Capital One Reviews

Pros

Lots of contract opportunities when nothing else is available in town.

Cons

Very high turnover for both contractors and employees. The place is a heartless meat grinder. It is important to trim low performers, but frequently the CapOne pruner seems to be random. Their recruiting process seems to target aggressive and arrogant people. The performance management process keeps people on their toes, but also creates destructive politics and incentives (making your colleges look bad makes space for yourself higher up in the rankings).

Pros

OK to good work life balance

Cons

OK but not great. More managers than needed.

Advice to Senior Management

get rid of middle managers

Pros

Decent place to work with good salary and benefits like $1000 match on FSA, 7.5% 401K match, Stock purchase program etc.
Great benefits in case of layoffs.
Good work/life balance.
Convenient location and conveniences like gym and nurse practitioner on site.

Cons

They try to hire really good people based on aptitude, but not enough focus on technical skills.
A very competitive culture that fosters distrust and people always doing this for visibility and getting good points for year end appraisal.
Forced rankings in the year end performance process.
In IT, too many people who talk a lot and come up with list of bullet points, but very few people who understand technology and can help when there are problems.
In IT, too many managers who seem more interested in climbing the corporate ladder, but lack any strong technical background.

Advice to Senior Management

In IT, please recruit people for technical skills and promote those who can be good people managers with a good technical background, rather than depending on outsourced companies for everything.

Pros

Capital One respects diversity, provides an opportunity to work with multiple vendors and suppliers. The compensation is competitive. They are also supportive of flexible work schedules.

Cons

Being a financial company, IT is a support function, and so jobs in the business (such as Business Analysts, statisticians, operations analysts) are good, but IT is not that great. Opportunities to learn new technologies are not consistent. Promotions are somewhat arbitrary.

Pros

Good Bank to work in Retail Branch Network. Lots of good employees work there, which make it easy to adjust.

Cons

Branch System is pathetic. Takes forever to open accounts. Becoming a little too much like Chase. Too focused on numbers, not relationships.

Advice to Senior Management

Enough with the Chase lingo, become your own bank and stop copying from others. Update and invest into Branch systems.

Pros

Capital One encourages work life balance. You work with highly intelligent people. Very entrepreneurial...all decisions are based on data. Not afraid to try new things...if it fails, you learn from your mistake and move on

Cons

I have been in a similar role for a long time...we are starting to grow now so should be promotion opps again after the economic slow down

Pros

good atmostphere,good people, easy living

Cons

strict managers, bad vibe, bad area

Advice to Senior Management

Be more agressive

Pros

Analysis oriented, but some tendency towards false precision

Cons

Too much consensus seeking, though senior management say matters most in the end.

Pros

Capital One is very big on showing it's employees that upward movement is possible as long as the employee is open to feedback and can assimilate that feedback into daily practice.

Cons

Capital One is a very conservative company in regards to the risks it is willing to take which seems to put them at a competitive disadvantage. Employees spend a lot of time checking the box on regulatory training.

Pros

superb CEO
good business model
awesome benefits
great retirement
Everyone tells you its great to work here

Cons

bad computer systems, stone age processing, click-like environment, no support from management, no recognition for positive results

Advice to Senior Management

get to know your associates. Answer questions directed to you as management. support your associates through empowerment instead of instilling fear or reprimand. Don't change your schedule at the last minute, and if you do make a change, don't expect everyone else to be available to accommodate your changes last minute.