credit analyst

marketing manager

First Merchants Bank

My current employer merged with another financial institution early 2014.

My previous position was Teller Supervisor.  I was asked to stay on in the retail division and my position was changed to Customer Service Manager.

A typical day includes all operational aspects of retail banking.  I am responsible for 7 associates.  I coach staff to engage clients in needs based conversations, as well as cross selling products and services.  I also manage all aspects of operations and bank security.  In my position I truly enjoy working with clients to provide solutions and recommend services to assist our clients.

Management is very supportive and since integration, I have been challenged by direct supervisors to take on new tasks and new projects.  The encouragement has helped me to develop and fine tune my skills as a manager and has also given me the opportunity to learn and implement new ideas to improve productivity.

As a supervisor, my goal is to work closely with my staff to develop their skills and hold them accountable for their contributions to the overall success and achievement of personal goals and branch goals.  I lead by example.  

By educating staff and helping them identify their strengths and areas of improvement, I take great pride in observing staff morale as they grow in their position and gain confidence in their abilities.

It has been a challenge to overcome some of the stigma that comes with change, especially for long time clients.  During my interactions, I find that just by listening to clients concerns and displaying genuine empathy about how change will effect them, helps put them at ease.

Form for everything.  Some mgrs. are great but most are not NOT since there is not a consequence for BAD managers, Upper management looks the other way and HR lets the managers know if you have complained about being discriminated against and the ramifications are intense.  hr does ZERO to help you get out of the bad environment.     VERY hostile environment. In the last 5 months including myself 6 people left the branch It was all because of the manager and some included the assistant mgr.  Mostly because of the manager.  Manager arrives late and leaves early states 35 hrs is full time and will not work weekends.  I worked 8 in a row and she became mad when I said i will only work every-other as that is how I was hired in.   Always says what goes on in these 4 walls stays in these 4 walls.  Manager belittles employees in front of others and bad mouths employees to other employees and customers.  Upper management is aware and has been for a LONG time  so has HR.  If you do not agree with the mgr is becomes because you are a different ethnic background.  Heaven forbid it be because it is unethical!!!    All the issues I had was because of her unethical ways and policy violations.  One would think that if the manager had helped write the policies as claimed they would not be violated  as often as they were.  If you have an accident there you may or may not get the accident report filled out in a timely manor.  
Don't waste time applying.  There are too many good places out there, this is not a good work environment

I was so excited to get a fresh start with this company. I was informed of this position by a former high school friend. In the beginning it wasn't so bad but then when I got comfortable, the truth of this place surfaced They have poor management/desk people. I was fired for "not meeting connection goals", however I do not feel they train properly(inside a branch). Once I completed the proper training, I then joined my team at the Grabill Branch and when I worked my first week I soon realized that the TEAM was in fact not a team at all. The tellers and desk personnel didn't see eye to eye at all. My manager, the Branch Manager, CSR, and personal banker would daily go into each others offices and talk, sometimes 20 minuets to an hour at a time. These types of things happened all the time and then when you needed something, help, had a question then they were all of a sudden to busy to help. I was very persistent in asking for help from them when I knew they were not in facet busy but just talking about weekend plans, personal lives, etc. It is a very one sided place and if you do not comply with how they run that particular branch, well, as you can tell I was quickly fired and denied unemployment benefits. 

I love my co workers. With that being said I think it is important to point out that is about the only thing great about working here. Low wages and an awful benefits package don’t help. But let’s through in poor training and the fact that the systems are pre historical. Most of the people in the company can’t give you help because they also don’t know the answers to a lot of questions. Did I mention poor training? Also I have found that a lot of people don’t belong in their current role in the bank. Also poor training. Most people don’t know how to do their job role and there is little accountability for it at all. Did I mention poor training? Oh and one more thing this company does not set you up for success based off the fact that they have, you guessed it, poor training capabilities. If you want a job that makes you figure it out on your own and makes you hope you got the right solution then by all means work here. However if you want to work for a company that will set you up to succeed then apply somewhere else. 

