Pros
When I first came onboard with what used to be Caliber, the culture was fantastic and one of the best organization and leadership team I have ever had the pleasure of joining. Sanjiv was an excellent CEO and had a solid executive leadership team. They truly cared about the employee experience, fostering a culture of diversity and inclusion as well as providing training & development opportunities outside of tactical job role training. Enter 2022 and it all went downhill rather quickly as the acquisition of Caliber by Newrez occurred and the integration of the two companies shattered all of the hard work that was done by previous HR leadership and fellow executives. So long to caring about employees, finding ways to engage and truly promote a healthy work environment or the months and years of hard work that employees put into making sure they had the best systems and technology to support an innovative and growing company. Even those that were remote couldn't escape from the toxic environment that continues to spread throughout the organization. I really do not have any pros to working here other than if you just really need a paycheck and do not have other options. Go work for Mr. Cooper, Chase, FNMA, BOA... literally, anywhere else is a better option within the financial mortgage industry or even another industry all together. Newrez is at the top of the list of worst employers and turning this around is not even in sight.
Cons
Baron and the executive leadership team need a reality check. Introduce diversity into the top levels instead of being a bunch of middle-aged white men, sprinkled in with a few women and people of color or of other diverse backgrounds. They in no way care about their employees and it is very evident. Every communication from the top was scripted , fake and impersonal. Even the jokes! They only consult those that tell them what they want to hear. When pretty much all of the talented HR Senior and mid-level leaders and more left, nothing was done to ensure the most important aspects of culture were maintained. They lost a great CHRO and leaders under him because they noticed the culture shift and it lead to a mass exodus within HR and beyond. In turn, they placed someone who had zero HR experience to lead who was remaining. There was no attempt to consult with others about what employees truly care about or those who had a pulse on the true status of our workforce. All conversations on next steps remained at the top where I can only imagine there was a lot of missing information not being dispersed that would allow for good decision making. With the market downturn and higher interest rates, it is understandable that reduction in force would be needed, but to this extent? Many things could have been done to lower costs and expenses without having to affect the well-being of so many of my peers and colleagues. Management intentionally decided to layoff thousands of employees overtime and draw out the process resulting in the employees remaining having higher stress, frustration and the same amount of work and expectations with a MUCH smaller number of resources. The downfall of the company can be partially attributed to poor decision making. All employee development, engagement, DEI, ERG, and CSR initiatives were completely halted and all of the highly skilled leaders and employees that were once dedicated to our employee experience were either let go or left on their own accord because of the lack of sincerity and focus from our executives, president and CEO. It's a farce; Baron would say that culture, engagement and employee experience were priorities in his videos/messages but then turn around and let everyone who had any experience with improving it go. I often wonder if he is just oblivious or his own leadership team is not being open and honest. Complete failure. Additionally, the work flexibility is nonexistent. Requiring all employees to return to office regardless of their role, job function, team locations or the fact that they may have been originally hired remotely did not matter. Those remaining few that are skilled need to get out while they can. There are many competitors that offer better or comparable benefits, more flexibility, foster the employee experience from both an engagement and diversity perspective and truly care. The benefits of leaving outweigh the hell that would be experienced by staying. I actually feel horrible for everyone left having to put on a fake smile just to get through the day. There are still a few great leaders but they are few and far between and are just as discouraged.
