Discover Reviews

Pros

Competitive salary, generous time off, dynamic and exciting workload

Cons

Greatest flaw that comes to mind is the use of Windows XP and MS Office 2003. Were told upgrades to Windows 7 and Office 2010 upcoming, but nothing yet.

Pros

Medical and dental benefits at reasonable cost that begin immediately

Cons

Lack of communication amongst the collection department managers and employees. Customer service area is much better managed. Call monitorings requirements are not consistent. Unclear expectations made it difficult to work here.

Pros

Fair compensation versus others in the industry.
Excellent room for raises based on performance w/ a 6,9, or 12 month evaluations based on where your pay falls versus your peers
4 week paid time off, but no additional sick leave.
Excellent 401k match
Very reasonably priced health benefits.

Cons

There is a complete lack of transperency in incentives and acheivement awards. They do no publish statistics for associates to determin if their incentive was calculated correctly.
It is extremely difficult to get a schedule change and performance is not measured in determination just tenure.
DFS made more profits then anticipated and had a record breaking year in 2011 and did not bonus the workers.
Although they have a 4 weeks paid time off there is no sick time off and only 6 paid holidays.
Although there is an open door policy employees fear retaliation and there seems to be no promotion if you voice your opinions.
No maternity or paternity leave.
When asked to help out with other department's work our core measurements and goals were not adjusted and we are judged on metrics for that additional work that the other department isn't even evaluated on due to system issues.
I feel Discover is an okay to good place to work, but there is definate need for improvement.

Advice to Senior Management

The most important improvement would be to value associates feed back instead of feeling the employee is negative.
More transperency in incentives and awards.
Give bonuses to the "worker bees" and not just the big guys. After all you did state it was all because of us. It verges on insulting to hear how profitable we were in 2011 with just worthless verbal praise.

Pros

Decent 25 days personal leave days ( including vacation, sick days, etc)

Cons

Sub-par compensation.
In some teams, working from home is strictly forbidden.
Some people in senior management are incompetent and driving worker bees crazy.

Advice to Senior Management

360 degree feedback for management team.

Pros

good work/life balance
low performance expectations

Cons

poor career advancement opportunities for junior employees
compensation is average at best

Advice to Senior Management

make greater efforts to retain top talent

Pros

Discover provides housing in a top-notch extended stay hotel for the entire summer, with some meals provided. The work environment is warm and welcoming throughout the entire campus. You are provided a mentor that is there to help and talk to you whenever you need it. You will not feel lost at any point, because the people you work with will help you with anything that you need. The campus also has a huge food court, several small shops with treats/food/drinks. It also has a fitness center that is very convenient. The people are very easy to talk to and get along with. The recruiting supervisor is absolutely the best. She makes the experience top-notch and extremely enjoyable with intern events planned all throughout the summer. Being able to hang out with other interns also makes its a great summer. You will make many new friends and have experiences with them that you will never forget. Truthfully an amazing summer for an intern.

Cons

Upper management is fairly distant from employees and they have a hard time acting on feedback and suggestions given to them by employees.

Advice to Senior Management

Listen to your employees, and actually follow through with promises that are made. Take suggestions/criticism and use them to your benefit.

Pros

Great colleagues, balance of work and family

Cons

Commute can be pretty horrendous from the city of Chicago (the office is located in the northern suburbs). Also, working for a mid-tier brand can be limiting in terms of long-term personal and professional growth. The management team also seems to have an overly conservative management philosophy with regards to growth, new initiatives, and ground-breaking change.

Pros

- Relaxed environment, good work life balance
- Approachable leadership team
- Least possible commute if stay in nearby residential suburbs

Cons

- Conservative and narrow outlook towards business growth opportunity
- Limited opportunity and career advancement options

Advice to Senior Management

Focus on key competencies for promoting employees than loyalty and trust within close circles.

Pros

Treat employees with respect and truely believes in doing the right thing for the customer

Cons

Pay is below industry standards

Pros

Energetic culture, bright people, and the workforce is turning over in an upward trajectory of higher caliber people.

Cons

Technology is the tail that wags the dog, and they move slowly. Sometimes the Midwest culture doesn't seem to understand that the marketplace is shaped by what happens on the coasts.

Advice to Senior Management

Need to take some more risks. Competiton is overwhelmingly bigger and aggressive. Exec management likes their stock, comfort, and comes from silver spoons. Time to take some risks boys, and share all that gravy you came upon in your 30's with the rest of us.