Wachovia – “Wachovia was a great place to work if you landed in the right job, or if you were lazy.”

Pros

Great customer service culture, and a true committment to diversity and the community. Some very sharp and thoughtful people. Very collaborative and team oriented. I very much appreciated the flexibility in terms of my work schedule. I often worked from home, or took long weekends; as long as deadlines were met and deliverables were above or beyond expectations, management was satisfied.

Cons

Wachovia's focus on team building and consensus made it very difficult for the organization to reach and stick to decisions. It also allowed individuals who chose to do so to 'coast', contributing little, on the assumption that someone else would pick up the slack. The organization invested heavily in coslty multiyear consulting services contracts, instead of developing their own internal resources, which was clearly discouraging for the morale of those in the trenches. I started out in IT, and was disappointed with the calibre and vision of the bank's IT services; very slow, top heavy in management, and not progressive or visionary. There seemed to be little correlation between actual performance and compensation. I received very high performance reviews over a four year period, yet my salary lagged below the 25th percentile benchmark. It was only when I informed my manager that I was leaving that I received a raised. I also found it very difficult to move laterally within the organization, unless you had a personal connection within that group. Previous job experience and education was more important than past job success and potential.

Advice to Senior Management

Empower employees to make decisions, then hold them accountable for execution. Reward them when they deliver. Give employees more opportunity to influence compensation of their peers (try giving them an allowance that they can distribute as they see fit).