Franklin Resources Reviews

Pros

The name Franklin looks good on your resume. Some amenities are nice.

Cons

Horrible middle management with no ability to lead or inspire. Very rude- This place is run like a prison. they are very cheap and do not communicate changes. No work-life balance.

Advice to Senior Management

Hire or promote only qualified and competent people into management positions and provide training and seminars along the way to make the transition into management smoother. treat employees with respect and like adults and foster an environment where one can learn and grow with the company.

Pros

It is a well known and worldwide company. The name is know and there are national commercials for the company. It is definitely recognized when you say you have worked or work for this company.

Cons

The management team was horrible, there is large amounts of red tape and promotions are based solely on who you know and how much brown nosing you have done.

Advice to Senior Management

Communicate with the staff, allow them to grow. Train and take care of your employees.

Pros

Frankin has great resources, good management team and excellent sales and name recognition. The work life balance is excellent and everyone there is really nice and caring. The HQ in bay area are great, nice facilities, and really smart people.

Cons

Franklin office in NYC is subpar. The working environment is depressing. While the facilities are the best i've ever seen in the industry, the people there are 'JV' and a lot of them are just there to get their paycheck. I would argue that 15% of the NYC office is REALLY talented and smart people but the rest are just not passionate about their job, or don't express it. The pay is ok, definitely not as high as other places, I'd say about average.

Advice to Senior Management

pay up for the best talent and fire the people that don't work hard

Pros

They pay you handsomely to work here, because it's such an awful and depressing place to work.

Cons

It's just a dull, soulless, depressing place to work. It's a huge money-making machine. It's impersonal...they could care less about you, just that you do your job. If you come in here full of life and aspiration, you will be beat down (literally and figuratively) in a matter of months and leave a shell of your former self. Most of my coworkers were zombies, afraid to rock the boat, who kept quiet to avoid the politics and favoritism here, and just collected their paychecks. Year after year after year they do this. You look at the management, and think "Really? These are the best people they could find to run these departments?"

Advice to Senior Management

Tenure does not automatically mean management material.

Pros

The work life balance is very good.
Pay is good if your in the right area. Low for finance but high for hr.
Job advancement can be difficult do to the lack of openings.

Cons

Pay is low because of the location. In the San Mateo office you are between SF and Silicon Valley so you suffer with a lower pay compared to those locations.
You are told that the pay is competative but it is only competative for them.

Advice to Senior Management

It's not a bad place to work but some areas need a big overhaul.

Pros

There's not much going on in terms of business practices that I would implement if I ran the company, but some of the environmental factors are okay. The gym is nice. It's an easy commute. Etc.

Cons

There seems to be very little implementation of long-term strategy. The norm seems to be to react to the past instead of trying to influence the future. Communication on the ground is very, very poor. The management structure is very vertical and top-heavy, especially in terms of middle management. There's a significant disconnect between stated policies and values versus what's actually enacted.

Advice to Senior Management

The former paradigms aren't working. Re-examine EVERYTHING from the ground up in a comprehensive business analysis on a recurring basis.

Pros

The name Franklin looks good on your resume, since the name is somewhat known in the financial sector. There are limited opportunities for advancement without connections.

Cons

There are scant opportunities for career development and advancement, middle management possess little or no people skills, and little rewards or recognition for hard work

Advice to Senior Management

Please hire more competent middle managers, who possess true management skills and nurture and reward the dedicated employees

Pros

They have nice new buildings

Cons

This is a family run business; and there is a lot of nepotism.

Advice to Senior Management

Hire more competent people rather than your family memebers and their friends.

Pros

The people are great and I loved working on the teams and getting to know people. And very good benefits in terms of health care, stock program, dental, and pet insurance. There is also a cafe on site which is a nice place to get breakfast.

Cons

Low starting salary and raises the barely keep up with inflations. Some areas in the company are more bloated with people and veterns also so it can be difficult for some people to move up in the ranks. There is also a constant change of workflow is unnecessary and can be confusing and hurt productivity.

Advice to Senior Management

Allow more mobility for people to try new areas in the company or expand their overall knowledge or other departments.

Pros

Large company. Good benefits. Convenient location in San Mateo. There are a lot of small things that make being an employee nice. Access to perks and benefits and some profit sharing. Great access to mutual fund information.

Cons

Poor supervisors/management. Old school way of thinking. Not receptive to new ideas. Hard to get promoted unless you're "in" with the decision makers. Getting a compliment is near impossible.

Advice to Senior Management

Do some housecleaning. Just because someone has been with the company for over 20 years, doesn't make them a good supervisor. Bring in people with fresh ideas and fresh approaches. Get employees more involved in decision making. Have employees rate job performance of their supervisors as well.