This company does not prioritize its employees or its branches only money and sales. New hires receive minimal training and are immediately thrown into work on outdated systems from the 90s, none of which communicate with each other. It creates unnecessary stress and sets employees up to fail. They also do not pay employees for the time spent opening the branch in the morning; pay does not start until all opening procedures are completed. Every other bank pays for this time, and this practice feels both unfair and exploitative. HR can be extremely difficult to deal with. If you end up on their bad side, they may manipulate your schedule or misrepresent your hours. This environment does not feel safe or supportive.
Overall, this company allows branches and customers to suffer due to poor management and prioritizing their own interests over basic employee welfare. Based on what I’ve seen, I’m genuinely surprised this bank is still operating the way it does.

They consistently push for more money and force you to call customers and ask them to move their money to a different account type to increase their "organic growth". After assisting people with loans you are scolded for not getting the highest loan number out of them. The programs and resources are excellent but if you have a conscious you will not be able to live with yourself after you see how poorly they treat their client base. The higher management is quick to blame others and is never available when they are actually needed. They are quick to brag about their title as "best places to work in IN, IL, OH, and MI", however they consistently force staff to vote through emails and they say to vote more than once since there is no limit. These emails are forced through regular messages from the CEO and the higher management team. It is sad to see a company with so much potential be driven by so many corrupt individuals.

Positive:
The people across the company are wonderful and supportive. Many members of management are excellent, approachable, and genuinely care about their teams. These leaders create a positive and collaborative work environment.

Negative / Caution:
The Loan Operations department faces significant leadership challenges. Employees are required to track every minute of their day which fosters mistrust. One manager is consistently allowed by leadership to act without accountability, creating an unfair and toxic work environment. Communication from management is often unclear, inconsistent, and sometimes contradictory, leading to confusion and frustration. Certain leaders tend to prioritize personal advancement over team success, negatively affecting morale and productivity. Additionally, the heavy reliance on documentation and unnecessarily lengthy processes makes tasks inefficient and overly manual. Reducing excessive documentation would improve workflow and overall efficiency.

The management is very inconsistent with their policies and procedures. They tell you one thing in a tool that we use, but it constantly changes ( especially attendance wise ). The supervisors and managers talk to their employees anyway they want ( hostile environment ). When it comes to something happening outside of work, they try to manipulate you into staying by giving ultimatums that sound like idle threats ( getting pointed or terminated ). The tools they use are never updated and provide false information. When you reach out to supervisors, they tend to always have an attitude about the littlest things then talk down to you while you're on the phone with them. There's coworkers that work extra overtime voluntarily and when they do, the management doesn't show any kind of appreciation towards employees that work hard to provide for their families. The hourly pay they provide is not worth the extra work.

This position pays much lower than the average for Relationship Banking, and you are often delegated to teller transactions despite incentive/commission being the main selling point for employment. That said, they are willing to give inexperienced bankers a chance to learn, and the company does promote from within. Management tends to stick together and defend each other, and HR is known to defend management first. The company values are very good, but aside from upper management, most employees bide their time and move to other companies swiftly. This can be a positive if you’re looking for promotions to build your resume, but do not expect to be treated or compensated well when you first start out. The most enjoyable part of the job is financially assisting those in need, however that passion can be filled with a company that compensates you better.

I loved working at my branch. It was wonderful! Our managers worked hard to keep our customers happy. I worked in a busy branch where I had many jobs to get done throughout the week as well as customers. My coworkers were always willing to help if I needed to farm out some of my simpler tasks. Whenever we needed to outsource help from other branches or corporate, it was normally a long process and often included misinformation. Several of my coworkers as well as myself resubmitted work because we were told the wrong form/process. Customer service caused more problems than they resolved. Constantly heard complaints about other branches being rude or not caring for customers. Corporate wouldn't inform us of new marketing material before it was sent out so we were often caught of guard by new promotions with limited information. Management and communication could be better.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Credit analyst 3 salaries reported	$51,667 per year
Marketing manager 1 salary reported	$95,000 per year

Working at First Merchants Bank: Company Overview and Reviews

First Merchants Bank

First Merchants Bank Ratings

Popular jobs at First Merchants Bank

Salary Satisfaction

Job Seeker Tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected