Pros
Provident was the definition of the dangling carrot. They provided a salary that was slightly above average to incoming college graduates (how and why is explained below). Raises were consistent in the rage of 5-10% (higher or lower depending on your proximity to the power of the ruling Provident family, or showcasing of meager talents).
Cons
Provident is a business school case study in the impact of automation on jobs in the financial service sector and how labor can be exploited for short term gain. Here's why: 0. Heavy automation has allowed the company to automate the most trivial and monotonous jobs. Unfortunately, the jobs left over requiring even little skill are few . As a result, much of the "jobs" are actually paper pushing jobs or jobs that require very little skill. There are VERY few people at this company who actually perform job tasks that are transferable or valuable in today's market. 1. The business is family owned and run. Nepotism is so apparent and common that everyone knows that your only ticket to climb the ranks is your proximity to family members in power. 2. Young labor is recycled. This is the actual business model. Young workers are attracted to the job by an above average advertised pay, and then very little is invested for retention, because this is an intentional business model. This allows the company to provide quick training to young ambitious kids, and then cycle in new kids once the older class realizes whats going on. It's a genius model. 3. Benefits are absymal (pay itself is above average, but medical, bonuses, and other fringe benefits are laughable or non-existent). The company functions on a "low-cost-structure". In business speak, this means that overhead costs are heavily minimized so that the company can survive market downswings. Unfortunately, costs are kept so low, the company not only appears cheap, IT IS cheap. We received $13 per person stipend for our company holiday party. Put this in perspective. The company makes hundreds of millions in revenue and is highly profitable. The Pica family is VERY wealthy. VERY. They can spare a few more dollars for things.