Loved it when it was CheckFree, then dreaded Fiserv came and ruined a great work place
Pros
Great people, made some really good friends. Learned a lot in my field. Encouraged to expand knowledge and training, and to obtain certifications. I came into the company while it was still CheckFree, and I loved working there. After about a year, the merger with Fiserv happened, and things slowly started going downhill. But my team, a technology group, were really great people, everyone got along and we were all knowlegeable at our jobs, and most importantly, willing to help each other. Thatt part of the job I was truly grateful for. My immediate manager and the Director of my group are wonderful people who I consider friends and colleagues, and will keep in touch with.
Cons
The pay is far below market value. They pay the same nationwide regardless of geographic region, so my job in NYC paid the same as the job anywhere else. The cost of living in NYC is much higher than the rest of the country, but that doesn't matter. And the pay was low to begin with. Couple that with no raises for almost 3 years, paltry bonuses, and little to no chance for advancement, and the choice to leave was a no brainer. The real reason I left, though, was because the FET (Technology group) organization is going down the drain. They have a "vision" to consolidate data centers, yet after 3 years little to no progress has been made and the plan seems to change on a monthly basis. At the same time, they are offshoring jobs to India in every single technology dept. That team that has 30 US members today will almost certainly be slashed in the coming year or 2, with a skeleton US crew being backed up by Indian associates. The members hired onto my team seemed like they were ok at the job, but they were completely unnecessary and we found ourselves just trying to find work for them to do. The FET goal is to offshore as many jobs as possible so they can severely reduce US head count. I saw the writing on the wall and decided to get out while I could. My advice to any FET associate, don't trust a word the senior leadership tells you. They see you as expendable and will lay you off as soon as look at you. CheckFree was wonderful and I really miss it, I could have seen myself staying there for a long time, but Fiserv is just a really terrible company. They don't care about their employees at all and don't care if they leave. In fact, they seem to encourage it so they can fill your role with someone in India. To me, it seems they are sacrificing the company for minimal savings in the short term by off shoring rather than investing in the long term health of the company. Maybe the big wigs are trying to drive up the stock price before they cash out and retire.
