World Resources Institute reviews

WRI has a severe retention problem. The broader communications teams and individual program teams at WRI are incredibly understaffed. I had three supervisors during my year and a half at WRI. Although all of them were fantastic, it was quite jarring to switch managers twice, mainly as the transitions occurred when I was finally feeling settled in my role. Not only are they hemmoraghing valuable talent because HR refuses to pay junior staff equitably and treat them with respect, but the constant cycle of meeting new people and saying goodbye to treasured colleagues is utterly exhausting. On top of this, the increasingly authoritarian HR is continually placing more restrictions on the raise structure, which is unfair when considering that people who continue to stay committed to WRI are not rewarded for their commitment to the company but instead are expected to pick up slack with no equitable financial compensation for their work. In my case, I left WRI because I was indisputably being paid inequitably. After over six months of negotiating with HR to fix the problem and hoping my team could provide an alternative solution, I left. I felt terrible for my team, as they are wonderful people. Still, especially after HR scheduled my exit interview, I am going with a sincerely bitter taste in my mouth, and unfortunately would not recommend WRI to friends or colleagues. If you've ever heard the phrase "HR protects the company, not you", that could not be more true of WRI, as HR clearly does not care about its employees.

Unfortunately my experience at WRI has been affected by a few egoistic men at the top who really left me with seriously mixed feelings about the organization. I remember having a panic attack at the eve of a launch when the project lead was being unresponsive, and I felt immense pressure to deliver on behalf of the team while not being acknowledged for it properly. There was no real accountability even after a few of my teammates and I reported issue we had with this individual to HR. I also had very negative experience with one member of the HR who was very dismissive and almost racist during my salary negotiation and when I approached her to discuss relocation options and visas. Another important caveat is also that once you become an expert in a topic, you can easily become the "go-to" person and continue to take on similar projects. This can become very repetitive over time.