http://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Grow-Financial-Credit-Union-Reviews-E117966.htm
1) “It can be disheartening if you want to make things better.”
Anonymous Employee (Current Employee)
Tampa, FL
I have been working at Grow Financial Credit Union
Cons – Senior Management seems to have a very hard time finding a real direction to take the company in. There is frequently talk about changing the way that we do business, but we're so scared to rock the boat that we eventually back off and pretty much everything stays the same. Thing is, for the most part? We're pretty good at what we do and our members are happy with the services we offer. "Pretty good" doesn't encourage growth, though, and if you're really passionate about trying to find ways to change the organization for the better be prepared to be stonewalled on a regular basis.
Advice to Senior Management – If you want to change the culture of your organization you have to be the living embodiment of what you want that culture to be. You cannot simply decide on a direction for the organization and the employees who aren't executives to live it if they don't see you practicing what you preach.
2) Disapproves of CEO
“Poor Management and not considerate of their employees.”
Anonymous Employee (Former Employee)
Brandon, FL
I worked at Grow Financial Credit Union
Pros – Salary and benefits were okay
Cons – Since the name change, Grow has tried to become a very "Utopian Organization". They became very controlling to the point of "Stepfordizing" their employees. They were to look alike, act alike, talk alike, etc., almost to the point of becoming robotic.
In addition, besides spending an astronomical amount of money to change their name, they also made many poor financial decisions that wasted members profits.
Advice to Senior Management – You should have remained MacDill Federal Credit Union. You had a good reputation and seemed to care more about your employees.
In response to the next question, I do not think Mr. Fisher is a good CEO. Either he doesn't know what's going on or doesn't care. Maybe you should come out of your "Ivory Tower".
3) “Chearleaders welcome; integrity and loyalty not appreciated.”
Anonymous Employee (Former Employee)
Tampa, FL
I worked at Grow Financial Credit Union
Pros – Salary and benefits package is good. Hours are reasonable. If you are looking for a JOB and not a career you should be satisfied for a while.
Cons – Dealing with the complete lack of communication within the organization. Knowing that no matter how well you do your job, you will recieve no recognition. Having to be careful of who you speak to and constantly monitoring yourself to be sure you can't be accused of being "negative" or "not a team player". Chearleaders are welcome. Professionals with ethics, integrity. desire to improve the work environment and actually serve the membership need not apply.
Advice to Senior Management – Get out of your secluded tower and talk to your employees. Quit relying on what the middle management tells you - they tell you what you want to hear. Go back to an open door policy. Remember how things were when you first joined MFCU. How high morale was the first few years of your "reign" - when employees mattered and gave their very best because they were proud of where they worked and knew that they were an important part of the "team".
4) “B players talk the talk, but manage a command-and-control 20th century culture”
Training (Former Employee)
Tampa, FL
I worked at Grow Financial Credit Union
Pros – Secure career for those who keep quiet and do their job
Cons – Rigid environment. Employees disappear quicky if they disagree with policy, speak up or step outside the command-and-control culture
Advice to Senior Management – Retire. Stop playing politics and power games, and give members value for their money instead. Move into the 21st century.
Anonymous Employee (Former Employee)
I worked at Grow Financial Credit Union
Pros – - Hires excellent people
- Decent pay off the bat
- Gym on-premises
- LGBT-friendly
- Tuition reimbursement
Cons – - Pay raises are abysmal (average ~0.20 per year for high-performing employees in lower-level positions, often below inflation levels)
- Upper and middle level management routinely make decisions that impact the day-to-day lives of the gears of the company without regard for the people whose lives they will impact
- Mid-to-upper management sometimes treat lower-level employees like children; very highschool-like atmosphere in some environments more so than others
- Pervasive "don't like it? Leave" attitude towards employees
- No incentive for performance other than sales performance; back-office employees get the shaft here
- Unrelated college degree > experience in determining who can apply for promotions, despite the company's own training system advising against this practice
- Poor communication from management
Advice to Senior Management – Communicate more. Often times, big changes are made and only a small fraction of the workforce is aware of it. Too often, changes are discovered through word-of-mouth as opposed to official communication. Promote from within when viable candidates are available internally. Quit requiring X number of years experience in a specific function for an employee to qualify for advancement; it ensures no one actually develops a career with the credit union if you are not willing to allow for any training but for entry-level positions. Analyze your annual raise system and really look into whether it is actually an incentive for performance as you seem to hope it is. Management bonuses are tacky when you cancel bonuses for the rest of the company and lower raises. Make an effort to understand why employees are quitting en-masse. Morale is the lowest I've ever seen it. Grow is hemorrhaging excellent, tenured employees and does not seem to care.