Mission-driven organization with boundless opportunity but poor HR and heavy bureaucracy
Pros
* The corporate culture is very strong -- people are proud to work here, believe in the mission * Very talented colleagues,much more intellectual and less alpha-male dominated than other financial services organizations * Quickly evolving means lots of opportunities to contribute * Very flexible work arrangements * Outstanding benefits, especially retirement plans * Collaborative, friendly environment * Strong commitment to diversity * Premium on work-life balance
Cons
* HR here is a nightmare and that seems to be a fact of life. They are constantly requiring managers to jump through hoops for very basic things, getting new staff on board is a real challenge when you have to work through their bureaucratic processes,there is constant pressure to rein in bonuses and salaries and HR seems obtuse to the realities of the market (and if I am forced to reduce salaries/bonuses to meet revenue targets I will lose some fantastic employees to our competitors). And HR seems completely dense to what the market really would reward, especially in corporate functions * The bureaucracy here for employees can be really grating. Not sure if anyone is trying to cut through the red tape but it's everywhere and enormously frustrating, slows me down all the time in my job. * For the largest owner of commercial real estate in the US, the office space is not attractive. It's embarrassing actually, HQ looks like a government office building (ugly carpets and furniture), not a Fortune 100 financial services company. And they are always pushing people to work from home (getting a desk in NY is a huge challenge for instance).