teller

product manager

trustee

operations associate

fraud analyst

Bank of Hawaii

At the orientation they singled out all of the new call center representatives. They straight up said we are the strictest department at the bank. Probation is 3 months, allowed 2 absences during this time period when you reach the 3rd you will be terminated. After probation you get a total of 6 absences but any prior occurrences will stay on and accumulate and will not disappear until the one year Anniversary of said occurrence. They continued and said Bank of Hawaii prides itself in promoting from within. If you last 1year at call center you have a better chance of getting into any other department at the bank because you'll be well round trained and experienced in everything from loans to credit cards and fraud.
So I did I stayed about a year and a half. Clients call and complain for the same reasons daily. Top 5: not being notified we blocked their card, they didn't know they needed to place a travel note when traveling, they want to be able to transfer funds to another BOH  customer online but we don't offer this service, the wait time to speak to a rep is too long, and someone said they'd call me back and they didn't. As a front line representative the amount of verbal abuse from clients and the pressure you get from your supervisor and manager to reach your monthly goals was unbearable. I didn't like my job anymore. I had anxiety attacks and panic attacks while at work. 30 reps on the floor, 200+ calls in the queue. What type of call will I have next? Clients refused a call back and demanded for me to solve issues that's above my paygrade and or not my department. I understood their frustration and I was one of the few reps who genuinely wanted to help my clients. I've witnessed other reps hang up on their client mid call. I've witnessed reps get mad and tell clients off. I've never done that. I cried out of frustration and stress almost daily. I know that both of the miscarriages I suffered during my employment at BOH was due to the stress I endured daily. When I reached my one year mark I applied for fulfillment. My request was denied. I got an email saying due to the high demand of the call center they're deciding not to fill this position at this time. My Manager tried to get me to become a lead and or Supervisor. She did not want me to leave her section. I was a great representative. Had 10 perfect mystery shops and had VIP multiple times. I declined the offer because I didn't want to stay at the call center. A couple months passed and I applied for branch. My request was denied again. I just didn't understand. My manager pulled me into a meeting and asked why I didn't let her know I was trying to transfer out. I told her I didn't need her permission. It says clear as day on the application... of you are a current employee and have been in this position for a year or longer you do not need approval from your immediate manager. She didn't like that. She kept trying to press for me to move up in the call center. After a few more months I decided I could not take it anymore. So I left.

Generally in HI if you aren't working for a military contractor or IBM, you probably are at some garbage company unless you're a professional (lawyer, CPA, etc.)  With that in mind, BOH is not that bad.  Everyone is generally nice, pay is "ok", PTO is "ok" (standard for the island), benefits are surprisingly decent, and depending on department there is some flexibility with your schedule.  There is an overt Japanese/Hawaiian culture so that might not work for a lot of mainlanders, and they are pretty much exclusively Christian so expect a tree lighting event and carol singing at XMAS but nothing for any other religion or culture. 
Being a Christian myself, I don't really care but it does stand out as odd to me in this day and age.   

Executive management REEKS of cronyism, and you would swear the CEO has a fixation for re-orgs which happen with astonishing frequency.  BOH has also cut employment levels so much that most of the production related departments are completely over worked and management seems more interested in hiring additional layers of executive management than actual people doing the work.  As someone in sales, I find myself knowing far more about my particular business unit than the variety of managers I have seen come through (at various levels).

There are some absolutely bizarre IT issues.  If you are a data scientist or working in IT I suggest you stay away--you have been warned.  

Their response to Covid was exemplary however.

All in all, if you have other options, I would recommend exploring them but consider BOH as an "ok" opportunity if you are contemplating moving here.

I started working at Bank oh Hawaii right after i finished school at Hawaii Pacific University in 2012, and it was a very good opportuinity for me who didnt have very much experience working in the U.S. 

I accepted the offer, started with another branch instead of my original branch which was a good to learn and got to know co-workers. In Hawaii, the variety of cultures as well as ethicities makes us understand better and work better with clients.

Working at different branches was helping me have ideas how to help and work with either consumers or businesses, it was good change for a newly employee.

I actually experience new things everyday with either typically clients or with new clients who try to do business with the bank, whenever i needed help, bosses or co-workers, also other departments will support

Bank of Hawaii is a good place to work at. I got chances to go to different training courses when its opened/

The bank is giving all employees opportunities to get promoted or transfer to new position with their performance as well as having party for us to get together twice a year so that we know who we are working with, also build up co-workers relationship.

I came from Viet Nam and fluently in Vietnamese. Thats why im trying to bring Vietnamese businesses to the bank, my executive bosses are letting me use my strength to help my vietnamese community also, because of that, we closed a big commercial loan with one of the vietnamese businesses last year and it will be the target for this year as well.

Although a good place to gain experience, you will be undercompensated if you work at a branch.  The fact that a teller has to learn rules and banking regulations, basic accounting principals, and detailed knowledge about accounts and product types while barely getting paid more than a mindless McDonald's worker says a lot about a company that is worth nearly 20 Billions dollars.  I was hired as a Relationship Banker and enjoyed interacting with customers but we were constantly understaffed and instead of doing my primary job function, I did more teller work than anything else.  We are told that all customers are welcome but it's obvious that the more money you bring the more 'welcome' you are.  

Not to mention that this company has been around for a very long time and only just recently did they decide that they would correct the spelling of Hawai'i with an 'okina finally.  You quickly find that in order to move up it is more beneficial to rub elbows than to actually work hard.  I loved my coworkers because but I do believe that we bonded in a common disdain for the state of how the bank operated as a whole.  The uniforms for only branch employees by the way make you feel like branch employees are school children while those in the main tower can be adults in normal business casual.

