Pros
- Some really great coworkers - Honestly... not much else
Cons
- Unaccountable senior level management. I had to endure lots of micro-aggressive misogynistic and retaliatory behaviour from branch management and witness clear favouritism of male employees. - HR does not exist for anyone in the company other than senior and upper level management. Many stories (and experiences) of HR booting or de-crediting employees in order to preserve management. - Pay is far below market, and you will find most departments are VERY stingy with pay raises, especially when it comes to salary progression scales. You would think having salary progression target skills written down on a module scaling sheet would give you automatic pay bumps when you achieve those skills, but you will have to fight for the pay raises (especially if you are a woman or female-identifying). Also these pay raises are $2-3.5k annually, so you're not really seeing a huge difference. Prepare yourself to be there for 4 years at least before you hit top pay progression salary in just the 1 position. - Don't try to move up too fast in the company. I had never seen this before until working here, but HR and management will penalize you (passive aggressively) for fast promotions, even if you are more than capable. - The company lowered benefits (very limited dental and no vision care now) in 2022, so you will actually find many other companies and other FI's now have better benefits. Vacation did improve slightly. - This company is having major retention and hiring problems; lots of turnover of good, hard-working employees who had been there for a long time because of recent changes. This used to be a highly reputable FI for members and employees, but has since experienced a severe drop in internal rating (senior management has blamed the "Great Resignation" which wasn't really even a thing within Canada - just google new articles) - No loyalty to long-term staff. If you're not on board with whatever management wants you to do or to tell them, you're in the bad books. For example, over the year, management has been trying to force PT employees into FT positions, and has pressed employees to disclose medical info and rebook Covid vaccinations, even with clear government regulations. The company holds meetings to address mental health awareness and cultivate better company culture, but none of this is seen in retail. There is absolutely no flexibility for retail staff, so it is MUCH better to be in positions within Head Office. - Target market for clientele is rich old people. The company spends millions on overhead and "financial spa" renovations, more or less working directly against technological advancements and upcoming generations. Banking app is absolutely terrible, though they did a little rehaul over the company website so it definitely is a bit better. You cannot password retrieve if you forget your password, you will have to call Solutions Centre to reset it (they work a little over branch hours). - Just know what kind of company you are starting to work with if you still decide to apply. You may be pleasantly surprised, but I certainly was incredibly disappointed.
