UBS Reviews in City of London, England (UK)

Pros

The advocacy for work-life balance is astounding, especially when compared to my erstwhile employer (IB division in a commercial banking behemoth). Front-to-back systems is top-notch, meaning analysts / controllers can go about doing their proper jobs and value-add, rather than do systems patch work.
Also, the organisation flow is very flat - and there is great openness and direct conversations had on many a subject (hence, little risk for corporate, interneccine toxicity)

Cons

Very calm. Almost too calm. Then again, that's not an issue now, is it??

Advice to Senior Management

Keep up the good work!

Pros

high calibre of staff, relatively good work life balance, respectful work culture, no aggressive egos and friendly atmosphere overall, strong support for outside activities

Cons

bureaucratic company structures, takes a very long time to get things done, Swiss and UK approach to work do not always agree

Advice to Senior Management

focus on your specific strengths, do preserve your European heritage and avoid purely US style banking, continue hiring ambitious and high-calibre staff,

Pros

good atmosphere, mostly smart people, open minded and supportive, good at nurturing young talent.

Cons

bureacratically overloaded with admin and process, both to do the job and for your own HR development

Advice to Senior Management

peg down the macho style a bit

Pros

A good place to start a career. A good place to learn and advance you skills.Good talented people to work with. Good employee benefits. Though most benefits are reserve for managment

Cons

Incompetent middle management. Promotions are given to people who rarely work hard to deserve those promotions. Managment promotes a culture of flattery and a** kissing to recommend staff for promotion. Its mostly about "Who you know " than "How well you perform". No transparent promotion criteria. Favoritisn is rife. Certain employees are "Picked" for higher management roles using a discrimanatory no transparent "Ascent Program" to promote choosen ones.

Advice to Senior Management

Open your eyes. Talente dand hard working people are leaveing and UBS is only left with crap non perfromers who can not find jobs else where. Have a transparent performance and promotion system. Reduce the bureaucracy among managers. Make tough decisions and get rid of the army of Managing Directors (MDs).

Pros

Very able, (some amazingly bright) and approachable colleagues
Lots of possiblitiy for advancement and taklng responsibility
Plenty of access to senior individuals
Collegiate atmosphere is very pleasant to be a part of

Cons

Low pay relative to other banks
Support personnel are stretched, thereby putting more pressure on you to ensure jobs are done right

Advice to Senior Management

what the hell were we doing investing our entire balance sheet in sub-prime and associated debt? even the basics of risk management talk about a 'balanced portolfio'. seems like many senior managers forgot the basics

Pros

Great teams all working together globally to deliver the best possible solutions for internal and external clients. Some great products and applications and staff which should put UBS at the forefront of clients minds.

Cons

Obviously all the recent problems have not helped with staff morale over the last 12 months. All the changes within management have also not helped. Employees do not know who they are working for and who is reviewing their performance.

Advice to Senior Management

Act quicker, too many rounds of redundancies are killing morale

Pros

Generally highly skilled people, working hard and sharing knowledge. Friendly and positive work environment. Good benefits and a real attempt to provide a supportive work environment and a reasonable work life balance.

Cons

Long hours, expectation of complete commitment. Like many large organisations, knowing people is critical to success. Possible to coast and achieve little if you don't remain enthusiastic.

Advice to Senior Management

Don't lose what is good about UBS in the current crisis.

Pros

Global reach; Many top drawer people; Interesting and challenging projects.

Cons

Underpay the market; Not as meritocratic as it purports - still the vestiges of the Warburg old boy network kicking around.

Advice to Senior Management

Focus on merit - implement real long term performance goals for staff.