relationship banker

senior credit analyst

senior relationship banker

teller

client advisor

First Busey Corporation

This job starts out feeling very promising. They bring in motivated, hardworking people, but over time that enthusiasm often gets worn down by the workplace environment. Unfortunately, favoritism, poor communication, and a lack of genuine concern for employee well-being made my experience extremely disappointing.

During my time there, I dealt with inappropriate behavior from both customers and coworkers, including being unfairly labeled, uncomfortable comments, and situations that felt like harassment. I did not feel supported when these concerns were raised, and management often seemed more focused on protecting certain individuals than addressing serious workplace issues. In my experience, some employees were allowed to continue harmful behavior because of the value they brought financially, which created a culture of fear and frustration among staff.

The workplace culture often felt more like high school drama than a professional environment. Constant tension, gossip, and favoritism made it difficult to focus on the actual job. Many employees spent more energy trying to avoid conflict than feeling supported in their roles.

Training was also underwhelming. The onboarding process felt disorganized and inconsistent, with little hands-on support or genuine mentorship. Much of the training relied on computer modules with minimal engagement, and whether you succeeded often depended more on who was assigned to train you than on any structured system.

There were a few managers and coworkers who truly cared and made a positive difference, and I appreciated them greatly. However, overall leadership lacked accountability and consistency.

The hardest part of the job was navigating the constant drama and trying to protect your own peace while still doing your work. The most enjoyable part was the occasional half-days when the branch was fully staffed—but those were rare.

Overall, I left feeling more disappointed than anything. This job had the potential to be a great place to work, but poor management and unhealthy workplace culture made it difficult to stay.

In my time with Busey my department management would say one thing and do the other. If you are a favorite of management your life will be good but if you aren't on their good side expect a rough ride. If you prioritize work and choose to not have a personal life you will be a favorite among the group but the moment you aren't constantly working "voluntary overtime" you are no longer a value to management. When I was first hired they boasted about how they have a great work life balance and a very happy group of people, but in reality this was not true. My management would regularly use phrases like "dig in deep" or it's time to "lean in now" to help motivate us to take more calls and push ourselves more, we were already pushing ourselves. They always wanted us to give more of ourselves but never giving an inch themselves. They have extremely high expectations which are so high they aren't attainable. If you aren't a favorite within the group there is no point in even striving because they will always find a way to knock you back down. They don't have their employees' back and see each person as a chess piece and will play you as they see fit. When you are no longer 'useful' to them it shows and you are isolated. Instead of praising the wins they focus only on losses in group meetings. You are tied to your desk most of the day and have very little time in between calls. They focus on the negatives only and disregard the wins. It was very stressful working in the customer care department; I never knew who I could trust and who I couldn't. I never received an exit interview after I left, and that is why I am now posting this review. I don't believe an exit interview would have made a difference because they run at the beat of their own drum.

Busey has a different culture in Champaign than the other markets. It seems they are a true pillar in their community in Champaign and the community is supportive because of their tenure and commitment to that community. Seems the facilities are better and their are more amenities for that community. Busey is always evolving which you should do in banking. They like to buy a bank and take what that bank is doing exceptionally well at and adopting it to their culture. The downfall is they destroy those communities and employees that were apart of the original bank. They want commercial and investment customers and aren’t really interested in the everyday customer. Because they are always changing its hard for the staff to feel confident and consistent with tasks because things change weekly. Very corporate and they don’t believe or give employees abilities to do, always have to verify before doing basic customer service. There are SOME great people. It is a culture to not speak up, keep your head down and just do. Good environment for someone that gets up and does the bare minimum and does it all over again and again. Great programs for health for employees. Insurance is ok, pay is mediocre, retail doesn’t get the bonuses like other departments that don’t have to sell or have growth goals. Always changing incentive programs and while it’s changing not giving any incentive to the retail staff. Lenders with a strong history of lending don’t have the authority to approve basic small loans. Turn around time is comical for a basic loan. Not beneficial for the customer or convenient. Customer care has more authority to assist a
customer than a retail manager. 

