intern

credit analyst

business analyst

manager

senior credit analyst

AgFirst Farm Credit Bank

Moving up definitely depends on who you know or are "friends" with. There are alot of employees that have been there 20+ years which causes a resistance to change. They were still using AS400 as their main loan systems database, which was frustrating at times because of the nuances of the system. They are finally transitioning to a newer system, which will probably bring on the retiring of managers who don't like the change. Some of them are valued employees mainly because of their knowledge of the system. AgFirst brought in an outside company to administer "anonymous" reviews of your manager and the company. My department had one of the lowest scores for management and supposedly the supervisor & manager were given points to work on. Nothing changed as time went on and we kept losing good people. 
It also appears that when a manager wants you gone, you will get an unsatisfactory review resulting in probation. During probation, you have to meet with HR & management on a monthly basis. This goes on until your next yearly review which ends in termination if you hadn't quit yet.

IF you want to be micromanaged, overworked, and underpaid, work during bank and national holidays then you came to the right place.
Management doesn't care about employee retention.
Salaries are below national average, even though we are a national company spanning 13+ states, while providing services to several others in some fashion as part of the FCA.
Managers will find every tiny thing to keep you down, and from getting the review, bonus and pay rise you deserve, if you want a shining review, learn to walk on water.
It used to be recognized as a "best place to work in Columbia, SC" but that was 10+ years ago.
Don't expect any real training to be provided, you won't have time to take it, or to train anyone else, as you'll be working thru lunch and after hours because you'll be in too many meetings.
Healthcare is BCBSIL (IL- the state) but our HQ in SC, which means the coverage is out-of-state, and sub-par because they want to save money and pay less out of their pocket for healthcare.

Even though I tried to be friendly and helpful at all times, it wasn't before long I heard my manager and another manager using discriminating language towards my country and another culture. My supervisor told me a secret of hers that could get her in trouble. That's when I had my doubts about working there long term. For the short time I worked there, the support I had was all from outside my department while my own "team" were being nothing but rude and condescending from day 1. I was not included when my own team have any team activities, including holiday parties but was invited to other teams'. Besides the difficult workplace culture, they clearly don't have a plan or good estimate of what my job should involve because most of the time I had to look hard for things to do on my own. Very disappointed but relieved that I don't have to work there any more. A waste of time in my career.

After almost ten years working at AgFirst, the culture shift from a family to a sweat shop with next to no work life balance is staggering. Multiple mergers and giant projects all in flight at the same time are putting shared services teams in crisis mode where they have no time to handle their own work. This frequently is putting important initiatives on the back burner.  Some of the members of the C suite are completely out of touch with what's going on and they're in for a rude awakening.

My overall experience was good.

Management tends to be a bit absent due to aggressive meeting schedules and extensive travel, though some are worse than others. Managers and department directors don't typically pay attention to day-to-day activities but are constantly changing processes and procedures. Very much a "my way or the highway" management style from the top down. Lots of office politics between departments and quite a 'gossipy' environment.

AgFirst Credit Bank is one of the finest companies I have worked for, management is open to innovative ideas and encourages education and promotion from within.

The work atmosphere is friendly where management encourages  independent working, in other words no micro managing thereby creating trust and desire for employees to show pride in their work.

This bank needs better Management. They all look out for each other. Employees are left to fend for themselves during conflict.  I was actively blocked from leaving a toxic department. Very cliquey and they are continuously trying new tedious ways to mircromanage you while saying they don’t want to babysit employees. Pay was decent and so are benefits, but watch your back because they are not looking out for anyone but themselves.

Great exposure to multi-mainframe, server environment.  Job requirements on non-month-end work days was rather mundane- on production shift, you pretty much knew what was running at a certain time.  Month end days could get crazy with special added jobs, program abends/restarts. Exposure to CA workflow products, IBM & Xerox hardware

What is the best part of working at the company?
Friendly environment. A very open help staff 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Some weekend work. There have been projects go go live over a three day weekend

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Open and friendly we all seem to get along well

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Normal day in it project work and customer support

The work-life balance is terrible. Leadership is poor. The company puts lots of effort into employee appreciation events and gifts, but the way employees are treated (as sweat shop workers) does not gel with that facade. If you accept a job offer from this place, warn your spouse/partner and kids that you will be absent from their lives as you dedicate your entire existence to this place until your escape. I could go on...

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Intern 3 salaries reported	$18.00 per hour
Credit analyst 4 salaries reported	$69,500 per year
Business analyst 4 salaries reported	$90,000 per year
Manager 6 salaries reported	$126,183 per year
Senior credit analyst 1 salary reported	$22.35 per hour

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