Broadies are raising important issues that deserve close attention. Topics such as pay and benefits in an expensive city like Boston, protection against power dynamics in academic labs, simpler ways to report concerns, and clearer paths to promotions are important. Here, we outline some of the ways we've worked, and continue to work, to address them.
PAY TRANSPARENCY AND PROMOTIONAL PATHWAYS
In early 2020, our HR team launched a project to evolve our existing job architecture to create more consistency across roles and pay scales now that the Broad had grown into a relatively large nonprofit research center. The pandemic forced the team working on this project to turn to critical emergency operations and other pandemic-specific work, including the launch of a major COVID-19 testing center. In 2022, as pandemic conditions stabilized, we relaunched this effort.
At Broad today, 12 salary grades determine the specific salary range for a role, based on factors such as the essential functions of the job, education, experience, autonomy, management responsibilities, and market data.
We are upgrading salary grades to fit the increased complexity of the Broad and the changing marketplace. There is always a need for variability across teams, such as individual performance, lab/platform size, the types of research being conducted (including whether it’s an industry partnership or grant-funded).
We’re working to create more clarity and consistency for groups while protecting this important flexibility, including the ability for Broadies to choose to move between labs and projects more seamlessly.
The job architecture project aims to:
- Provide clarity and transparency around our approach to compensation
- Review and update job descriptions and matrices and provide clearly defined career paths
- Review and update the salary structure (e.g., grades and leveling)
The job architecture project is being broken into phases, which will include regular updates to the community. As this work is moving ahead, over what we estimate to be the next 18 months, the HR team continues to offer important guidance to managers and individuals creating roles, considering salary adjustments and promotions to inform decisions around compensation, and considering equity in teams and similar roles across Broad:
- The Compensation team provides salary ranges to managers considering new requisitions, reviews potential offers, and reviews promotion requests to look at equity within labs/platforms as well as across the Institute
- People Partners support managers with giving feedback and performance reviews - this effort promotes recognition, career growth and promotion as opportunities become available
Broadies are also encouraged to review the Job Matrix, available on the Broad Intranet (login required). There, you’ll find resources around how to speak to your manager about career development and promotions; and managers can find resources for ensuring their team members are appropriately recognized, developed, and supported. Broadies can also reach out directly to their People Partner for support.
COMPENSATION
We offer employees competitive compensation and benefits packages that are benchmarked regularly against academic institutions, hospitals, and other non-profit organizations in the Greater Boston area.
Broad is a nonprofit research institution affiliated with MIT, Harvard, and Harvard hospitals. We are not a for-profit organization, and therefore cannot offer compensation packages that include things like stock options or profit-driven bonuses.
However, we work hard to stay competitive. Scientists at Broad are able to contribute directly to unique, leading-edge research efforts working alongside some of the most impactful scientist-mentors in the world. We also regularly and proactively update our compensation plans.
- In the FY24 Merit Cycle, in addition to a merit adjustment of up to 3%, we proactively increased RA I salary minimums by 7% and made corresponding increases to the RA II and RA III minimums.
BENEFITS
Salary is only part of a compensation package. At Broad, we offer the same generous health and retirement benefits to everyone, regardless of position or seniority. We believe everyone is at their best when they are fully supported around physical, social-emotional, mental, financial, family, and work-life health.
- Time off: 15 vacation days in a Broadie’s first year; 20 days in subsequent years; 3 personal days each year; 12 sick days each year; 13 paid holidays plus a holiday closing each year between December 24 and New Year’s Eve.
- Medical care: A choice of three medical plans designed to meet Broadies’ individual and family needs. On average, Broad covers 80% of the monthly medical plan premium for individuals and families, and the copays and deductibles are market competitive for those who use the plan on a regular basis.
- Dental care: Comprehensive dental care coverage with 100% coverage on most preventive care and substantial coverage for a range of other dental services.
- Vision care: Through our medical plan and in partnership with Eyemed, and at no additional premium, we provide fully covered exams and coverage for corrective lenses.
- Parental leave: Generous parental leave that exceeds most peer and area non-profit institutions and the state requirements, including 18-20 weeks total (birthing + bonding) for birthing parents, and 12 weeks for non-birthing parents, all paid at 100%.
- Gender-affirming healthcare: Enhanced gender-affirming medical benefits for benefits-eligible transgender and non-binary Broad employees and their family members whose medical coverage is provided by the Broad.
- Additional health and wellness perks: Onsite flu vaccination clinics, eye exams, fitness classes, and $300 a year toward gym memberships and fitness equipment.
- KGA Life Services and therapy support: A 24/7 employee assistance program (EAP) for employees and their household members that includes three free counseling sessions, personalized dependent-care services, and financial and legal services.
Broad can also help employees find a therapist, covers copays at 100% for behavioral health services under two of Broad’s medical plans, and offers support groups for interested employees to connect with Broadies who share similar experiences. Support groups are facilitated by licensed psychologists and childcare experts on topics ranging from nutrition to stress management to parenting young children.
- Retirement benefits: Broad matches employee contributions dollar for dollar up to 6% of base salary. Employees are fully vested in their contribution plus the Broad match from day 1. Additionally, Broad may provide an annual discretionary contribution, apart from the employer match, to employees’ 401(k) accounts. This discretionary contribution vests on the 3 year employment anniversary.
REPORTING CONCERNS AND GRIEVANCES
We launched a climate survey in 2022, to help the Broad evaluate training, policies and practices that contribute to a culture of inclusion, and to help enable the welcoming, rigorous, inclusive, and inspiring climate that we want at the Broad. Survey feedback indicated that some Broadies didn’t trust or understand the process for reporting a concern or grievance. In response, we restructured Broad’s concern management process to provide:
- A clear process that offers Broadies direct and anonymous ways to report concerns.
- Trained investigators dedicated to responding to reported concerns, with a commitment to work confidentially and as swiftly as possible, while ensuring that the review is objective, thorough, and fair.
- Management training related to reporting and concern management is scheduled to launch this fall.
In addition, we have offered an independent ombuds service to all Broadies since early 2021. The Broad ombudsperson is a confidential and supportive partner who can informally discuss concerns. The Ombuds' role is to listen and help understand the situation, consider goals, and identify options.
ACCESSIBILITY ACCOMMODATIONS
Accessibility has been, and continues to be, an important consideration in all of Broad’s physical and digital spaces. Broad provides accommodations to qualified individuals due to disability, pregnancy, or religious beliefs that allows them to perform the essential functions of their job and have equal access to the benefits and privileges of employment. Efforts to foster a more inclusive environment for all have included streamlined leave-of-absence and accommodation processes with improved transparency, tracking, and process management, and the addition of gender-neutral bathrooms across our campus.
Broad’s administration accessibility working group is in the process of an accessibility audit, in partnership with external experts and in consultation with the Accessibility Steering Committee, which has been instrumental in getting this started, to review current and proposed physical space on campus as well as digital communications channels.