teller

member services representative

customer service representative

recruiter

loan manager

Members 1st Federal Credit Union

One of the best places I've worked, and by far the least combative customers I've had to work with on the phone.  Managers work with you and Workforce is fantastic about getting your schedule moved around as long as you give them notice (although flip side, I rarely knew my schedule more than 2-3 weeks out).  Coworkers were friendly and the more experienced ones tend to take it on themselves to help make sure you get your questions answered.

They seem to take an interest in your advancement, and push for you to get trained up with automatic pay raises once you get certified, in addition to pay raises contingent on your yearly review.  Benefits were okay, although not fantastic.  Their retirement plan is pretty decent, and the automatic bump in my M1st account's member level was handy, but the rest was pretty standard for office work.

There was a gradually creeping sense of corporatism sneaking into the workplace culture around when I left, and I get the feeling that's going to continue being a problem as time goes on and M1st continues looking to expand.  Additionally, at times changes to procedure were handed down seemingly arbitrarily, as though a bunch of middle-managers got together, had a meeting, and decided something that's been working well was a problem and needed to change ASAP.  Overall, though, managers are knowledgeable and changes basically made sense.  I can only think of two or three policy changes that- when asked for rationale- my manager had to shrug their shoulders and say "higher-ups said so."

Word of warning, all of this was my experience in back-office as a Customer Service rep.  We had a few people transfer in from the branches, and almost without fail any time we'd ask about their time there, they'd get a far-away look and warn us that we never, ever wanted to transfer out to the branches.  Entirely second-hand and this may be sampling bias at play (after all the ones with good experiences probably wouldn't have transferred), but it would seem managers at the physical branches have a tendency to power-trip and play favorites.

While I really don’t want to “bash” this company, I don’t think I’d ever voluntarily go back there for a 2 big reasons. 
1: During orientation, they make a HUGE deal about how they’re a credit union, not a bank and since they are a credit union, it’s their job to educate members. Not offer them something that would t be beneficial to them. Yet if a customer tells you no, they don’t want a product and if you don’t fight for a yes until you get it, then you get “in trouble”. 
2: The branch I worked at was never fully staffed, so we constantly had people coming in from other offices to come help out. Well at least 3 of them (2 were from the same office) basically tried to get me fired. They would talk to me and be all sweet and nice and then the second they heard one itty bitty kernel of something they could use against me, they went right over my boss’s head and went to her manager and told them this huge story (literally none of which I said, I swear I would’ve fessed up) and tried to get me fired. I didn’t get fired, but I got a write up for something I didn’t even do. Not only that, a few other people also tried to get my boss in trouble. So in a nutshell, people like to tattletale and kiss butts. 

Listen, I loved my managers and coworkers, well most of my coworkers. I haven’t worked there in almost a year and I still go back to see them. I just really didn’t like how situations were dealt with my upper management. Anytime a “spy” fed them information, they jumped to conclusions without bothering to hear the whole story. They took one persons view of it and took that as truth and that was that. There was no discussion to solve the issue and I just don’t think that’s a good policy to follow.

Members 1st is very accommodating and managers always have your back, whether it be when you're jumping for joy or having a breakdown because of a rude member.

In fact, some managers of smaller branches I've met have a goal to have an entirely new staff within two years due to training them well and supporting them to grow into new roles and pass on their knowledge to others (such as from a teller to an MSR (in the office) and into management. Though this does cause gaps in knowledge. 

However, with so many accommodations schedules often come out late and it can seem like you're floundering unless you embrace it. I will be leaving due to the want of some managers to constantly sell (though that comes from higher up to meet Administrative goals), especially in smaller branches. That's nice for some, but not me anymore (it used to be). 

The transition to new and big things lately, like a new software, has shown large gaps in understanding the needs and how employees can overstress. That, and there is often inconsistencies between branches from what I have heard, though part of that is also discretion. 

Overall, if I had to choose to work hear again, I would definetly consider it, but might be someone where I don't have to sell, but that's a personal matter. 

Pros:
-Extremely accommodating
-Good pay
-Supportive work environment
-Push for associates to better themselves

Cons:
-Some managers pass pressure from administrators to sell and meet goals
-Gaps in knowledge with people always moving
-Gaps in knowledge also upset members which is passed into associates
-Often schedules are out last minute


Let me begin my review by saying that I do believe M1st has some of the kindest people in finance working for them, and I have some of the best coworkers on the planet. On the outset of that I am finding that great coworkers only do so much to offset the entitled member base, demanding upper management, and limited growth potential. While I do not struggle to meet my goals, I do see many around me struggling to cross sell and complaining about work life balance and demands from management to not only deliver constant "unparalleled service", but to meet relatively lofty sales goals as well. The pay scale only really increases if you meet and exceed goals (a struggle for some) or if you are below their minimum salary requirement, they do give you a pay bump to whatever the minimum is. The pay scale itself is relatively decent although now the minimum to be a Teller is 15.30 and you can work pretty much anywhere and make that now, but with that in mind, the medical, dental, and vision benefits are amazing, the 401k company match is wonderful to offset the so so pay scale. I would also say that for the most part it is truly a "Culture of We" as HR can be reached via a virtual ticket any time or management in branch or in back office both have "open door policies" though I do not necessarily recommend that because the 1st and 2nd level management are overworked a little bit (but where arent they, right?). All in all, if you are great at sales, great at dealing with entitled consumers, and pliable to the corporate machine M1st is a great place to work and you will succeed! 

I've dedicated over a decade of my career to M1st, but I've become disillusioned with the current state of affairs. The politics driving "growth" now are laughable. Without going into specifics, the atmosphere in our retail branches has become toxic for both staff and members. It's a far cry from the caring environment I joined years ago. Remember the CARE Cards—Connect, Accountability, Recognize, and Exceed? It feels like a distant joke now, a testament to how we've all been misled.

