Pros
Barclays has had a revolving door of CEOs over the years until the most recent one who has provided the stability and clarity of purpose. There is now a plan a five year plan, which the firm is marching behind. People are warm, the culture is collegial, it is still 3 days hybrid, with decent benefits.
Cons
But decades of muddling along and lack of investment in an operating model, processes, technology/systems/infrastructure within a complex organization with a risk averse culture to boot is not easy to fix. One wonders how much of this is due to the nature of banking that is highly regulated, cultural norms of the region. The focus is always on costs (so headcount cuts are always around the corner) with AI now being sprinkled as an elixir for productivity.