Job Title: IG Manager
Location: San Francisco, CQ
Submitted on: 08-May-04
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| IG Manager |
Working at Schwab is grueling. It's been called a sweat-shop and
that's an accurate description. I started there 4 years ago. I
arrived right before the tech bubble burst. A few acquaintances raved
over how unique Schwab was. Their hiring motto at the time
was, 'you'll do your best work here.' Right.
Schwab has almost a cult feel about it's culture. ALthough, the ranks
of loyal Schwabbies (as they're called) has thinned considerably. Over
the last few years, Schwab has had 3 major lay-offs. The firm went
from 26,000 to 16,000 employees. Many Schwabbies had been around for
years. They were like 'deer caught in the headlights' as many were
handed pink-slips. It's been my contention that Schwab is like any
other large company. There's nothing special about it when it comes to
treating employees with dignity and respect.
The only reason I remain there is to reach 5 years. Their paid
vacation policy is lousy (as is other compensation.) At 5 years,
employees qualify for a sabbatical. Many don't make the milestone
because they're either burned-out or have been laid-off. The
sabbatical will allow for a 4 week paid vacation. Otherwise, they offer
3 weeks paid per year. I came from a company where I had 5 weeks paid
off each year. I thought I'd take unpaid time when I hired in. I
thought the large bonuses we were supposed to receive would supplement
my base salary enough to justify unpaid time away from the grind.
Mentioning bonuses segues nicely to my next set of comments. I'm
afraid Schwab's senior mgmt is exceedingly greedy. Recently, Chuck and
Dave have been cashing out gobs of stock and options. Oh yes, I know
they're doing it for 'diversification and tax purposes,' but it goes on
and on. CS & Co stock is now single digit again. It's probably doing
the worst in the brokerage/financial services sector. Many employees
have a ton of stock options that are completely underwater. We didn't
get matching on their lousy 401k last year. We're supposed to get
matching at the end of 2004. Again, a weird policy there in that one
has to survive the entire year or they won't pay it. THere's no such
thing as pro-rating one's time and effort. You're either there or your
not at the end of 2004. Then, you'll receive the measly matching.
Bonuses continue to be non-existent. Personal CHoice (new program)
looks ill-fated and ill-conceived. Rumor has it that clients are
leaving in droves. I'm sure they're going to E-Trade, Ameritrade and
TD Waterhouse. Schwab is ripe for take-over. It's either take-over or
becoming irrelevant.
I really wish things had worked out better while I was there. I worked
for 25 years at a public utility. I know what it's like to work long,
thankless hours. I'm lucky to have a job, and I appreciate it. But, CS
& Co senior mgmt needs to take a realistic look at what's happening
within the firm. It feels like they don't want to know. They don't
want to know that morale is in the gutter. Nor do they care. It's
incredibly hypocritical in terms of touted values.
Thanks.
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