Pros
There are still pockets of wonderful people who remember what WAL was and what we accomplished. The success we do have is thanks to dedicated, yet over worked and underappreciated, employees.
Cons
It’s a misconception that employees create a company’s culture. Leadership ultimately determines the culture of a company; and like everything else at WAL, culture rolls downhill. Pay attention, BOD - when employees are quitting without having another job lined up, or you’re forced to dish out more money and promotions to keep staff from leaving, decent leaders would see this as a wakeup call. This is not an unbiased review of Western Alliance Bank. This is a response to a sloppy marketing attempt to address rumors about the diseased culture at WAL and the sudden exodus of staff. When potential candidates are starting to ask questions about corporate culture or why so many people are quitting, management gets nervous and spin doctors start spinning. The Kool-Aid is getting bitter across all departments and divisions and people are getting sick of the lack of respect. The lucky ones got out early, others are actively looking, and others are just waiting to be offered a package and collect unemployment. Here are things to think about if you’re considering any of the WAL companies: The bonus structure and incentive plans are constantly changing and sales teams and relationship managers are hobbled by having to push inferior and outdated tools. At Western Alliance, CRM is spelled CSV, but not everybody is tech savvy enough to understand how to use it. No action is taken against an employee who downloaded every employee’s personal information to his home computer. Maybe the CEO and BOD doesn’t mind their social security numbers being on an employee’s home computer, but I’m not okay with it. An executive circulates proprietary reports and decks from his previous employer; with data and logo still included. I don’t think stumpf would appreciate that. But, we were assured that this executive came highly recommended, so says LinkedIn. Marketing is incompetent and unqualified, they can’t even retain new hires because the bank’s culture is so bad. Its a good thing they can fly under the radar; if anyone was paying attention to budget management, secretly signed contracts, or total disregard for compliance rules, they'd be in a pickle. Maybe they will get lucky and Regulators won't notice either. If you’re considering a job with Bank of Nevada or First Independent Bank, you’ll be spared the corporate soap opera, but be prepared for second class status. Don’t expect much support or attention from WAB. If you are truly trying to decide if WAB is the right place for you, think about the people with whom you want to work, the company that you want to represent, and the leadership in which you want to believe. Research WAL leadership (the CFO makes an MOU look like FUN). If you are indifferent to lax HR standards, comfortable being led by a mercurial narcissist, and can appreciate a BOD who value EPS over employees, then you’ll feel right at home.
