Disappointing Experience - IT Production Support
Pros
1. Although its a big bank, it operates on such little staff that it sometimes has a small company feel 2. On the technology side, you will find yourself exposed to a lot of areas and not pigeon holed 3. BNP pays above average wages for commensurate level position compared to other Investment Banks in NYC
Cons
There are number of things one should consider before taking and opportunity at BNP NY (RCC - Jersey City). In my opinion based on my experience, they are are as follows: 1. Horrible management structure. No clearly defined leaders and vision for the bank. 2. No clearly defined means of upward mobility in role and responsibilities 3. Skeleton staff that are over worked yet unrecognized for their effort. 4. Leadership roles that are overwhelming biased towards French nationals. Hardly any non-French speaking personnel even considered for such roles. 5. High employee turnover environment created by an environment build for maintenance and less ingenuity and effort. 7. Often people in management positions at BNP lack interpersonal skills to be effective managers, talk less of leaders. 8. An environment that seems to be driven by teams of hired short term consultants (typically less than 1 year). Typical teams at BNP have an Employee:Consultant ratio of about 1:5. Sometimes whole teams plus managers are all short term consultants. 10. Documentation structure is sorely lacking. Again, highlights the management's team complete inefficiencies. 11. Clearly the are of change is in the bank with direction coming from Paris Management. Yet cross pollination of eduction, documented and support methods are not done. Causing confusion on what direction and how should teams proceed with solutions to various trade or IT issues. 12. BNP management structure has a lot of dotted lines in its structure. You may find yourself working under and supporting a business (literally the day in day out structure is lead by the business) yet have your performance reviews being done by a totally distinct management structure that has no idea what you do on a daily basis. Heck they have no idea what your real performance is, because there is no real structure. Just a lot of soft dotted lines and position figureheads who are on paper as your manager. Very often business teams have no idea who the managers are? Lots of grey areas when it comes to the management hierarchy.
