Visa Inc Reviews

Pros

- Latest technology
- OK compensation
- Good work/life balance

Cons

- Politics in every circle (Junior/Middle/Senior)
- Rare chances of growth (Almost negligible if you don't know how to play politics)
- HR, a total waste (No powers in hand)
- No processes at all (Any Deptt, Division)
- Very incompetent senior management
- Extreme high fear of retrenchment amongst employees all the time, which affects working environment

Advice to Senior Management

- Senior management should learn to see "beyond obvious".
- Skills, intelligence and capability should not be judged based on Age, Race or Locality.
- Management trainings must be mandatory for acting managers.
- "Basic Communication" is what management should start working on immediately.

Pros

Great name recognition, benefits, and incentives. Vacations as often as three times a year and are dependent on the amount of PTO you accrue.

Cons

Poor senior management. It seems as if they are more concerned with who they have a better relationship with than who can actually get the job done. People suck up to management to get promoted instead of working hard for it. It leaves employees in a non chalant mood. Employees pretend they are working and never get noticed for not doing anything. The common slogan here is fake it til you make it.

Advice to Senior Management

Let the reins loose and gain respect of employees. Employees must feel appreciated when they actually work. Stop the favoritism and show us all how to really gain your approval.

Pros

Talented employees at peer level
Fair benefits package
Difficult to find more positive attributes, Cafeteria is OK, Gym is reasonable

Cons

Employee engagement is absent
Senior Leadership is abysmal; CEO has surrounded himself with those unable or unwilling to challenge him
Mid-level leaders lack the authority to lead effectively; many have become comfortable maintaining the status quo
Talented employees have
HR is sadly impotent

Advice to Senior Management

Time for significant leadership change which should allow the insular culture to improve
Time for HR to step up and implement targeted leadership development, professional leadership coaching, genuine succession planning
Start allowing talent to blossom and succeed

Pros

Fair compensation, good benefits, great brand to be associated with.

Cons

Work-life balance is non-existent, challenging the status quo is frowned upon and leadership (especially at middle management levels) manages from a position of fear.

Advice to Senior Management

Be more progressive

Pros

Strong brand, intelligent group of people, decent benefits. Generally, peer groups are smart and supportive and a pleasure to work with. Not so with management.

Cons

Entirely too political. Senior leadership doesnt remove non performing managers. In addition, some managers take advantage of CA's at will state and dismiss people without cause. Be very careful if you're getting a relocation package from Visa. You could find yourself out of a job within months and they won't need a reason or any support for their decision.

Advice to Senior Management

Reign your managers in - the majority of talented people want to work in an environment where they learn from and respect their managers and are judged on their work, not office politics.

Pros

It's a job, and in this economy, it beats being homeless and broke.
No bridges to cross if you live in SF or Peninsula
Visa will succeed (for a while, anyway) in spite of current management, not because of it

Cons

It's an old-boys club, administered for and by men, mostly. Promotions definitely given to those who have political connections and not necessarily to those who earn them. Hard work is not recognized. Each person is a silo and guards information so collaboration is impossible. Each employee vies for attention from sr. managers to get promoted, like neglected and beaten puppies.

Advice to Senior Management

Stop pillaging Visa's coffers for personal gain, which is noticeable by everyone.

Pros

Visa is the leader in the payments industry and as such allows me to learn and grow my skills. I have a lot of job satisfaction and I work with a great team.

Cons

Visa is still working to create a unified organization. There are still fiefdoms among the senior management team which can result in inconsistent employee experiences.

Advice to Senior Management

Listen to your employees and rein in the 'cowboys' in the organization. The people in the organization want to continue to work for a world leader.

Pros

Work life balance is good (though somewhat job and manager dependant)
Benefits are good - vacation, retirement plans etc.

Cons

Recently flattened organization and title structure makes promotions very difficult
Communication flow with senior management is poor
Not a workplace that encourages "straight talk" or fosters healthy debate

Advice to Senior Management

Go back to a traditional title structure so that there is room to be promoted and to promote your team members. Remember that when the job market heats back up, employee dissatisfaction due to recent changes and "takeaways" from employees with result in mass defections.

Pros

The company is an industry leader, it has great market presense and is one of the most recognized brands in the world

Cons

Management is very poor at communicating direction and the work enviornment is very political. The company is very segmented, as most employees only know about what their directly working on.

Advice to Senior Management

Communicate with employees and give them more direction. Teach employees how to grow their knowlege and develop cross-functional solutions rather than silos.

Pros

Great worldwide brand recognition
Convenient location near major freeways
Deep pockets for acquisitions
Adequate pay and benefits
Occasional talented colleagues

Cons

Incompetent upper management
Decision and management by committee
Divisive, political organization
Lack vision; follower not leader
Expected to work on vacation

Advice to Senior Management

Invest in your employees. Cannot rely on an army of consultants who have no vested interest in the company for long term growth. Support employee development and provide career opportunities from within or expect mass exodus when the economy improves.