High performers should look elsewhere - Loan Review Specialist Upgrade Employee Review

1.0
Jun 3, 2022
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- Nice downtown office. Loaded kitchen, snacks, etc. - Full company-paid benefits package - Mind-numbingly easy work. Don't let the "entry-level underwriter" job title fool you, you are not going to be underwriting. You review documents for authenticity and 90% of your day is spent talking to callers trying to get them to provide what you need to approve a loan.

Cons

Reviews here have mentioned that the company blames many of its woes on "startup growing pains", which is true. But the most glaring result of those "pains" is found in their leadership. People are promoted to team-lead and supervisor due to nothing more than seniority and 75%+ of them have absolutely no business leading anybody. The company recently held a day long seminar on leadership, and the supervisors returned from it with nothing to show except for a lost day of productivity. My own supervisor is so disconnected from their team that they are genuinely unable to answer day-to-day questions about the role. Either they're laughably inept or they're overwhelmed with work (though what that could be, I have no idea. Another google doc to micro-manage your team, perhaps?) but either way it's disheartening to have leadership that is so disconnected from the work their 'subordinates' are doing. Compensation is another area that suffers from frightening inconsistency. The top performers are only making a few dollars per hour more than new-hires, yet expected to produce at a rate 5-10x higher. Monthly bonus and commission (they call spiff) is available depending on the role, but the goalposts for this income are constantly changing and you have to hound leadership for details. Several months in the last year my bonus checks have been shorted and when confronted about it, management brushed off the severity of the issue and chalked it up to a clerical error. Ultimately the role is simple enough that if you want a braindead, clock-in-clock-out job, this is the place for you. But if you have a genuine desire to grow or develop new skills, you'd better hope that you get 1 of the few actual supervisors who care about their team members. Otherwise you're on your own.

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Upgrade Response
4y
We take your feedback seriously and it’s disappointing to learn that you didn’t experience the leadership and support you needed. Our leadership team is comprised of first-time supervisors as well as those who have seasoned experience. Management development is an important part of our organization and we work hard to support, coach, and develop all our supervisors. We realize we have more work to do in this area and we will continue to support the ongoing development of our leaders. Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback; it will help us to get better.

Explore other reviews about Upgrade

5.0
Jun 8, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great amenities like snacks and stuff

Cons

Collections is a soul crushing job

4.0
Jun 29, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

* The company provides free snacks in the office, which is a great perk for daily productivity. * Frequent company-wide events help foster a strong sense of community and team bonding. * The relaxed dress code allows employees to wear casual clothes, contributing to a comfortable and welcoming workplace environment. Elaboration: Mentioning these specific perks highlights a positive company culture that prioritizes employee well-being and comfort. When writing a Glassdoor review, these details are highly valuable to job seekers because they speak to the "day-to-day" experience of the role. Highlighting the balance between professional expectations and casual, social benefits creates a well-rounded picture of what it is like to be part of the team, suggesting that management values both morale and employee satisfaction.

Cons

The work environment is heavily defined by excessive micromanagement that stifles independent problem-solving. Communication is fragmented, as everyone provides different answers to the same questions, leading to constant confusion and redundant tasks. Furthermore, the internal culture is cutthroat; people are frequently willing to sabotage or "screw over" colleagues just to gain a minor personal advantage, which creates a deep lack of trust throughout the office. Advice for management: Management needs to establish a unified standard operating procedure to stop the conflicting information being disseminated to staff. Additionally, leadership should address the toxic "every person for themselves" mentality by fostering a culture that rewards teamwork rather than individual gain at the expense of others. Reducing the level of constant oversight would also empower employees to be more productive and engaged in their actual responsibilities.

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