service associate

operations associate

teller

branch manager

senior service associate

Eastern Bank

Where do I start...
I was employed as a full time service associate in the one of the Middlesex County branches. After roughly 4 months of working at that location I found out I was pregnant. I went to the branch manager to talk to her about planning ahead to schedule appointments and working around them to accommodate to my pregnancy. To my surprise, she said she wouldn’t do that for me, because I called out unexcused 3x before (1 was pregnancy related before I knew I was pregnant and I always brought in doctors notes) and Because “if I have to do it for you I have to do it for everyone else.”— Even though the ABM comes in late EVERY day and makes the excuse “the traffic was horrible” or “the commute is too long.”. And she allows the OA to leave early on certain days to go to her ice skating practice. I filed a discriminatory report with HR, and they did absolutely nothing. I had to beg them to make me a floating teller. The discrimination only got worse before they put me in the float pool. The branch manager came back from Australia and got gifts and personalized items for everyone except me (I didn’t care for them anyway, cheap pieces of plastic, it’s the fact that I felt unappreciated for my hard work). The discrimination was clear, but the company dismissed it because the BM was too large of an asset to the company. Even after the BM was no longer my reporting manager, she was still trying to force her “authority” down my throat and involve the rest of her branch in the drama. If I was a person of color complaining about the company they would have done more for my situation. 

I enjoyed the training, the traveling, and my JOB as a floating service associate (once I became one after begging HR to help me with the discrimination I was facing at one of the branches). But fast forward to COVID-19 in March. I was working at one of the Essex county branches (the BEST manager and staff in the region) and I was told I’d stay there until further notice to minimize the spread of the virus. We were offered an incentive to work IN the branch during the pandemic, so I stayed, worked overtime to help the short staff, and risked my own health for the company. Towards the end of April a few customers at said branch called us to inform us that they tested positive for COVID-19. We called management (the regional manager and HR) to let them know we were exposed and instead of closing down the branch and letting us all quarantine they told us “you’ll be fine” and kept the branch open until an employee complained about their children now possibly being at risk of getting sick. So after almost 1.5 weeks they FINALLY decided to shut the branch down, fume the facility and they sent us home for two weeks. Well the day after they closed the branch my manager tested positive for COVID, and I tested positive 2 days later. They have absolutely no care for your health or safety. Not unless you make a big enough deal about it. 

Great people here. If anything, the people is one of the greatest assets that stand out at Eastern Bank. Very welcoming and have a good record of retention.I love that they are diverse and are exemplary community contributors and leaders. The downside is that because they have excellent retention record, a lot of the management has been here for most of their careers and there really is no space for career advancement or innovation. Systems are old and that means A LOT of manual processing on the operational side of the business. There is also an undertone of anarchy from some of the management that has been employed for quite some time. Because management has worked in the industry for a good portion of their careers,  there is a fowl attitude of entitlement. To move forward, and be leaders beyond community and diversity, you must hire innovative leaders that contribute to streamlining business and operational growthand success. Some of your "seasoned" management really don't care and are just waiting to retire (I reported to one of the bunch who is like this). UPPER MANAGEMENT- You need to think where our society is headed and where Eastern Bank will be in the next 5 years. Do you have the right players, systems and innovators in place? Create space for growth and change across the board! You have an amazing people culture, now let's make sure we are banking with the next generation in mind. That sometimes requires that you restructure your management to fit the objective. On another note, the HR at Eastern is really nice (benefits guy and payroll are excellent and most of the HRBP's) and they have great benefits .  They suffer from the same issue though, the majority of HR leaders/managers have been here for most of their career from what I've seen,  they look like they are miserable. Just retire and get it over with. We can see you're tired and not happy. Not a good image for our HR department). 

I was able to expand my Cash Management sales knowledge. The Management all depended on what department you were in. There have been a lot of negative changes the last few years due to a regime change at the top positions. It felt like that the long term employees were being pushed out to replace them with employees from the new regimes old bank. Managers from the new regimes old bank were very condescending in their conversations with their staff. 

My manager was always trying to find an error to document and justify to write someone up, She was not able to do that though, so she eliminated positions to get rid off the people she wanted gone.
She would roll her eyes in meetings when someone she didn't care for said something. She had favorites on the team and it was quite obvious. An example of a condescending remark was "Get your act together". All things that I learned in Management Training and college that you don't do as a manager. I attribute that to her lack of education as an SVP with only a HS diploma as opposed to other SVPs with Master Degrees.The hardest part of the job was dealing with someone of that caliber. It was also that she had the support of the people that hired her, not what was right.

The most enjoyable part of the job was all the friendships I made with my teammates and fellow employees. I especially was thankful for the relationships that I made with members of HR. Unfortunately I felt their hands were tied when it came to the business decisions about employees' releases made by the new regime. 

It was a nice place to work, but you have to checkout who you will be reporting to.

