Arvest Holdings Reviews

Pros

There is very good job security.

Cons

Salaries are pretty low for non management jobs.

Advice to Senior Management

Find out why people are leaving their particular jobs and try to correct the problem.

Pros

Nice coworkers
Good profit sharing

Cons

S
ometimes hectic pace short handed

Pros

Arvest creates a friendly, welcoming environment for it's associates. They truly support the open door policy from all levels of the organization. Arvest, due to its extensive operating hours, provides many opportunities and much flexibility for students.

Cons

Being a regional bank has its perks, but only being in 4 states does limit ones ability to transfer to a new area. The pay at Arvest could be much better. Admittingly they do give compensation for sales, however for the most part it doesnt make up for the lower pay rates.

Advice to Senior Management

Senior management needs to continue doing what they are doing. They are a well managed company that follow what they preach. As the economy improves and revenues increase, work on increasing associates' pay, in order to better compensate and retain the most valued associates.

Pros

Great co-workers, excellent benefits. I feel my work is valued.

Cons

The salary does not compare evenly with those in a similiar position at other banks.

Pros

Internal advancement opportunity
Benefits
Well respected in the community

Cons

Upper management doesn't always move/get rid of people when they are not performing their job well.

Pros

The benefits are good. PTO given is great and the 401k match/profit sharing bonus are nice.

Cons

The pay is extremely low. Arrest tends to promote from outside the company rather than promote from within.

Advice to Senior Management

Pay fair salaries. The upper management seems to be paid very well. Pass that along to the folks who do the majority of the work..

Pros

Good pay (when there is incentives)
Howard Roberts will hopefully bring a new culture to the company by demanding more of everyone

Cons

No workplace diversity and little support for it....very resistant to change
A great deal of laziness among branch managers when senior management is demanding growth for the year

Advice to Senior Management

Just as senior leadership has been significantly been overhauled, turn a close eye to your branch managers. Many are twiddling their thumbs and/or dumping growth, leads, and delinquency goals mostly on their employees.

Best thing to do for new loan officers? Have them train/observe the top loan originators at their branches for a week.

Pros

The people that work for Arvest are amazing. The culture is spectacular. Employees are treated fairly and equally. The banks are locally managed and a very high percentage of decisions are made in those communities, not in a "home office".

Cons

Arvest is open most holidays that other banks close for on an annual basis. Arvest is a conservative bank, and sometimes decisions made are a bit too conservative for my taste. Their staffing structure is expensive, and therefore overhead is expensive which means it's harder to compete with salary for middle and upper management salaries.

Advice to Senior Management

The core values of Arvest are solid. My advice is to stick to those values, no matter what. The economy has been tough recently, that doesn't mean that we stop doing certain things that make sense.

Pros

Great opportunity to gain experience and basic knowledge of the banking industry. Teller incentive payout is a definite bonus if you are able to make minimum referral sales.

Cons

Sometimes work/life balance can get a little stressed, especially if you are working while attending college full time.

Advice to Senior Management

Offer more opportunities to part-time tellers to take on more responsibility and pay raises.

Pros

Good pay, nice co-workers, great benefits.

Cons

Customers are frustrating and sometimes demeaning, but you can't do anything about it.

Advice to Senior Management

It's annoying to have to use the customer's name in every transaction. It's awkward.