John Hancock Financial Services Reviews

Pros

Small, entrepreneurial part of John Hancock - offers opportunity to impact business quickly

Cons

Lack of experienced management results in poor decision making; worst systems capabilities seen in a decade; terrible employee morale

Advice to Senior Management

Jim Boyle - take a harder look at JHFN.

Pros

Good Benefits
Strong corporate training program
friendly co-workers
great entry level position

Cons

low compensation
way too many unneeded levels of management

Pros

It was a job. I got up in the morning and went to work. At first I like the overnight travel but after a while it became tedious. The management in the upper level was excellent.

Cons

There was too much overnight travel. If there had been less travel I may have stayed. I did not like being away from my family for so much time during the month.

Advice to Senior Management

I think a better correlation between inside sales and the outside sales force would lead to a better comnunication system. Thus the need for so much over night travel could very well be eliminated.

Pros

John Hancock has a very detailed and intensive training program. John Hancock has established objectives and stages or levels to hit the ground running

Cons

Management is disconnected from the employees and has no idea how to motivate or run a sales desk. Commitments made by HR were not met upon employment.

Pros

The benefits are above average compared to other similar companies. Great opportunity for up to $7,500 in tuition assistance for graduate school per year. Generous paid time off.

Cons

Very little feedback from senior management regarding forward career progression. The salary is not up to par with similar positions elsewhere. Ambitious and creative thinking is not encouraged instead relying on the "old way" of doing things

Advice to Senior Management

It seems that the company has gone the route of hiring from the outside. There is ample talent that exists internally if senior management would take the time to recognize and cultivate this.

Pros

Intelligent leaders
Lots of room for advancement
Benefits

Cons

Relatively generic large company atmosphere

Advice to Senior Management

More exciting office layout and interaction with employees.
Something more than the clock in / clock out humdrum.

Pros

The work/life balance is great at JH. The hours vary but it's typically a 9-5 or 8-4 with flexible lunch hours. Environment is laid-back, casual, and low demand. Benefits are good.

Cons

Career development/progression does not exist unless you "don't rock the boat" and become a puppet to your boss. Ambitious, strong-minded, independent-thinker and self-motivated people do not and will not fair well here (especially in this particular department) because the environment and senior management do not support innovation, change, or recognize talent when they see it. They base everything on who goes to lunch together, etc. Not professional working environment, but just a time waster. This department needs to be outsourced (and should have been gone a long time ago) to provide better efficiency for the company. Overall, no motivation to even try to be efficient/productive.

Advice to Senior Management

Please look into specific management and department and determine if it's even worth the time and resources to keep people in certain departments because they are not productive, efficient, or have any value to the company as a whole. There are people who barely do any work and yet receive promotions because they don't challenge or give different process improvements to the boss. This kind of environment is not healthy for those who are ambitious to learn, grow, and move forward with their career. The only way is to get out of the department and/or company to find a place that rewards progress and recognize true talented professionals.

Pros

The benefits at JH are excellent and the people are very nice to work with. I always had positive interactions with my coworkers.

Cons

The organization is Canadian owned (by Manulife Financial) and this slows everything down. I worked in the Investment division and saw the company make poor IT decisions (convert from Outlook to Lotus Notes, downgrade a solid trading platform), fail to encourage cross-team communication and innovation, and fail to encourage outside-the-box thinking while I was there. It's probably endemic to large organizations. Some people might not mind all this, but it wasn't my cup of tea.

Advice to Senior Management

In 10 or 15 years, there is going to be a new generation of employees who are looking for a dynamic, flexible workplace that allows them to build, grow, and lead. Please try to find ways to give people ownership over what they do and align your incentives properly.

Pros

Approachable people, decent facilities, great summer mentorship program for interns, average to slightly above average pay

Cons

Rigid and hierarchical, overworked employees

Advice to Senior Management

Improve communication with employees

Pros

Great people and work environment depending on what department you worked in. Marketing is the best.

Cons

Was a dream company to work for until Manulife took over. They are changing everything . . . and not for the better,

Advice to Senior Management

Stop with the favortism and open your eyes to some of the incompetent employees you kept after layoffs. Just because they are fun to have drinks with doesn't qualify them at their job.