Pros
The dogs. Gaining skills in behaviour and training to further advance personal goals. (Although this isn't well taught by the organisation, staff just teach it to each other.) Some colleagues became friends for life.
Cons
Extremely negative workplace culture. Staff only 'trained' through negative reinforcement, baffling considering it's a positive reinforcement based company when it comes to the dogs. A consistent , accusational approach from management to employees. CEO pouring millions into a restructure that is completely unrealistic about the real world and cost of living crisis. Front line staff on the kennel blocks on almost minimum wage - no hazard pay despite the situations they are put in. Hazardous waste (dog waste along with plastic) being burned daily with the smoke pouring over the kennels, forcing staff and dogs to breathe it in. Workplace injuries are extremely common and no support is given. Absolutely no option for overtime pay. Yet it's frowned upon if you leave the shift on time. Get hundreds of hours of unpaid work out of the already low-paid staff every month. Emotional blackmail being used to ensure employees do not go on strike. Extremely high stress working environment. Rivalry between every single department that is only worsened by management. A bullying culture. Claim to be a disability confident employer but are actually the opposite - actively and shamelessly discriminate. Extremely unprofessional management that are so out of touch they're not capable of doing the entry level roles - yet demand more and more out of them each day. Expect you to drop everything and bend over backwards for members of the public as soon as you're asked while magically continuing to get all the dogs on the block seen too. If you can't be omnipresent in this manner, you're demonised. Watching new starters have their confidence slowly crippled, every single time, without fail. Refuse to let you shadow or let you develop skills in other departments so you can go for internal job roles - making progression extremely difficult unless they like you. Promotions are often backhanders to friends of management. HR no where to be seen. Staff chronically exhausted and burnt out due to high levels of pressure placed on them. Shamed rather than supported if a staff member asks for help with burnout - it's as if it's expected and a badge of honour of the job. Certain departments record keeping incorrectly to make certain staff members look bad on other teams. Favouritism from other teams and management around certain dogs - putting some dogs to sleep claiming it's because an SOP needs to be followed - but then bending the rules of that same SOP to spare a different dog. Lack of transparency across the whole organisation. Continuing to promote people to management higher within the company who already manage incredibly badly at rehoming centre level - rotting the structure from the inside out. Say there is no budget to pay staff more or get bedding and treats for the dogs in their care... but will spend hundreds of thousands on computer screens for the kennel blocks (that no one asked for) and fancy fleet cars, bonuses and salaries for people higher up? This is no longer a charity to be proud to work for. This is a poorly built machine, damaging everyone it comes into contact with. Nothing you do for this place will ever be good enough. And if you ask for support you'll just be told to go get another job. Save yourself the drama and just go for a different job in the first place.