Thank you for the experience, but there's a reason why nearly half of their job vacancies are branch positions.  Maybe one day they will learn but the culture is so engrained that it probably won't since they know that they can afford having branch employees come and go.

BOH does not value work/ home life balance.  Working in a non- branch environment; "exempt status" prepare to stay over 40 hours weekly and without compensation. Employees, whose salaries are below $45000 a year, should be considered "non- exempt".  Before the law was recently vetoed, we were briefed to notify management if our work load will take us beyond an 8 hour work day. This prevents/ minimizes paying employees over time. Since that was short lived, now it's back to the norm of working from ain't to faint and no mention about working long hours. Working countless hours lessen the amount of time spent with loved ones. 

The meager $14 and change hourly wage, clearly does not compensate for the type of work, deadline driven environment and number of hours worked within a week. Hence; should you work 45 hours within a week you get paid for only 40. Do the math. Of course this does not boost morale. 

Because there is a lack of employees within departments, it does not lend way to developmental opportunities. 

The systems are slow requiring you to reboot during the day and log off at night.  They charge a monthly parking fee and the parking lot is substandard.  Pot holes and faint parking lines. 

Before accepting employment with BOH, ask the right questions to make a sound decision if this is a place that is conducive to your career goals and work/ home life balance.

as soon as I was hired and started working at the Call Center in Kapolei, co-workers would come up to me and tell me that working there was horrible, and that the management didn't care about their employees.I found it odd that I was being approached by people who worked there for over a year, and they would tell me about how negative their experience was. It wasn't long before I saw how right they were. The management there treats people as if they are cattle; they do not hesitate to belittle, talk down to, or criticize employees out in front of the rest of the staff on duty. The worst part is the fact that all of the upper management there is the same way-- there is no way to report any of it without consequences. They don't "allow" you to work off of the clock, but you aren't allowed time to finish reports, emails, etc while clocked in and answering calls, so in essence you are forced to finish work off the clock or be reprimanded for not clocking out on time. Potential employees need to remember that this is a BANK- they are going to do everything possible to make sure that any problems in-house are handled in the most cost effective & quiet way possible. Luckily for me, I relocated and kept my mouth shut. Other who decided to bring these issues up ended up terminated.

*My typical day at work enjoys my customers and co-workers. It is like a second home to me.
*I've learned so much over the years that I cannot put it all down.
*My direct management team is awesome. I've worked with them for almost 15 years and they are an extension of my family. The corporate management is a different story. I do not feel they appreciate the level of hard work and dedication the front line staff has. I feel the pay is extremely low for the work we perform.
*My workplace culture-my location/branch is wonderful. We all work together well. It is very cohesive. Other locations/branches help out occasionally however it's not unusual to not know someone who comes in to assist.
*The hardest part of the job is the lack of people. As the corporation moves into the electronic age, they seem to focus more on how things can get done efficiently. They are trying to have the customer base utilize electronic options (e-mail, atms, apps) thereby reducing the workforce. As such, those who cannot complete their banking needs via electronics have longer wait times which in turn reduces their pleasure in banking with us.
*The people are the most enjoyable part of my job. I love my customers, I love my co-workers. I enjoy coming to work.

Good starting point to start a career but don't stay too long. Pay is a joke, only a selected few who are favored will be fast-tracked to managerial position. If you are not that person, no opportunity for advancement. 

I've seen lots of smart and young talent leave because of constant micro-managing, little to no appreciation and lack of clear guidelines. Everything is run by old management who stayed at least couple decades at the bank and no one will cover for you from continuous gaslighting. You either quit within 1 year or learn to ignore it. Senior employees are either afraid to stand up or just don't care about the junior employees. If you are not from prestige background and have no connections, you are on your own. If you make the slightest human error, you will get pushed around and get so much nagging but whenever more senior individuals or managers make mistakes, they NEVER apologize. HR won't be of help at all. 

People who stay are either applying aggressively after work to get into a different institute or gaslighted to the bones and coping with the gaslighting.

Wouldn't recommend trust tax work to my enemies.  

Very short staffed, yet manages a large volumes of clients.  As a trust tax officer, you are expected to be involved in every process.  From obtaining info, raising funds or contacting clients to pay for extension etc... it's  a lot of work that you wouldn't see until you are in a higher position in other CPA firms.  However, as a regular officer, you are expected to, but get paid like a first year associate in a bigger firms.   Ridiculous amounts of paper work throughout that takes more time to complete than tax returns themselves.  

They like to add on more responsibilities without the reward.  No work life balance.  You can take work remotely, but who doesnt these days?  

Stay away at all cost unless they offer significantly higher than what you expected.  Even then I dont recommend.  You are much better off going elsewhere if you work in tax.  

Bank of Hawaii has a great culture. They place a big emphasis on the customer experience while also making sure their employees feel heard. I have loved my time at Bank of Hawaii. Management has been great at working with my schedule and making sure that all the staff have their vacation dates planned out. They do a good job at hiring competent and posiitive people. So I feel like my many of my co-workers are amongst my real friends and that they have my back at work and outside of work. I feel like customers generally have a good experience while in the branch. 

Biggest perk for me:
They have a College Assistance Program (CAP) set up with Chaminade and the UH community colleges. This is very helpful for getting some college done while also working full time. Along with the CAP, they have tuition assistance through a program called tuition.io that allows Bank of Hawaii to pay $100 a month to your student loans up to $10,000 so long as you are making your regular payments on the loan.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Teller 2 salaries reported	$22.75 per hour
Product manager 4 salaries reported	$78,750 per year
Trustee 3 salaries reported	$52,500 per year
Operations associate 3 salaries reported	$48,750 per year
Fraud analyst 3 salaries reported	$45,333 per year

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