Busey Bank is a nice place to work as long as you did not want anything further than what you had. Career advancement is almost impossible when they have you in a place in which they have perceived you to be, no matter what skills and qualifications you have gained, especially with race and gender relations. Training in your current job was great for they believe that training is very important. My co-workers were very friendly and we celebrated everyone's personal and professional milestones. My biggest problem there was my situation in terms of advancement. It wasn't my performance because I always received excellent performance appraisals and as we set goals for myself, I worked hard to make those goals. I took advantage of all the training opportunities that applied to me and my goals and it did not pay off. I eventually had to move on.

My job was eliminated at Busey with the South Side Bank acquisition.  My review of Busey is from before the acquisition.

I really enjoyed the work environment at Busey.  The people I worked with were really supportive and we all got along well.  I learned a lot when we were transferred to a branch a couple of years ago.  I had never been in a branch environment before and I learned a great deal.  I really appreciate the tellers, personal bankers and branch manager roles more than ever.    

When the United Way promotion came around in October, the amount of involvement at Busey was more that I ever experienced at any other job before.  They had a very robust campaign, including many opportunities for giving.  They had Bingo, basket auctions, games,chili cook-offs, bags tournaments, etc. to raise money for United Way.  I really enjoyed participating in these events.

They also had a great Wellness program.

I really enjoyed my time at Busey.  I will always remember my time there as a great positive experience!

What is the best part of working at the company?
It was good place to work if you are VERY PEOPLE FRIENDLY!!  You must really enjoy working with people & their money!!
The company is great to work for as long as you do your job!!

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
When you are dealing with people’s money you must be VERY ACCURATE & PATIENT!!  
The company is great to work for as long as you give great customer service and know what the bank has to offer their customers!

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Good friendly atmosphere!  Very positive attitudes & executives to support employees!  

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
There are different positions so can vary greatly depending on your particular job!  But the bottom line is whatever your job is the main job is ALWAYS TAKING CARE OF THE CUSTOMER!
So your main job is making sure the customer gets to person they need & can get help!

The job itself is not bad. The duties are self explanatory. You have constant access to the manuals and if you have the right co-workers around, they are willing to help.  That being said, there is a lack of training. Cliquey. People who are not suppervisors or managers are allowed to be bossy over others. Management does nothing about it. There is no follow through on management. I have reached out to HR who just gives a run around and then tells me I need to speak to my management even when I have stated I have and I am not comfortable to speak to them any more. They claim team mentality but that does not exist. 

I loved my job and the work I did daily. Thought I had found the job I would be doing for a long time.  That all changed when the bank went through a merger and we got new management.  Working at the office turned in to a joke.  The new management started running the place like it was a sorority.  They just wanted to play games and have catered lunches, then would get upset when work got behind or you didn't want to participate because you had a full day of work to do. It felt like middle school with the favoritism and the outright dislike and degrading treatment for certain employees.  Had coworkers diagnosed with life ending illness, then later pass away, while management just acted like that person never existed. Very uncaring atmosphere.

Each day was spent with a review of the past due loans, calling customers to collect payments, taking pphone payments when  required.  I put together and maintained a list of all charged off loans for the companyin both Florida and Illinois.  I monitored the progress of the litigation on those files and co-ordinated with the attorneys or collection agencies handling them  through obtaining judgments and collection on those judgments.  The most difficult part of this position was the review of the old charge off files (when available) to assertain if collection was possible and acting on those instances.  I also handled the short sale process for borrowers who sold their homes for less than what was owed.

I was the top producing loan officer in the saint louis market for Busey in 2019.  It is a strange bank to put it mildly.  Hostile management would manipulate situations and even overtly lie to scapegoat their sales staff.  There were 17 loan officers in saint louis when I started in 2018.  There were 2 when I left in 2020.  Great products, great benefits, good people locally. but their out of town management destroyed the bank in this market.  They just closed half their branches locally and missed out on millions in profit due to their tone deaf management and lack of leadership locally.  Worst part is I loved my job but when bad people control your job security then you are putting your trust in the wrong company.

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