You don't want to work here. Pay is below market for a comparable sized bank, and max raises are typically 2-3%. Already low Incentives of 8-10% got slashed in half in 2023-24, particularly for back office and support roles which are already some of the hardest working people getting the lowest pay. After the first Umpqua-Columbia merger, this became a totally different company that consistently devalues employees and disregards their feedback. Very much a "beating will continue until morale improves" environment. My LinkedIn feed has been absolutely full of former Columbia colleagues announcing resignations and new roles - those with better options are jumping ship like crazy. And why would they stay? I certainly got out at the soonest opportunity. Poor pay, poor morale, backwards priorities (buying additional corporate jets and hiring pilots, but taking away bonuses for loan servicers and slashing department travel/bizdev budgets? Soliciting employee feedback via surveys and town halls, then doing absolutely nothing about the many problematic themes that emerged over and over?) add to that the top down return to office mandate so we can all have teams calls with colleagues in their dingy office from our dingy office to *build culture!*. There was even a bait and switch incident where a "flexible schedule" was introduced as a WFH option on Fridays. It was yanked away a couple weeks later because people were... working from home on Fridays. That tells you everything about what it's like working at CB.
Customers are not a priority and neither are employees, the CEO and the board are doing well for each other and thats it - and its not a recipe for long term success. The culture is clique-ish in a way I've not seen since high school and thats particularly true from middle management up - it's embarrassing. Merit will not advance you if you have self-respect here. Promotions at any level were rare.
Beware of vague, glowing reviews from "executive assistants" & other tomfoolery here, too. Reviews are also being targeted in a bad-faith reporting spree to remove unfavorable content. The CEO approval went up 4% and company recommendation rate up 5% overnight. There are so many other banks to work for, many with hybrid roles available and most with better pay. Grow your career somewhere with fertile soil, this is not the place.
