I swear, five years ago I loved my job and I loved working here. Then suddenly things changed so much in both the culture and job security that it feels like this is a completely different company. Am I wrong? Am I wearing rose-tinted glasses and it was always bad?
11 replies (most recent on top)
I've worked for 4 government agencies, 2 FI's, 2 insurance carriers and owned my own business. not sure what the complaints are really about but it's one of the top 3 corps I've worked at. benefits are well above any corp I've worked for from 2for1 401k match; holiday bonus, percentage year end bonus and overall work life balance. maybe the other commentors haven't been somewhere that tracked time online or keystrokes, random raises if you got one and bonuses were laughable, this place is in a top 3 for me after 30+ years working.
It started with signature cards, and consent orders, the massive fines, and bad press. I remember they framed it like they came in from the weekend and discovered the bank had been recategorized with no warning. Ooopsy. Then Stuart left and Wayne came in. I remember at the time people who had worked with him previously being truly concerned about it, they knew what was coming. Then the influx of AVPs from competing banks. And more fines. During this entire time successful products like cash back were sunsetted and not replaced. People in the bank were working themselves into husks of their former selves, not on introducing products, but on changing products, and OCC/regulatory issues. Good execs were fired, like Jenn Adams, and a-s kissers from sh---y banks took their place. Then the layoffs started, out of the blue, no warning. And here we are.
It was amazing company. Most of us were proud of the work we did, of where we worked. It changed so fast we could barely catch our breath.
Former employee here, left about 5 years ago. When I started, it was great. Such good benefits, decent work-life balance, although I worked a lot of hours because I bought into the mission and wanted to help the team members I supported.
Such a d-mb move on my part. I saw pretty quickly that it wasn’t about working hard, it was about kissing up to the right people and not sharing any opinion that might not be popular with your boss, or your boss’s boss. You get an FE (far exceeds…still had ratings then) and are asked to do the work of three. Then you are not given a promotion, even though they moved you into the role because you’re good - and they move you out somewhere else and promote an id--t to your former role. And give that person three extra people. My group was all a big clique at the top and if they decided they didn’t like you, watch out. And yes, I’m bitter, but I saw this kind of thing happen to so many great people. Hard workers who did the work and never got rewarded unless they moved to a different group.
The cliques have long been replaced but it sounds like the replacements haven’t been any better. I miss some of my colleagues who are still there but I don’t miss how that place made me feel. I’m in a role now, in a different company, where my opinions matter and I can make a difference.
I started about 20 years ago, and dealt with Bob Davis as the ceo. That was miserable, but once he was shown the door things were better for a little bit. Then Gen. Robles left the company, and Stuart got the gig. I figured something was up behind the scenes towards the end of his time. He took that golden parachute and fu---d off to another financial services company.
Then the hemorrhoid took the reins, and we have been eating the sh-t sandwich since. Each bite came with decreases in everything which fu---d every last employee. During all that time they pushed to use contractors that could give 2 sh--s about the mission we have. All in an effort to save money.
Heres a news flash for the a-s kissers lurking here, Poor experiences for members translate to poor employee performance (no one likes to be berated for someone else's sc--w ups). Want good customer service? Treat your qualified employees better, and quit fu--ing them over with benefit cuts.
The simple answer is that there is nothing special about working at USAA anymore. It's just another financial services company. The old USAA culture that everyone loved is dead. And it was dead the minute that a CEO was hired who never served in the military. But he sure does put on a good act. He hands out coins with a handshake as if he was formerly a commander in the military. He talks about how important the mission is with respect to supporting our military members. But has he really pushed for hiring leadership from our military? It looks like his hiring has almost exclusively focused on bottom of the barrel "talent" from the likes of Truist, Wells Fargo, BoA, Regions, and Waste Management. These C-suite executives try to talk the USAA talk while importing the garbage culture and employee benefits from their previous companies.
God help the employees and members.
Grow where you is planted 🌵
Make like a tree and get out of here 🌳
USAA is the worst company I have worked for in my entire, long career.
Even at the best of times while I was there, it was marred by rampant incompetence, lack of professionalism, unwarranted elitism, and delusional thinking.
It takes a while to fully comprehend what is happening because of all the rah-rah BS and the empty promises of "work is just around the corner". So don't fault yourself for believing you landed a great opportunity.
It's not you. It's them.
It is really tragic, USAA used to be admired as one of the great employers in San Antonio. It is startling how quickly it has turned into one of the worst.
In the future, USAA will be a case study in business schools on how to destroy a company and get rich while doing it. Customers used to LOVE USAA and rave about it. Now, they HATE the company and shout about how horrible it has become. The employees.. well, you know that story.
The guys at the top, they're laughing in the exec dining room, thinning ... hmm what if we fired a few thousand more call center drones and replaced them with a chat bot. Great idea James! lets toast on my new yacht in Palm Beach this weekend!
this company changed when they tried to start competing with huge wall street banks. The culture that cane with that (and of course fines and consent orders) have turned this place into a free for all. State farm did the right thing disbanding their bank
Leadership demographics. Top leadership has been stripped of veterans and replaced with consultants and external C-level transplants from decidedly un-USAA companies. When they show up at USAA and step on the stage they all seem to magically adopt a huge belief in how uniquely special USAA is and how important The Mission is. It's all so beautifully focus-grouped and scripted. But we all know how sincerely MBB consultants and their ilk hold their beliefs...