Patina veneer. Transparency, translucence, opacity. - Director Health Catalyst Employee Review

No career growth, blatant nepotism, a beautiful and phenomenally well articulated mission that falls on its face when it comes to execution. Smart but dizzy employees who have been run hard and in circles. As a team member you will routinely hear that the company values transparency, in fact its importance is pounded into your head, and you are reminded of it and other principles at the beginning of each team meeting. A lot of the content is regurgitated monthly and in my opinion at times borders on feeling theocratic. While a good principle, the transparency from my experience applies solely at the the macro level, more specifically it applies to information you receive at all team member meetings from 1-3 key leaders, and from the CEO in particular, but unfortunately at meso and micro levels things shift from transparence to translucence, muddy, and often opaque. This is further exacerbated by a lack of standards between departments, and while a lack of standards would suggest agility and was likely beneficial in a growth and startup phase, in my humble opinion it seems less appropriate for a company founded in 2008. In short when it comes to daily operations transparency falls by the way side, instead replaced by passive aggressive behaviors, which I think in many peoples' minds is the "nicer" thing to do. Bringing up concerns with how management is (or is not) addressing an issue is career suicide, especially if you're perceived as a threat to the current state of the "system". I like to think of the professional environment at HC using the atomic model as an analogy of sorts (HC loves analogies, as do I). At the nucleus you have key executives who are largely related by blood or marriage. These executives gather with a fairly predictable cadence, so in short a biased conduit exists, beliefs are routinely reinforced, opportunities are recurringly afforded to the same select body of individuals, usually those related to the executives, or disproportionately those in the first orbital: ex-Intermountain employees. Most of what HC lives, breathes, preaches, and believes is lifted largely from Intermountain, which isn't to poo poo Intermountain, but there are other successful healthcare system in the United States, and the world, so it's a bit myopic and results in oddly homogeneous dialogue and large doses of confirmation bias, etc. The second orbital in our model is a blindly loyal and devout bastion of employees, often holding VP and SVP titles, many in non-client roles who are grossly overpaid for the value they provide. This bastion isn't stupid in most senses of the word, thus they know where their bread is buttered and that there is no chance they could make elsewhere what HC pays them. In typical fashion these individuals have grown quite accustomed to the gravy, so they will do whatever is necessary to maintain the social status quo, ensuring orbital 1 and especially the nucleus remain intact. You say jump, we jump. You nod, we jump. Changing gears slightly, rather than telling the non-orbital team members where they can improve I have witnessed first hand on more than one occasion where the "solution" pursued was one of withholding work from said team members; a waiting game effectively ensues, and ultimately the employee either quits, wilts on the vine, or theoretically receives some form of severance if they have the gumption to acknowledge the elephant in the room, broach the sensitive issue and start the crucial conversation, but this is largely precluded by the fact that HC hires for "humble" (read spineless) employees who will align with the agenda and mission. If you want to work at HC and receive an offer, I advise to ask yourself what is that you're looking for, and if HC will help you get there. Scratch, and perhaps even pierce the veneer - what do you see?