case manager

development director

clinical team leader

The Alex

The Alex is a big organization with many programs, tons of directors and mgmt. 
I held two positions in my two years at the Alex. The first was in communications and it was great. I had a small team, a good manager and co-worker that trusted in my ability to do my job and supported my ideas. 
I was then transferred to support the community food centre's emergency food response when covid hit and that is when things started to take a foul turn.
Me and my colleagues worked incredibly hard to meet the needs of the community with very poor leadership. We were expected to bend over backwards to appease mgmt's demands with little support and transparency as to why decisions were being made and who was making them. My co-workers were great but the "leadership" was very fake and self serving and generally had no idea what they were doing. 
Myself and my co-workers made the best of what we had to work with but overall my experience at the food centre was quite disappointing . 
They have significant staff turnover and don't value good, knowledgable and hard working staff. 
In my time I also witnessed:
Many sudden terminations of great and hardworking employees with no explanation. 
Hiring of new external staff instead of promotion/developing from within.
No accountability for people in leadership positions despite many HR complaints (community food centre)
Very few long-term employees 
Lack of diversity in leadership/board 
Disengaged board 
Too many directors/managers 
No transparency around decisions 
Unfortunately a broken and poorly managed organization. 





Some of the programs and serves that they offer are great. However, this company is very mismanaged and is not conducive to people of colour. For instance, HOMEBASE is well not integrated, the employees are mostly all white with little knowledge on cultural sensitivity. The management their might state that they understand and support inclusion and diversity on the surface, however, they are not inclusive. They are also more willing to go an extra mile for their white clients vs, indigenous and racialized clients. If you are a person of colour and looking for a job there or working there. IT IS IN YOUR BEST INTEREST TO KEEP TO YOURSELF, HAVE YOUR MOUTH SHUT, AND HAVE AWESOME SUPERFICIAL CONVERSATIONS, otherwise you will be targetted!!!

Worked at The Alex because I believed in the values and vision espoused, despite lower pay, the rewards were intrinsic. Great to help others and be of service. New CEO is a narcissist and is intimidated by strong women, especially. Bullying and harassment by senior leaders are not checked, despite complaints to HR. Firing of best staff members on a whim, if leadership feels inclined. Lack of understanding of programming a contributing factor. Not the great, innovative, and diverse organization it once was. Poor board leadership as well.

I am a mental health nurse and 10 yr veteran with the Canadian Forces. I accepted a position with the pathways program of the Alex in Aug 2014 and to be perfectly honest, this has been a dream job for me. Salary is below average compared to Alberta Health but the work / life balance, the team work and comradery among the interdisciplinary teams, and the validation as a health care professional has been amazing. Working a a member of an ACT team has brought new depths to my practice and I love the community setting, no more scrubs, no backstabbing from peers, no Union b.s. And no evenings, no weekends, and no more 12hr shifts. 

I love working here and it was well worth the $8,000 pay cut I took to take this position.

My manager has always been really supportive and available when I ask to talk about something that’s bothering me at work. She has been really responsive to preventing some issues. 

The clients that we see are amazing. The agency has many different support programs that are tailored for youth, adults and seniors. The agency is also mindful and supportive of practitioner wellness (ex. Providing paid days off for ‘ COVID-Relief’ to acknowledge how challenging it has been on everyone. Always provide/supply appropriate PPE and medical supplies needed to do our jobs. 

The YHC Team lead(Emma) was very unsupportive and lacked any kind of empathy and compassion during my time spent at the Alex. There is also a very toxic work environment/culture that is fostered which leads us as practitioners feeling like we are spread thin and overworked with very little room for change. Certainly would not recommend to a friend.

Overall, this is a toxic workplace. People are talking behind your back constantly if you don't fit their workplace culture. Management tries to work with you, but does not really do anything and tells you you're inadequate and that they need to fix you. Co-workers who put you down to look better for management. Terrible response with the pandemic situation with the clients. Management who can't really manage and wants to be liked by their workers than lead. 

The Alex is a fun, stimulating, challenging place to work where you will always grow and learn more. We work with interdisciplinary teams to help the vulnerable people in Calgary. I love working at The Alex so much I am a returning employee! I've made friends for life and have the most job satisfaction I have ever had.

No job appreciation, no job security, only politics, management not helpful. No stability, people get hired and fired all the time. Some areas are worse than others. You will find all sorts of staff, hard working and stressed out all the time to meet deadlines to laid back staff with not enough work, still working for years.

Experienced front-line employees receive unfair pay, with significant wage disparities even among colleagues in similar roles. The company's preference for offering higher salaries to new hires implies a lack of appreciation for loyal and dedicated long-term staff, contributing to a rising turnover rate.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Case manager 3 salaries reported	$56,986 per year
Development director 1 salary reported	$115,000 per year
Clinical team leader 1 salary reported	$83,250 per year

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