Be cautious of mid level and upper management. Difficult to move up or laterally if you do not play the political butt kissing game. I went from a Contact Center Senior CSR (9 yrs),with a great manager, to LTD Ben Specialist and a manager with an emotional IQ of zero. The amount of information needed to perform the job well is astronomical. Training is alright and was somewhat comprehensive if you are a read & retain type of learner. If not, there will be some struggle. I had a very poor experience after training and was caught up in some departmental changes and was transferred from a great LTD manager and team to one where there seemed to be a personality conflict. The conflict being I did not have the appropriate chest size and looks to warrant extended support or attention. My mentor was from another team and not present for the first few weeks of on the job training. My mentor, when she returned to the office, had other employees she was required to mentor on her own team as well and they did take precedence. It was not a great experience to try to understand the role, the massive workload and expectations with minimal support or insight. My own teammates were dealing with the stress of such a high case load and helped as they could and were very understanding. The learning curve for the role is expected to be at least one year which is incredibly intimidating. I made a mistake with one case (that I take ownership of) that had a fairly significant impact. Unfortunately, my mentor threw me under the bus after denying any knowledge of it even though she was responsible for reviewing all case statuses on my work list. My manager did not care that there had been issues from the beginning and refused to address it despite several requests for assistance. They will not allow you to move back to a previous role and you cannot post to another, more suitable, role if you have not been in the position for 12-18 months. The workload is insanely high with ludicrous expectations for case turn around and it is extremely difficult to work through a case list with multiple meetings a day as well as incoming and outgoing calls. Be cautious with what roles you apply for as it is difficult, if not impossible, to go to a different/more suitable role. There is the feeling of being set up for failure if you are not one to participate in office politics. This is not a job for people that just want to do their job and leave. You must participate in the social and political arena if you want to get anywhere. Advancement based on merit and skill alone is non existent. There is a lot of hand holding and back patting for certain employees. Little to no recognition for doing a job well. Still have a Boys Club mentality with many members of management.
Micromanagement at all levels is also a major issue. Work/Life balance can be difficult to manage if you have PTO but are unable to take it.
