Read what our Ugandan and Kenyan colleagues have to say... - Anonymous employee Living Goods Employee Review

1.0
5 Nov 2021
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Decent pay if you're on the US staff and horrible elsewhere

Cons

I can't even begin to list the things that are wrong for this organization, but the first is that this is the largest group of white saviors I have ever seen. All western nonprofits deal with this, but when you're paying white colleagues 3x for them to be called a "director" or have a fancy title, when there are tens and tens of staff (mostly Ugandan and Kenyan) working 5x harder for hardly a fraction of the pay. There is constant discrimination and unfairness in salaries as well. On the US team, everything is plagued with bold-faced lies, deceit, fake concern and even stealing. There is absolutely no care for retention and most non senior staff come and go quicker than most other places I've worked. Not onlyt that, there is such little care for the actual doers of ALL the labor that HR and the board continue to overlook. No, our programs are not the problem, our core staff isn't the problem, it is the senior management that is causing all of these problems. In a colleague's review, they mentioned the CEO having a colonialist outlook. From the racist things heard by many staff over time, it pains me to say this is true. The US team is not much better, a bunch of skinny white women getting paid six figures to sit on phone calls all day. While the other staff work 50 to 60 hour weeks churning out all the work with a fraction of the pay. And then let's get the senior management together and have them offer lower staff no means of growth ever, and all for no reason. For example, we did not get annual raises because "we got bonuses instead" which is just codeword for "we're not going to invest in you as a future partner and current employee!" These people will act like they care about you but they do not. They only care about appearing to have a morally-decent job, while all they're doing is openly exploiting both working class americans and our colleagues in Africa. And I will not even get into the failure that is our strategy. They pass the hot potato around for years, getting paid to sit and never make a single decision that could benefit the staff AND the people they are here to help. Instead, we sit here years down the road with no clear path for who this company is, what they do, or who they want to be... we have numbers that mean nothing, with stories that mean nothing, and we have to just churn out a story so we can get more money. When does the hunt for cash stop and the true work start? Maybe we will never know... Do not work here, it is not worth it. Believe me..

Explore other reviews about Living Goods

5.0
7 Dec 2023
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Hugely impactful organization, passionate, kind, and capable leaders and colleagues. Results-driven, collaborative, growth-oriented, inclusive culture.

Cons

Can be challenging to manage the time zone differences between Africa and United States offices.

5.0
31 Oct 2023
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Living Goods surpasses others in terms of impact and sustainability, with strong results and deep commitment to government partnership. It is unique among INGOs as an African company with 98% staff coming from and living in Burkina Faso, Kenya, and Uganda and only a handful of globally based staff. People who work here believe in the mission and are all hardworking and driven.

Cons

It is challenging work with a high bar for success. There can be a high workload and overtime. It can be hard to be promoted but leadership has been increasingly focusing on retaining and investing in employees' growth in recent years.

See reviews by: Helpful|Rating|Date|All