Good goals, poor execution. - Anonymous employee The Y (YMCA) Employee Review

2.0
Jun 11, 2008
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The overall aims and goals are inspiring. Most staff are very warm and friendly.

Cons

Despite a verbal commitment to data driven decision making, most decisions are still based on gut and on personal relationships. There's terrible fear of admitting mistakes, which limits experimentation to what's safe or relabeling something old as innovative, instead of truly taking risks. Decisions are several years behind the times instead of forward thinking.

Explore other reviews about The Y (YMCA)

5.0
Jun 4, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great communication from supervisors and staff. A very welcoming environment, making it easy to reach out and ask questions if needed. Overall, a fulfilling experience.

Cons

I have no complaints from my experience. Come to work energized and mentally prepared as working with youth takes a lot of energy!

3.0
May 28, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The team members/ coworkers and administrator (team lead) that you work with on a day-to-day basis are the ones who will make or break the experience. Obviously working with children, one must have patience, be flexible, creative - there are some days that test all of those skills! lol! But when you have a great teaching team to work with, your program can run like a well-oiled machine. I loved the time I had working with this program!

Cons

The pay is very low, I do understand with the YMCA being a non-profit, but at the same time when a position is responsible for young children, the pay should be higher than a fast-food chain, to attract and keep higher caliber staffing. - If you already work at a school, it's not a bad gig to make some extra money for coming in a few hours early or a few late. But if you are driving more than 5min, to work 2-3 hours for a ridiculously low rate I would say pass. I was not doing this for the money - I truly loved my coworkers and the kids that attended my school. Unfortunately, some of the other cons are: poor communication (very poor), lack of SOP's when it comes to how teachers should be handling situations for their own personal safety and unrealistic expectations (of us to do marketing, surveys collecting demographics, and pushing for financial donations). The last few things listed is what ended up driving me to resign.

See reviews by: Helpful|Rating|Date|All