Chrysler Financial Reviews in Kansas City, MO Area

Pros

Salary was very good, bonuses were fair, benefits pkg was most excellent. Safe location. Top notch facilities/office. Some co-workers were honest and loyal. Some management was fair. When I started with the company 10 years ago they were well-respected, everyone was a team and it was actually a fun place to work.

Cons

Unfortunately that changed quickly and everything went downhill. After 10 years of dedicated work we were all laid off when they closed last Sept. No severance, no opportunities to transfer to another location, no early retirement options, nothing. Promotions are extremely unfair, limited opportunities if you dont know the "right person". Extremely aggressive collection practices were encouraged. But come on this is collections , not customer service. Management focused so much on goals and stringent numbers that they forgot about their employees as people.

Advice to Senior Management

PLEASE learn to respect all of your employees, from the ground - up. We all have our college degrees, we all have good suggestions. The Overland Park, KS location started as a FANTASTIC place to work. Unfortunately it didn't end that way, it just ended.

Pros

Excellent benefits, fair compensation, tons of vacation, decent bonus structure.

Cons

Working weekends, impossible goals, office politics/favortism, constant schedule change(s), micro-managed, very tough interview process for low level job. Must be willing to relocate otherwise very limited career opportunities.

Advice to Senior Management

Reward/recognize top talent and retain them.

Pros

Pay and bonus was great, but then everything fell apart and no longer give any bonuses and no raises an longer. Benefits offered are great, medical, dental vision etc.

Cons

Management doesn't communicate effectively and then you are often held responsible for knowing new information when it hasn't been communicated to you. The company is basically slowly laying off all of its employees, very very unstable environment to work in.

Advice to Senior Management

Communication is key, be honest with employees about the situation of the company and how secure the position may or may not be.

Pros

It paid well. The job was very easy although they made it as stressful as possible. Easy parking. Nice chairs.

Cons

very stressful place to work. they made you feel like you were going to get fired every day. horrible last minute scheduling changes

Advice to Senior Management

consider your employees

Pros

Stable employment, easy work, low expectations.

Cons

No loyalty to loyal employees, low expectations of employees, management favors employees that fly under the radar.

Advice to Senior Management

Value your employees. Reward loyal, quality employees with increased salary and promotional opportunities.

Pros

It was a steady and good place to work. I don't think any of my co-workers (including me) had a life that was just handed to them - for the most part, it was a group of good people doing good work. Incentives and benefits were competitive. Time off was very flexible. Security was always on point and good conversation.

Cons

Typical stuff. We would watch a magic show in one hand while the other would be taking away all the things that had once made it tolerable. We lost tuition, all good health benefits, 401k match, salary increases, etc. Everything began to revolve around half truths and fine print.

Advice to Senior Management

Have some integrity and be honest. It seemed that in every town hall - the bigger the boss, the bigger the lie.

Pros

Overall, there is a good population of working people here - educated (some via college, some via life experiences), and all ages/sexes/professional backgrounds/races

Cons

Work-life balance is non-existent. Over-emphasis on flawed managment practice of "100% coaching." Favortism is rampant. Limited to non-existent upward mobility options. Upper management constantly creating minor and non-HR approved targets to hold center employees accountable for (I say unapproved because you can't use the daily, secondary, created-on-the-spot goals for performance reviews but you can discipline them for them - very inconsistent approach). Policy changes happen pretty much on a weekly basis, then upper management gets mad when the reps don't meet their goals even though the goals are constantly being changed mid-stream.

Advice to Senior Management

When you treat people like numbers - and I'm speaking about the customers, I'm not even talking about how you treat your employees, however, both are applicable - then you will suffer the consequences on the bottom line. All business - regardless of industy - is predicated on human relationships. And your company seems bent on ignoring this rule all the way to the Treasury department, where you'll ask for more money to keep you viable for another month (so long as the company doesn't have to place salary limitations on their top 25 executives, apparently).

Pros

Decent pay, decent benefits, good fun people to work with...median age is about 27, younger laid back managers. Decent profit sharing, decent bonuses.

Cons

Overall it was a decent place to work at, however, after the Cerbus acquisition work life balance went out the window, so did benefits such as Tuition Reimbursment. Poor communication by top management and intense competition for promotions. The schedule changes pretty much all the time, when I started we only worked one weekend a month for 4 hours. Then it was every other weekend then it was every weekend. Then it was off on Friday Saturday, but work Sunday, it depends on the zone worked at, some people worked 4 10 hour days some worked 8 fives, the scheduling was all over the palce.

Advice to Senior Management

Need better communication about everything.

Pros

Competitive salary, great benefits. Good community support makes you feel good about the company's respect for the community.

Cons

Corporate politics. The brown nosers are those that are promoted. Communication and leadership from senior management is poor at best. Senior management creates the perception that feedback from subordinates is critical to success however nothing is done with the feedback nor does it appear to be considered in any decision making. One critical lesson that they would benefit from learning is that even if the feedback is unrealistic or they are unable to use it, then say so and explain why. Not enough explanation given. Senior leadership at field offices manage out of fear from corporate office and VPs.

Advice to Senior Management

See above

Pros

Good benefits, somewhat flexible in permitting time off provided it is not requested for the months of Nov through Feb, their busiest time of the year. Good tuition reimbursement program, good company to be with while you obtain your Master's degree, then it is time to move on to someplace where you will be rewarded and appreciated.

Cons

Expect to work 7 days a week Nov through Feb. Since the company was purchased by Cerberus, it has gone downhill dramatically. Cerberus does not have a clue at how to run a motor company, let alone a Financial Company. Management says all the right things (seeks feedback from employees, allows employee input on goal setting, requests ideas for change and improvement, etc...), however they do not "listen" to the information they are given. It is all just air to create the illusion that they value their employees opinions. Upper management does not allow time for (or assess the overall benefit) new strategies implemented to work.

Advice to Senior Management

Sincerity goes a long way. Dont ask for feedback or input if you do not truly value it or intend to act on it. Treat people like human beings and show appreciation for their efforts. The only time anyone receives praise for their work is if they are one of the "chosen ones" (who are constantly praised and complimented in front of the rest of the office), or if someone comes up with an idea that actually saves the company $100k+ per year, which happened maybe once in 10 years I was there. Morale is SO POOR, due to the work environment, mandatory overtime, and constant change. Change is an understatement. Upper management responds to poor results with a "herky jerky" attitude. When you implement a different strategy or approach, you must allow time to see if the new strategy is better than the old. Upper management in the Contact Center is running so scared of the Executives in the home office, they do not allow time for new strategies to be implemented nor do they assess the impact of the change. Take a strong look at the acquisitions made by the Business Centers on the credit desk. The buying policies have grown so relaxed over the last 5 years that it has caused the company to suffer drastically in their profits. Upper Management will not tell the Senior Executives how poor the buying practices have become for fear of their jobs. Senior Executives have the attitude towards Upper Management in the Contact Centersof "fix it, or I will find someone who will". If there were more accountability on the front end of the business (the credit desk) then there would be fewer losses on the back end (collections).