Competitive with Industry Standards - Technology FirstBank (Colorado) Employee Review

Good pay and good people.

One time they had a hot dog contest. Hot dogs were way too hot. Like not just warm, actually burning hot. First bite burned the roof of my mouth right away. There was steam coming off them and nobody thought to wait or anything. Just started the contest like that was normal. After that it was just bad. Every bite kept hitting the same burned spot and it got worse and worse. The buns kept the heat in so it didn’t help at all. Water didn’t fix it either. Just had to keep going while your mouth was already messed up. Whole thing turned into trying to eat through pain instead of actually competing. Mouth was wrecked after and stayed like that for a couple days. Honestly should have just let them cool down first. Would have fixed the whole problem. Had to go through insurance.

- There were some very talented individuals in the business and technology areas. - The work-from-home (three days per week) and flex policies were a nice perk.

- The bank's systems were stable and supported day-to-day functions well, but were outdated and did not provide enough flexibility for the business to grow its products and offerings. - Technology leadership was overly cautious, resistant to change, and resistant to new ideas / technologies. They also lacked vision and the means to carry out necessary strategic changes. - Loyalty and years of service dominated the technology culture. - Purchase by PNC (or another bank) seemed inevitable. Had the acquisition not taken place, I still would have left the company and would not have recommended it to people working in the technology field. It's unlikely that FirstBank would have modernized where necessary. The technology cultures of the two companies are vastly different. It is unclear how that will play out and what challenges that will bring for employees. Of note, all Lakewood staff will be required to work in the office five days per week after the acquisition is completed.