Bank of America Employee Review

I have been working at Bank of America

Pros – The main advantage of working at BOA is the work-life balance. Even banking center managers typically work only 40 hours/wk, and that is during banking hours, of course. The benefits are awesome: great health insurance, 401k and pension, childcare reimbursement ($135/mo for informal care or $250/mo for formal daycare), company-funded health care account ($300/yr individual, $600/yr for a couple, or $1200/yr for a family--status based on your health coverage). A few progressive benefits: domestic partners covered, infertility covered, gender reassignment surgery covered. Promotions are very fair: pretty much everyone starts from the bottom as a teller now. Even the market leaders mostly started as tellers. Your performance and willingness to change banking centers when positions become available determine how fast you move up.

Cons – Outside experience and education don't count for much. You still start at the bottom, but you may move up a little faster. You have to be very careful because 1 or 2 losses or write-ups can really hurt your ability to move up. Vacation is pretty skimpy--only 2 weeks for tellers w/ less than 5 yrs at the bank. They just cut out our bonuses, so tellers now get no cash bonuses.Management is always shifting priorities. They go overboard focusing on whatever new priority they have, and lose sight of everything else. For example, right now we have a long, elaborate greeting we have to do, and you'd better get it right if you're visited by a secret shopper. In a couple months they'll change their focus again & forget all about the silly greeting. Training is HORRIBLE. If you haven't worked as a teller before, you'd better be ready to fight to get sufficient training. My #1 piece of advice if you get hired: do not just let them throw you out there. It's your butt on the line if you make mistakes because you're not well trained.

Advice to Senior Management – The training process really needs improvement. New tellers should only train in branches where there is a strong lead teller or senior teller that has the time and inclination to train. Stop sending new tellers to understaffed branches for training, and start holding management, rather than the teller, responsible for losses and mistakes during the first 3-6 months of employment. Bring back Spirit Points--they probably have the greatest return on investment of any perk BOA has offered. Try to take a more balanced approach to goals for the branches. Don't let sales fall by the wayside while you focus on customer treatment or vice-versa. On a more positive note, thank you for finally realizing how important customer treatment is!!!

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend