The Vanguard Group Reviews in Philadelphia, PA Area

Pros

I had over 10 yrs experience so my vacation time was good. They allow you to purchase a week of extra PTO, even if you are new to the company.

Cons

Salary - my pay was cut by $15,000 when the partnership structure changed and I was supposed to be happy about it. Career Advancement - if you do well in a role, they do everything to hold you in the job. Layoffs - they do layoff, I've seen it. They dissolve the job and tell everyone to find one if you can. Ageism - the mgmt teams I have seen treat older employees with disrespect. And I found that many people over 50 in my dept just all happened to get the Needs Improvement rating in the same year that VG was cutting budgets and benefits.

Advice to Senior Management

Stop trying to make everyone fit some mold. Stop retailiating when you don't like someone. Cutting benefits and salary while expecting more work doesn't make someone want to work hard. Do an honest layoff of the unneeded staff instead of laying off the people who make too much or just don't fit the VG mold.

Pros

Vanguard is a company that is at the top of the industry. It has great training programs and often gives people the ability to get their licenses. Moving up is tricky and political but overall it's a great place to start. Benefit packages are also pretty nice along with partnership, once you've gained enough tenure, you share the profits with the company.

Cons

Pay is not competitive, and it's a ultraconservative environment. They have no regard for their employees in the institutional call center, but I guess that's like everywhere else, right?

Advice to Senior Management

Give people more opportunities to broaden their skill sets and advance. A lot of great talent comes in your doors and 6-8 months later goes right back out. Retain your talent!

Pros

Training good for the most part, great food service at many buildings (when you could get there), proprietary computer systems reasonably easy to learn, OK to be on internet between calls, job performance (call quality) system attempts to be objective.

Cons

Team leaders immature, inexperienced outside of VG, and seemed to "drink the Kool-Aid", advancement opportunities few and far between, very regimented day on phones, many people seemed full of themselves no matter their place in the organization, made a big deal regarding their diversity, which to me means that they really don't have much.

Advice to Senior Management

Make sure team leaders are able to handle all types of personalities, give more opportunities to partially trained contractors, decide what a quality call really is.

Pros

1. Great benefit pakcage especially the tuition reimbursement program
2. Great career path in place
3. Excellent opportunity for new technologist to start career

Cons

There needs to be balanced between flexibility and structure. It's too ridgit in some area.

Pros

- Great benefits.
- Great place to network and meet people.
- Depending on the role and management, it could be a great work/life balance.
- Top execs are very nice and approachable.
- Many employee discounts...for everything!
- On site gym and health center.
- Training department is awesome.
- For the most part, most groups have a well structured onboarding program.
- Nature path that encircles the campus is very cool. I used to jog while deer played in the meadow...
- You learn so much about investing that you can't help but benefit from the knowledge.
- If you're strategic, Vanguard can help you develop skills you that makes you more marketable inside/outside the company.
- Name recognition - People look at you differently when they find out you work/worked for Vanguard. VG experience on your resume is extremely powerful!
- Skills, tools, strategies you learn are invaluable. They are definitely ahead of most companies. You learn so many new things to help you and your department grow & excel. I joined a smaller yet very successful company, I became the "Vanguard guy" that knows how to manage people, processes, methodologies and information.

Cons

All cons can be managed. You just have to be self-aware, strategic and positive.

- Many leaders were great individual contributors at one time. B/c they did a great job working on their own, they're rewarded with a "people" leader position. That has created a large leadership pool of ineffective leaders that have no idea how to lead people.
- Although they have a great leadership training program, most leaders do not apply the knowledge. There's rarely any consequences for being an ineffective leader...and the employees suffer for it.
- A large percent of leadership positions are filled recet college graduates that have been accepted into & have completed Vanguard's accelerated programs. "Kids" with 4.0 GPAs from top colleges are automatically made leaders of new, tenured and experienced employees. Problem is they don't know how to deal with people of various ages and cultures & fail miserably. Those that are failing are transferred to another area of VG b/c HR and leadership do not want the program to look like a failure. So, they end up failing in the next department.
- Huge company, but not many career paths or opportunities. You have to come in knowing what you want to do next and how to get there. Usually have 50+ people applying for one position!
- Egos and hierarchy. Top heavy and many have a power complex.
- The performance management structure creates a terrible competitive culture. Many keep ideas to themselves or work on projects alone b/c they're afraid someone will take it or try to out-perform them.
- Partnership bonus is gone! I worked there for 10+ years. I made more money during the last year under the "old" partnership structure. The next year under the new one, my bonus was $9k less!

Advice to Senior Management

- Make "people" leaders accountable for their actions and results.
- Continue to encourage employees to share their ideas and suggestions for improvement.
- Act on company-wide survey results, and don't insult employees by twisting negative information into a positive (e.g. Partnership)

Pros

Good work-life balance, interesting projects

Cons

No accountability - a "not my job" attitude makes everything slow and inefficient.

Advice to Senior Management

Let us work from home!!

Pros

Vanguard is a great place to start a career if you are just out of school. There seems to be ample promotion opportunities for young people. The atmosphere is very regimented and corporate with a lot of rules and regulations and little room for creativity.

Cons

Very corporate and regimented. Little room for creativity or thinking out of the box. Not a place for an older more established employee to move up the ranks.

Advice to Senior Management

Draw out the employees on the floor. They have a lot of good ideas and are so discouraged they are not willing to share.

Pros

Provided large scale company training to set you up for success for your career. Vanguard truly is an ethical company.

Cons

You will not get rich working at Vanguard. Vanguard invests a lot of money in your benefits packages, reimbursements for education and partnership plans but you will not see a generous salary.

Advice to Senior Management

Continue to genuinely care about your employees and Vanguard will continue to be successful. The management group, as a whole, are some of the brightest individuals in the industry.

Pros

Stable employment, good benefits. The place is family friendly. Management is very honest. Good place to invest your money.

Cons

Low pay. If you are an aggressive individual and want to do well, this is not the place for you. They put limitations on individuals. I worked there for more than 15 years and worked very hard for them but was never treated right. You just don't know when they will like you or not like you.

Advice to Senior Management

Learn to reward more educated and skilled employees better. Don't put them in the same category with other unskilled and lower educated employees.

Pros

Good benefits, high level of respect for employees

Cons

Low salary, very strict corporate rules, not much room fro creativity

Advice to Senior Management

Provide employees with more freedom and room to be creative in their jobs