The companies in the financial services industry cover a broad swath of businesses involved in money management, including banks, credit unions, insurance firms, stock brokerages, investment funds, and credit card companies. Financial services are often ranked among the richest industries in the U.S. Comparably sought to take five of the biggest financial services companies – Citi, Deloitte, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase and Morgan Stanley – and compare them not by market value or buzz, but by their company cultures. What is it like to work for one on the big financial services companies? How do the big banks treat their employees behind closed doors?
OVERALL CULTURE
None of the firms make the ‘A’ grade for culture when graded by their own employees, but Deloitte did squeak out a 3% win over Goldman and Citi, who were runners-up.
Citi: “The cost cutting across the board has made growth and culture very archaic.”
Deloitte: “Not as inclusive and supportive as it promotes itself to be and I think it’s because management is always chasing the next big project to compete for.”
Goldman Sachs: “A culture of teamwork and collaboration.”
JP Morgan: “The atmosphere is so competitive that it can be very draining and exhausting.”
Morgan Stanley: “It’s been a top tier organization for a long time and there are some great people, but quality of the people management is not what it once was. It needs some leadership to rebuild a strong culture of teamwork.”
CEO
Morgan Stanley’s CEO, Jamie Dimon, takes the brass ring in our second category, which measures how a company’s employees feel about their Chief Executive. Deloitte’s Cathy Englebert and Goldman’s David M. Solomon are close runners-up.
Citi: “I believe leadership is going in the right direction in enhancing digital banking.”
Deloitte: “Leadership is invested in the development and growth of employees.”
Goldman Sachs: “I have a very positive view of Solomon.”
JP Morgan: “Employees have a lot of respect for Jamie Dimon. He’s almost a ‘rock-star’ CEO. He’s a great speaker and employees were very enthusiastic whenever he had his town halls.”
Morgan Stanley: “Focused on building the business and protecting the brand.”
COMPENSATION
Goldman takes the Compensation category, beating out runner-up Citi by just one percentage point. Morgan Stanley and JP Morgan tied for last place with C+ scores.
Citi: “Everything is good about the compensation.”
Deloitte: “Increase salaries more. A 2% salary increase barely covers inflation so it is not an actual raise at all if you consider the talent development we each go through on a yearly basis.”
Goldman Sachs: “Compensation is way too bonus driven.”
JP Morgan: “The compensation isn’t the best but they are always looking to help people grow in their roles as professionals and get promoted.”
Morgan Stanley: “The firm takes too much of my gross revenue and spreads it out as deferred compensation while cutting services provided.”
PERKS & BENEFITS
Deloitte takes the Perks & Benefits category with ease. The company’s employees are truly enthusaistic about their benefits package. Coming in second by a six-point lag is Morgan Stanley.
Citi: “Health, disability, life, dental, vision, PTO, maternity leave, corporate discounts.”
Deloitte: “Every possible benefit. Great health insurance, dental, vision, optional additional insurance, flexible savings, health savings, dependent care, wellness subsidy, emergency back up care, 16 weeks parental leave (in addition to short term disability.)”
Goldman Sachs: “Health, vision, vacation, sick leave, 401k, among others.”
JP Morgan: “Full health, life insurance, 401k, pension, investment, free upgraded checking account, tuition reimbursement, mentoring, career training.”
Morgan Stanley: “Medical, dental, 401K matching, life insurance, employee discount program, college coach for kids, etc.”
GENDER
Goldman takes another category, this time for Gender, which measures how female employees feel about the company and how they are treated in comparison to male employees. Deloitte sits only three percentage points behind Goldman in this category.
DIVERSITY
Citi ekes out a win in the Diversity category, which measures the diversity among a company’s workforce. Again, Deloitte is waiting in the wings, just one point behind Citi.
Citi: “We are diverse but still work and think as one.”
Deloitte: “There is a fair amount of diversity – although it becomes less so at the top of the organization.”
Goldman Sachs: “There is diversity among the employees.”
Morgan Stanley: “Gender diversity is reflected well across most divisions. Racial, ethnic and cultural diversity is better than many places but still needs work.”
OUTLOOK
Deloitte racks up its final supremacy in the Outlook category, which measures how employees feel about their company’s future.
Citi: “Citi is going to do good but they are hiring more and more off shore.”
Deloitte: “It is one of the best places to work with the best people.”
Goldman Sachs: “MARCUS is growing fastest. FICC is having difficulties.”
JP Morgan: “Brick and mortar banking is decreasing. Electronic banking is on the rise.”
Morgan Stanley: “It needs to improve to stay at the top or it will slip to a lesser organization.”
Results were spread out overall among four of the five companies, with only Morgan Stanley not winning any categories. But with three categories under its belt (Overall culture, Perks & Benefits, and Outlook), Deloitte has the best culture from among the five firms we looked at, with a special mention going to their Perks & Benefits score. Goldman Sachs was our runner up, thanks to two wins (Gender and Compensation). JP Morgan and Citi took one win each, for CEO Jamie Dimon and Diversity, respectively.
