Pros
Some IT personnel were friendly. Still are.
Cons
Let me impress upon you the EQIS experience: *Was told would get offer next day, then went cold for months due to CEO trying to nickel and dime expenses for EOY. Then contacted months later out of the blue during PEAK season. Smoooth. *Low pay, lowest I have seen in the industry and bottom barrel offer letter – had to settle for ~60% of what I used to make for a role that became more work intensive than most. Small bonuses ~4-5% or less if that. *Rushed training during PEAK season, 5-minute breaks between over hour-long sessions all day, forced to train on 14-inch screen for weeks before monitors arrive (who manages staff equipment?) ***Within 3 months, I saw half dozen people quit and the firm is under 50 people. Massive turnover. *CEO is confrontational and dominates conversations 'just nod and smile'. I felt like an intern again yay! I was forced to start live before fully trained. Staff seemed to ‘fear’ the pushback. I could sense the tension. Think 1980s-1990s Wallstreet type 'rule with fear/aggression'. Antiquated/leadership from the top down. *No reply about scheduling PTO for over a month – still no reply upon my departure. Everyone seemed ‘afraid’ to ask?! Annd we all know plane tickets don't change in price right. So rude and just bizarre behavior. *Screaming client advisors that curse like a sailor, talk down to you, say you’re doing a bad job, and expect you to be their personal assistant. The advisors just don’t understand the TAMP business or what Eqis does at all. This applies for tenured old-school FAs and the young bloods. At times I was left alone to run their entire client service phone and chat queue during tax season and I was just hired a month in! Absurdity. *The firm obviously defends larger book advisors vs reprimand for their behavior towards Operational staff when we are only messengers on the phones. Pretty much means you are of far lesser value and expendable. You come last and do NOT matter unless you got that big $ book. That's client services at Eqis. *Pressured and forced to work earlier/different hours right after hire for extended days, weeks. Asked to do overtime right away. Odd and inconsiderate because we all know some people have two jobs and family obligations! *Starting PTO - the absolute lowest and a red flag dictating a short tenure shop. Good luck asking for a two week vaca for the summer. I was told 'if we can afford to have you off that long maybe and then only if you're allowed advance PTO'. Wow can't even plan a vacation I guess, not allowed. They tend to defend their ‘bizarre’ standards like it’s the norm. Typical HR right? *401K – starts after a year I think, too long to remember for sure? Employer only does match and low % match. No profit sharing, stock options. Bottom barrel offering. *Either they or their benefits vendor ‘forgot’ to add my benefits plan when I had surgery scheduled. Could be EQIS’s fault, could be their vendor, doesn’t matter it happened. It was resolved eventually. *Forced to take 30-minute MAX lunch (they defended this nonsense) which meant no time to decompress from mind numbing advisor harassment/badgering. They said some people complained 1 hour lunch was too long? Nice response to my concern. 👍 *Awkward free lunch part-year compensation $ amount adjustments (seemed to decrease weekly) then criticized for lunches being ‘too expensive’ for the already approved amount. Why offer anything if you grief staff for doing it? Who manages budget? Oy vey! *Have to say if you ‘need to use the potty or get up for a few minutes’ due to being constantly short staffed from the turnover. Stressful and twitchy. *Budget was valued over team health. Understaffed. Stretched to breaking point. Yes this is common with smaller firms but this shop took it to the astronomical extremes to please investor ROI. Employees went remote and salaries tanked I was told. *The COO's emails distributed were the most ‘frightening and shaming’ I have ever seen in my life if you screwed up (none were directed at me fyi). Emails should be addressed on an individual basis not staff wide threatening termination. Unusual and bullying, not place for that anywhere but at a boiler room. *Business outlook does not look good, unqualified clients brought on board without proper vetting. Clients don’t know their advisors and technology glitches cause mass confusion, seemed to happen very frequently for some reason. More than most shops. Guys, just don’t work here unless you absolutely need ANY job. Ask yourself why do you want to work here? What's the benefit? It's certainly not the pay and moving up because the firm is so small right? I thought EQIS was a modern fintech startup trying to dab into the TAMP bizz versus my previous employer who got bought out (obviously made a mistake). I may have been hit with a perfect storm of bad stuff since any handful of these issues can be normal. But it happened, are you a risk taker? They may be okay for a new grad to gain experience with but not anyone with decent experience/education. The cumulative effect of these issues and screaming financial advisors in your ear makes the toxicity level unbearable. But hey if you’re a lifer phone OPS guy then it’s probably routine, me, I did my time in the phone racket for 5+ years. Oh ya almost forgot, the rest of the staff complained when they had to take a couple (like 2) calls a day each during Peak season, showing just how much the phone job was ‘feared’ or hated here. Yikes.