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Great Benefits and HR Policies, but Politics Undermine Benefits

Software Engineer
Current Employee
Has worked at American Express for less than 1 year
November 20, 2021
3.0
Pros

American Express offers great perks, and its HR policies make the organization a great place to work for. Senior management generally does a good job in prioritizing long-term success before short-term results. Amex strongly encourages employees in participating in activities that benefit communities, for example, with the campaign Give2Gether.

Cons

Workplace politics dilute the good reputation American Express gains from its virtues. It's hard to correlate an employee's advancement in their career to their deliverables or dedication. In recent years, Amex laid off many tenured people's leaders and replaced them with relatively young members in its endeavor to attract young talent. That has led to a less friendly environment, and many senior/tenured members feel insecure about their jobs.

Advice to Management

A few years ago, teams at American Express used to work as a family.

Now, team members experience pressure to survive and succeed, which is a leading factor for despair.

One approach is offering a similar pay structure across bands.

Currently, employees at higher bands are entitled to better benefits such as higher variable pay, enrollment into leadership programs, greater PTO, and stock plans.

This leads to pressure to move to the succeeding bands, and that's constant chaos.

Also, don't lay off good and tenured leaders to create space for young talent.

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