Wow what can I say about a department that is under staffed and expected to work overtime due to managements errors to not staff appropriately during a system migration.  To have to ask permission to leave the department for basic issues or to finish up on an angry customers complaint while you are in not ready.  The management does not lead by example they chit chat and discuss lunch while the reps are stressing and trying to help their customers and limit the wait time.  You can't ask for time off after you schedule an appointment because it is usually declined.  I have learned from others to just call in sick but that is not who I am.  I enjoyed my job when I first started but am disappointed now how I am treated when I work so hard and not appreciated.

Very well said downtrodden is the key word here.  There is no appreciation at all from management and they are very bothered for being interrupted with questions however they are quick to hand you an audit when you make a mistake.  Not feeling the love here.  There is so much favoritism very obvious.  No morning greetings but much discussion about their lunch no thanks at the end of the day.  I know this is the job but they can make us feel appreciated after all the negatives from our customers about the long waits due to being short staffed.  Sorry people due your job!

•Under the direction of the branch manager, assists with the daily management of a banking office (generally with under $100 million in deposits)
•Responsible for achievement of personal sales goals, and proactively guiding the sales activities of the platform staff toward achievement of branch goals
•Through tested techniques, engage in sales and service coaching sessions with sales staff
•Responsible for daily branch operations to include overdraft management, vault management, branch schedules, the opening and closing of the office, and other such duties
•Responsible for branch's adherence to audit/compliance requirements
•Manages customer service levels within the branch, adhering to established guidelines
•Consistently applies Human Resource policy for routine aspects of management, and as performance issues arise
•May prepare and deliver performance appraisals for subordinates as directed by Branch Manager
•Expected to have/gain full understanding of the teller function

Great company to work for with a great benefits package.  Eastern Bank has so much involvement in the community which is what I truly love about the company.  At Eastern Bank I control the operations of the Manchester branch.  Vault, ATM, Coin machine, and complete cash controls of the whole branch. I am the direct supervisor of four employees when it comes to procedures behind the teller line.  I review any new account documentation that comes into the Manchester branch to ensure the proper documentation is collect and correctly put in the system.  I have learned how to multi-task and be able to supervise which helping customers at the same time.  I love being able to help my customers and co-workers on a day to day basis.  I have been in the banking industry for 6 years, so I am ready to take my bachelors degree from Southern New Hampshire University along with my extensive background and further my career in an analyst position.

A typical day at work is full of various tasks and multi tasking situations from handling customer transactions to selling products and services as well as opening accounts and all the day to day cash handling.  we are required to make outreach sales calls.  I try to learn new things everyday i have been with the company for 7 years and still enjoy and am open to learning anything new that I can.  I feel that for the most part our office has a great attitude and team oriented feel.  We all mesh really well together and are always there to help one another out.  I would say the hardest part of the job is sometimes being short handed and juggling everything all at once but as I mentioned earlier we work really well as a team and hep each other every way that we can.  My most enjoyable part would be when we really go above and beyond to help customers really take the extra steps and time to get the job done find solutions and make the customers happy.

There is room for advancement if you are proactive, look for opportunities and advocate for yourself.  From entry level admin. as  for example,  a receptionist position, to advancement to other depts., or a  lateral  move from one department to another, there are chances to grow and learn. EIG sends many of their employees to classes for various work related subjects.  Management is very supportive and do listen to suggestions. Training did have some gaps, but EIG is moving forward with training tools as well as new technology. Pensions? YES!!
How many employers offer those in this day and age???

I've really enjoyed working at Eastern Bank. One of the best aspects of the company is that they genuinely care about their employees and the communities they serve, which sets them apart from other banks. There's room for promotions within the organization, but it's important to note that reaching the very top can be challenging, as many leadership positions are held by people who've been here for decades.

While Eastern Bank has a strong commitment to its values, I do think there’s room for improvement in terms of resources and technology. Sometimes, it feels like we could be more efficient in customer service if we had better tools. Management is generally supportive, though like any company, there are certain departments that tend to micromanage more than others.

Overall, it's a great place to work, but I hope they continue to invest in technology and streamlining processes to make our jobs even better!

I would come into work and sometimes not have anyplace to sit at a desk to wait on customers.  Which made it difficult to have the customer time I needed to reach goals due to the fact that I had no place to wait on them.  I learned how to give great customer service, I loved waiting on them when I had a chance. The management would often be competitive to get most of the accounts and loan applications and often was not available to get approvals on certain management issues.  The hardest part of the job was getting to use a free desk to wait on customers.  The most enjoyable part was being able to help a customer that was having any problems with accounts/loans. I got great self enjoyment out of customers calling on me at times because they knew me and my capabilities and personal attention to their needs.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Service associate 13 salaries reported	$22.58 per hour
Operations associate 2 salaries reported	$23.75 per hour
Teller 1 salary reported	$20.00 per hour
Branch manager 3 salaries reported	$81,007 per year
Senior service associate 5 salaries reported	$24.20 per hour

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