Internal dysfunction and poor leadership sour a great mission - Anonymous employee Health In Harmony Employee Review

I have worked with Health In Harmony more than ten years, and what has kept me here, besides a true belief in the potential of the mission and a desire to see it through to its full expression, plus the excitement of the current moment of growth, is the supportive environment and level of personal opportunity. The organization is ambitious and has prioritized investments in programs and growth opportunities, so there is always more work to be done, and you will be on your toes. With the growing programs, personnel, and external partners, there are so many learning opportunities and a strong openness from the leadership and the whole organization to new ideas and anyone who wants to take ownership and responsibility for aspects of the work. I have had a career path I couldn’t have had many places by being able to quickly take on new and more challenges, explore interests, and design my own place in the organization based on what is needed and my own strengths. Being an employee at Health In Harmony is truly being able to see your influence on the outcomes of the work. A lot of initiative is required, but if you enjoy creating and problem-solving, you can build such a fulfilling experience for yourself here. In addition to professional satisfaction, my experience at Health In Harmony has always been one of personal support. The onus is on the individual to create personal boundaries, as is appropriate, but those boundaries are respected, and one way Health In Harmony has always lived its values is by prioritizing people-friendly policies, so the structure exists to do what is needed for your personal life (flexible schedule, ample time off, progressive leave policies, generous healthcare and other benefits and reimbursements). I recognize that being here for so long, my experience is likely different than a new hire, but I have always witnessed respect and appreciation for people’s personal lives from every member of the team, and I do believe each employee can take a higher and wonderful level of ownership here than at more established or dogmatic organizations.

The organization is still young and growing - and it is growing quickly. It does not always have the resources and history to have everything we need in place. The other side of the coin of individual opportunity I mentioned above is personal responsibility to be part of creating what is needed internally. It is not an organization where you will show up and be given a checklist of things to accomplish each day, for better and for worse - every role has ownership and innovation built in. We are still in the process of building the infrastructure of the organization, especially as it evolves into a new and different type of organization. We, myself included, have a lot to learn about building a smooth-functioning organization, plus anticipating upcoming gaps and pain points. The pace and enthusiasm, combined with the size of the organization, has absolutely led to communication challenges and feelings of chaos that we are working to improve. There is a lot more to do, but I feel a commitment to learning and improvement, and the challenge, the personal support, and the ability to see one’s fingerprints on the work has been more than worth it for me.

Working alongside in-country staff and the communities is the best part of the job.

Health In Harmony says that they are shifting the paradigm, but in the end, the way they work internally is no different than any other organization in the nonprofit industrial complex. Though their approach was novel several years ago (in that they listen to and fund the solutions of Indigenous peoples and local communities), it is now more commonplace. Paired with an effort to scale too rapidly, the heart of this nonprofit (and 1/3 of its employees this year) has been lost. People who have worked there for years and helped to build up the organization are treated as replaceable and pushed out when valid concerns around finances and strategy are raised. Leadership team is out of touch with the employees and the communities they serve, and they have, unfortunately, doubled down on their burnout approach to scale. Until serious efforts to diversify the leadership team and Board of Directors have taken place, I would advise against working here.