Wachovia Reviews

Pros

-Constantly busy
-Always meeting new people
-Very reputable firm
-Great Benefits
-Constantly interacting with all staffing levels and different departments

Cons

-The Well's Fargo business model sucks!
-Commission is paid on a quarterly basis
-You spend the whole day prospecting for Checking, MMKT, and W2SV accounts
-PB's are declined the opportunity to utilize their portfolio management techniques
-Asset size does not increase or decrease payout
-PB's are not allowed to turn-down clients based on asset size
-Many times I felt like I was serving tables from behind a desk
-I did not get an MBA and Series 7 to balance people's checkbooks

Advice to Senior Management

Allow your bankers the opportunity to grow the client's portfolio rather than forcing them to discard the client once the 'core solutions' have been squeezed out of the client. A licensed PB can provide an abundance of tools that their clients can use to enhance their financial lives, but management is obsessed with useless checking accounts. In addittion, every Personal Banker should be required to take the Series 7 & 66 after their first year. I already had both before joining Wachovia, but the knowledge gained through these tests greatly enhances a PB's prospecting ability.

Pros

When I worked at Wachovia the benefits were great.
They provided an on site daycare based on your income level.
I was able to move within the same business unit with ease.
Bonuses given quarterly based on performance.

Cons

Lack of upward mobility, many of the managers or leaders have held the same position for 10+ years, so it was hard to become a manager regardless of your performance.

Advice to Senior Management

There needs to be more focus on mentoring your employees. Find out if they want to advance within the company and assist them by providing advice or resources to do so.

Pros

Great promotions. Quick promotions. Alot of benefits.

Cons

The incompetence of management. Impossible hours / goals.

Advice to Senior Management

Be smarter.

Pros

A name company. Local. Plenty of services available.

Cons

Employees are expendable. Employee communications could be better.

Advice to Senior Management

Treat employees with respect.

Pros

Diversity of the work place and the ability to express your business ideas without fear of rejection.

Cons

Limited cross group interaction at levels below senior management.

Advice to Senior Management

Establish more transparency of business units with regard to organizational make up.

Pros

Good benefits, decent pay, nice co-workers.

Cons

Didn't see opportunity to move up.

Pros

Flexible environment with the ability to grow in many different areas of the company. Opportunity is available nationwide and international if desired.

Cons

Large company and sometimes you get lost in the shuffle. You must work hard to create a name for yourself.

Advice to Senior Management

Share information as soon as is can be shared with the employees. We want to know what is going on with our company.

Pros

Wachovia offers a great benefit package.

Cons

The hours I worked at Wachovia were very long.

Pros

Bankers hours, being able to build relationships with customers, a small setting which allows for a feeling of family if working with the right people, paid holidays. With the right management and no micromanaging, it had the potential of being a great job.

Cons

If you were really good at your job, then promotions were not offered because you were filling a need in your current position. There are many years with no raises and its blamed on mergers. It is my personal opinion that yearly reviews are done in a matter that justifies no annual raise. You cannot rely on mngmt's promise of advancement. It is placed before you like a dangling carrot so that you will go above and beyond but when the time comes, it does not come through. There was a lot of animosity between management and other workers.

Advice to Senior Management

Please encourage workers with possibilities of advancement not morning meetings where you are told you will lose your job if you don't open accounts.

Pros

Good Benefits. You can move up the career ladder if you communicate well with your manager.

Cons

Constant change. Rules and procedures change so often that it is hard to keep up with what management wants a emphasis on. Do I try to open new accounts, make outbound calls or deepen the clients product line? Everyday the focus changes.

Advice to Senior Management

Keep it simple.