They pitch great pay and benefits, but the reality is far from it. Just look at the antics of certain AVPs on YouTube; it's like high school drama on steroids. Integrity seems to be a lost virtue here. I'm not innocent; I'm just fed up and speaking out.

Even the back-office isn't spared from the drama. To all the higher-ups reading this, we see what's going on. My tenure at M1st has been an eye-opener, but it's time to move on. I recently applied for my second professional job ever and was offered over $20k more annually to do less work remotely.

Let me be clear: I didn't leave the company; I left the management and the disappointment I've endured for the past four years. M1st, you've taught me a lot, but I'm done with the chaos. For those considering joining, especially in retail or the back-office, think twice. There are far better opportunities in Central PA.

Its an excellent corporation to work with. I was the one in a million that got the homophobic assistant manager that would flirt with the tellers and had a ladies on his branch, The manager that saw the value in having me there left for a higher position as soon as I started so I got stuck with the assistant manager and he made it very uncomfortable. so I had to leave. But I have excellent friends I made in the company and I love the Credit Union. There is nothing negative that I could ever say about the corporation itself. 

- I learned that tellers have a much more difficult tasks than people think, there is a lot of accountability and there is so much responsibility, I loved it. I learned how to keep a balance and keep better track of things. 

- Management like I explained before was not the best, But that was a one in a million case.

- Everyone was very happy and we kept a balance, had pizza Fridays and activities we would do on slow days to make things fun and spontaneous. 

keeping it a hundred percent professional with management every day even though he was finding ways every to make me look bad. Had to pray everyday the serenity prayer. 

I really enjoyed talking with my coworkers, they were just so bubbly and gay ! the colors would just shine all over the place. We had pizza together and we had snacks and donated every time there was new stuffed animals. It was hilarious. Great times.

Training seemed great. But once I got into the branch it was a different story. They push you too hard, too soon. Members are allowed to be rude to you, snatch things from you, cuss you out in the drive thru, it was not good. I had to work alone in a 4 lane drive thru. They'd have 3 lanes open but that was too much for one person, in my opinion. Other tellers were supposed to help but staffing was an issue. 

It felt like a cult; I felt that other coworkers would "tattle" on each other to management because they were insecure in their jobs but they were afraid to talk about it. 

The members did not know the difference between a credit card payment and a loan payment so any mistakes were dropped on the teller...even if you were in a 3 lane drive thru by yourself. It was understaffed and very stressful. 

At my 3 month review, they took me into a room to discuss the mistakes I made, which were all very minor, knowing full well there was a staffing issue. I felt ganged up on and thought it was very petty, considering the "mistakes" were quite minor and could be easily fixed by back-office; I feel like any mistakes you made were held against you to intimidate you. 

Felt like an environment of favouritism.

When I reached out to HR to talk about my concerns, I'm pretty sure HR immediately called my manager and "tattled" on me for speaking up. 

Members 1st FCU is and has been truly a great place to be.  They care about your day to day interactions and really want to see you personally succeed, both in business and on your own.  The management is fair and understanding and realizes the need to give praise as well as provide CONSTRUCTIVE feedback.  The culture in the workplace is one that invites feedback and is designed to help others succeed.  The hardest part of the the job at my level is the need to be available to your work place 24/7 and being expected to meet goals that require 60 plus hours a week of work for 40 hours of pay.  Really a bit more pay and a bit less pressure would make this nearly the perfect job, then again there is pressure anywhere you go and with anything you do in life.  Helping people, and businesses reach their financial goals is one of the most rewarding things I have done in my career or careers anywhere and I am glad that I have that opportunity here at Members 1st FCU.

I worked for the company for roughly 2 and a half years. Going into work most days you didn’t know what you were going to get from management- they were very 2-faced. Anytime they were having a bad day it would be taken out on the employees. The management at my branch was very unprofessional at times- that’s the nicest way to put it. 

They did monthly reviews with you and nitpicked every little thing you did wrong even if it was an easy fix. They never applauded you for the good you did. If you told them your struggles or that you were unhappy in your position, they would tear you down more and make it out to be your fault and that you were trying to “run away from your problems”. 

I worked at different branches a few times and they were all like stepping into a different world. The management there was always so kind and pleasant to be around. 

Overall, they paid well and that’s the only reason I stayed as long as I did. When I gave my notice of termination, I was made an example of in an email-  “because ‘…..’ is deciding to leave, we need these days covered now”. 

I pity whoever has worked/is working for these managers.


When you are hired on, you have to travel to their head quarters in mechanicsburge for two weeks. Depending on where you live the drive is awful. You are thrown on the line while expected to complete your new hire training, your teller one training and your yearly training. You are constantly pitted against other employees in little "Games" where you publicly keep score of how many accounts you open in a time frame. If you don't open up a lot of accounts, everyone will know and make you feel bad for it instead of helping to coach you. The managers I worked under are lovely people who actually care about their employees. Goals that you are given to reach each month are not feasible or realistic. Also, if you work in a Members 1st inside of a Giant, you will be forced to do aisle time where you stand out in the aisle of a store and try to hand people papers and talk them into opening up an account when their just trying to walk past you to buy their grocery's.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Teller 3 salaries reported	$17.33 per hour
Member services representative 3 salaries reported	$18.00 per hour
Customer service representative 3 salaries reported	$16.67 per hour
Recruiter 1 salary reported	$61,300 per year
Loan manager 1 salary reported	$80,000 per year

Working at Members 1st: Company Overview and Reviews

Members 1st

Members 1st Ratings

Popular jobs at Members 1st

Salary Satisfaction

Job Seeker Tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected