Pros
I started off as a lead teller and worked hard, exceeded my sales.referral goals, and quickly learned the service manager role by shadowing behind an experienced service manager. I was promoted to a service manager six months after I started with WF and promoted to store manager another eight months later. I was a store manager in an in-store location for over three years and loved my job and working for WF because of the in-depth training the provided to new employees and the sales/service recognition that they gave for our branch meeting our sales goals each quarter. I was a devoted manager and worked dilligently on coaching and developing a very strong sales/service team so everyone could meet their sales goals and participate in all the different forms of recognition that Wells Fargo did from 2002-2004. In these years Wells Fargo gave certificates, held luncheons, breakfasts, and vacations for top sales producers and employee engagement was at it highest in years. Employees were motivated to perform, they wanted to perform and meet their goals. It wasnt the retail banking culture of today where every customer "needs" a product sold to them and employees salaries and performance reviews are almost entirely based on their sales results. Employees were Engaged!
Cons
I believe there were two major issues that slowly lead to my dis-engagement with WF and ultimately was the reason why I left the bank. The first reason is they began to promote and hire people into management positions that didnt have any banking background. These managers were college graduates with business MBA's but didnt have any banking background and the numbers started to reflect it. Good managers have sound judgement and make good business decisions when dealing with customers on a day to day basis. Without a banking background and having that on the job training of what to look for when accepting deposits from customers or cashing large checks for non-customers the bank began to take huge losses from fraud. Good managers have great common sense when it comes to managing risks and thats something that isnt taught in a classroom. With that in mind, because with substanial number of losses the bank was taking, managers across the board were punished. Even if your branch didnt have losses almost all authority was taken away from the branches and it even got to the point that if a customer needed NSF fees waived in excess of $100, it had to be approved by a district manager. Experienced managers became glorified personal bankers. Imagine this, " I understand you had fraud on your account and accrued several overdraft fees. Due to the amount it has to be approved by a district manager and you should see a credit to your account whithin a day or two." Sounds insane coming from the managers mouth and that doesnt even go into deposits, wires, or check cashing. The second major issue was the increase in sales/referral goals. The incentive plans were always changing and the goals kept increasing and increasing to the point that making a bonus was almost unattainable for most employees. When I began with the bank being a "5 Star" sales employee and getting invited to the luncheons meant a teller needed to attain 120 referrals in a quarter. They counted checking, savings, loans, direct deposit, on-line banking, bill-pay, and NEW visa debit cards sold as referrals. Personal Banker incentive plans were more complicated but although the goals were high, they were attainable. Slowly they began taking away what counted as a qualified referral and soon all that counted was checking accounts, savings accounts, closed loans, and direct deposit that were processed through an active checking account. After awhile employees werent receiving bonuses, getting the recognition, and all they were able to do was meet was minimum standards so they could keep their jobs. Everyone understands that there is always a need for improvment and if you dont push yourself further you never get from "good' to 'great", I think that in always pusjing their employees for more and always striving for excellence Wells Fargo forgot one of the biggest rules in business, their people are their competative advantage, and they are loosing their advantage everyday.