO
Cons
The current CEO does not know how to lead the organization. He has made so many changes for the worse in the past few years. The White Plains Clinic was sunsetted causing for clinicians to be relocated/let go. Census for the residential program was decreased significantly - in turn decreasing the number of children that the organization is able to serve. The census was decreased because the organization did not have enough staff to take care of the children. There is not enough staff to take care of the children because the leadership team does not know how to be leaders and guide their staff in the right direction to provide exceptional services. Staff do not feel valued. I’ve attended a staff party at the President’s house where the CEO refused staff to use the bathroom onsite. The leaders of the organization also don’t understand or recognize what needs to be done to ensure retention. I’ve worked here for many years and the work environment has changed drastically. Direct care staff use to be able to lean on each other as a team, depend on each other and be on the same page when taking care of the children within the cottages. They would feel comfortable within their cottages and have a strong sense of team. There were regular trainings provided to us to ensure that Andrus is providing the best care to the children. Within the past few years with the new CEO this has all dissipated. All of the staff who had these skills have all left. The new staff who are being hired are not being provided with the skill set to handle the children within residence. The CEO is concentrating on the wrong things. He is working on creating a data dashboard for all leadership staff, not sure how far or how successful that will be as none of the leadership staff are using it to influence the work that they do. Staff do not feel connected to the CEO or the Chiefs. Leadership have left a bad taste with middle and lower-level staff and even the clients we serve!! The clinical leadership has not been consistent. The Chief Clinical Officer was recently terminated, with no explanation. The Chief Development Officer who raised less money than she was even paid, and did away with the fundraising events for Andrus is gone. There is no fundraising team. The Chief Human Resources Officer’s solution has been to fire people, they do not advocate for people to get raises, rather they keep piling on work to the staff who are already there overworked, and physically and mentally drained. On a weekly basis the staff are leaving or being terminated. The turnover rates and information that are being shared with the board are being manipulated to push the CEO’s agenda forward. It’s only a matter of time before the Board looks into the inner workings of the CEO, and what is really occurring. All of his executive admin team have left his office. The Chief Program Officer, as the longest standing leader at Andrus is not speaking up and making the right decisions for the children and families in Andrus’ care. The organization is falling apart from all ends, and no one is doing anything to make it whole. I wouldn’t be surprised if the CEO is working on his exit plan. He’s using company dollars to pay for his personal expenses. The board needs to look into what the money is being spent on. The organization pays for his membership to a country club for him and his family to attend and every penny is being charged to Andrus. The board needs to ask the right questions and look into the books. The facilities staff have also worked with contractors to reconfigure the President’s House to add a third floor room and bathroom for their babysitter, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars. One of the main reasons the Facilities Director left. The cottages are filthy, the leadership team brought staff in to clean the cottages because of how dirty and disgusting they are. Why is money not being spent on the facility for the children we are taking care of? Rather it’s being funneled into the pockets of the CEO. Staff are denied bonuses, while the CEO is receiving 5 figure bonuses. When you speak up about concerns, leaders are not willing to hear you, but rather blacklist you and make your life at work miserable until they either fire you by doing away with your position, wrongfully terminating you, or pushing staff to leave because they refuse to promote staff who are doing their jobs or giving them raises. The organization is experiencing a crisis of leadership and fiscal responsibility. I can’t wait to be out of this place. It’s falling apart all around me.
