Wells Fargo

• Hires and supports a diverse workforce: all ages, races, sexual orientations, veterans.
• Low to average performers can thrive (if your goal is to simply collect a paycheck).
• Good amount of vacation days; ability to carry over unused balance.
• Good retirement/health care plans.
• Recently, higher-level management positions turned over. It's a coin flip whether it will improve decades-long issues in multiple areas (see Cons*).

I will try to be as objective as possible. These are my 20+ years of experience and observations from a direct role in infrastructure tech to interacting with software developers, business system consultants, tech/project managers, and support desks. The order below is random; there is no priority.

#01 Poor business ethics. Any job working in the financial sector, especially larger institutions, requires the ability to ignore certain realities.

#02 Double standards. This ties into #01. Tech is required, as they should be, to not have any unauthorized changes, not lose their laptop, and follow processes accordingly, etc. Threats of termination for being out of compliance were directly relayed to me and my peers on the first day by our new vice president when WF acquired our smaller company. In my opinion, any infraction we commit, whether intended or not, is not nearly as damaging as the questionable business practices executed by using the systems we are employed to keep running.

#03 No clear paths for career advancement. Managers do not offer any career support; they are constantly worried/distracted about keeping their jobs; they spend a lot of time in the trenches alongside their direct reports instead of being empowered to manage.

#04 Unclear hiring practices. Sometimes the budget only allows hiring contractors, or hiring overseas, etc. Each time, it can prevent internal candidates from advancement. This has affected me personally, where I ended up guiding a less qualified new person into a higher role that I applied for.

#05 Little to no pay raise/promotions within an internal role. As a lead, I went over 10 years without a promotion, and when it did happen, it was a blanket promotion.

#06 Toxic working culture. It starts with management and goes on down. Rudeness on calls, hang-ups, lack of accountability, no response to emails or chats, and lack of professionalism with colleagues when requesting improvements. High performers will find themselves boxed out and being questioned for trying to go above and beyond.

#07 Internal re-orgs take too much time. Tied to #05, if roles and responsibilities shift from one team to another, there isn't a clear path to make it happen. Some workers and managers choose to remain doing legacy functions; some do a hybrid of legacy/new functions. Anyone who wants to move forward will struggle with the pace of play.

#08 Lack of using existing data. Management can request data be manually inputted into a separate system when that data is already attainable and more accurate via existing databases. Workers then have to manage multiple systems.

#09 Overuse of email for work requests. Email is well past its prime. Internally, there are a few widely known systems of record where requests can be submitted with built-in tracking, notifications, metrics, etc.

#10 Confusing bureaucratic processes. Typical of any big company, a lot of work is subject to interpretation. Catch someone on a nice day, and they'll help you avoid time-consuming order and approval forms. Going the normal routes to request work is quite the journey and takes time away from interesting or more pressing tech work.

#11 Reactionary unstructured approach to work. If an event happens, say a rare power outage at a critical site, it can derail all other important projects and force everyone to focus on disaster recovery in the moment. It isn't a problem to shift focus to respond to current conditions; it is a problem to shift focus without any strategy.

#12 Unclear roles and responsibilities. It is good to have minimal boundaries in day-to-day work, as long as it is understood what your primary role is and what is expected of you.

#13 Aging workforce is terribly slow to accept change, regardless of complexity.

#14 Skills advancement/training is poor. There is an expansive library of internal courses with a cumbersome interface to use; not all courses are available at certain times, and not all are free.

#15 Agile methodologies lack vision and support. For those who aren't software developers, Agile is a major change to how you approach work each day. Some think Agile means "just get it done fast, clean it up later," instead of appreciating it as a formal method for efficiency.

#16 The worst is always behind; better days ahead, right? If I was interviewing today, this is what I would ask and would want to know details.

If I had to pick one request of management, [they should] clearly communicate how someone in tech support, engineering, and management roles can progress their career. There are amazing, hard-working people maintaining the technology at the bank who need new challenges/roles.