BALANCE Reviews

The Pay: The general idea among us old-timers is that part of the reason they moved locations is because they can just hire Concord-based employees and pay them the same. Smart move because the pay is not sustainable if you live in San Francisco, Berkeley, or Oakland. Your raises will be insignificant at your one year review. The Work: Counseling/Coaching can at times be rewarding but most of us (those who have shared their thoughts with me) agreed that it doesn't offset that after 7-8 months the work is just not great. Repetitive and stressful for all the wrong reasons (you won't feel challenged because the work isn't challenging, you'll just be given tasks outside of your regular work and will occasionally be given less time to do it all). Most of the skills you'll pick up are soft skills, so unless you dedicate time outside of work to learn certain software/etc., the job isn't the best resume booster. Your immediate supervisor will almost never be available. Outside of asking your peers the occasional question, you're on your own. The Mood: Most people in credit counseling are drained and ready to leave. There's sense in our department that upper management (whom we don't even report directly to) like to micromanage. One of the senior supervisors is pitching into credit, which is terrible for all of us. This person has no ability to lead or motivate, is confrontational, and straight unpleasant. More often than not they'll make you feel stupid. And if you're in credit, you'll have to deal with them occasionally. Seriously, you shouldn't have to feel stressed every time a senior supervisor calls you. Like in many other workplaces, yes some people are a bit lazy and unmotivated. However, the majority of people in credit aren't complaining because they don't want to work, as some of the positive reviews insist. They're complaining because management have made this an unpleasant place to work. Those that are rating this place positively, I wish I'd known what department they worked for so I could have transferred there. Career Advancement: Doesn't really exist. If you're in credit, you have a couple of viable options. You can become a housing counselor (slightly more pay) or you can try to go for the occasional supervisor openings. There's rarely anything else. It's a job straight out of college and nothing more.

The pay is horrible. $17/hour in San Francisco. And when you "move up" to a new position that does not include a pay raise. The staff is trained to tell clients that they might want to consider getting a better paying job in order to make ends meet. Yet their own staff can't make ends meet with the pay they receive and lack of raises and promotions. Training is inconsistent. So a lot of call center reps and counselors are giving mixed information. Sometimes it would be wrong, sometimes right. There is extremely high rollover. People often quitting without giving a 2 week notice. So the staff is never on the same page. There is always someone new that doesn't know what to do. And old employees upset about the changes and miss the way things used to be. There is a big separation between call center/counselors vs management/higher ups. Management/high ups are completely disconnected from what their staff goes through and have very little empathy. The supervisors in the middle try to keep the ship a float but they are beyond stressed and overworked. Call center/counselors have mandatory meetings on holidays (Columbus Day) and have to work at least one Saturday a month. Including the weekends around holidays like 4th of July, Thanksgiving and X-mas. Management/higher ups have all holidays and weekends off. Their meetings involve catered food, off site events, parties, etc. So they give the staff "Bagel Tuesday" once a month and that is supposed to make all our issues go away. I understand that the higher you go up the more perks you get. But there is a way to tactfully do this and the company handles it the wrong way. Management/higher ups have all these great ideas and are constantly out on the road trying to expand the business. Problem is, they are selling a product they don't have. They are always understaffed. Not enough people to answer the phones. Some counseling positions are unfilled but they claim to offer said service (Reverse Mortgage Counseling). Counselors are under qualified to give financial advice on a lot of the harder, more complex financial topics. Company now requires all new employees to have a college degree. You do not need a college degree to do this job. You just need proper training, which they do not provide. The college grads take this job, after about 6 months realize how unorganized the place is and that they won't be able to make a career here, so they leave. Company is way too concerned about the dress code. It's a call center. Dressing casual is supposed to be one of the perks. Unless you deal with the public (majority of staff does NOT) there is no need to be nit picky about what people are wearing. HR is extremely stressed due to high rollover. Reviews and raises are often not given or are given late. Computer software, website, information packets are very outdated. Making it hard to do your job and provide the best/most current advice to the clients.