Pros
This is easily the best job I’ve had, and it’s not in a field that I ever expected to go into. I specifically enjoy working at my branch location, but every branch is different. The New CEO is bringing a lot to the table and I am liking the direction she is taking this company in. Hours are guaranteed and after a recent pay increase to all hourly and some salaried employees the pay is much more competitive. The benefits are decent including Health dental and vision insurance, life insurance, 401k and HSA rate match, gainsharing, and 5 hours of PTO per pay period. They recently introduced 20 hours of what is effectively sick time that came alongside a much stricter attendance policy. Benefits are available to part-time and full-time employees.
Cons
Like all companies, ORNL has its cons, and despite being the best workplace I’ve experienced, it is no where near perfect. Pay was not competitive for a long time until our new CEO started making changes, and raised in the past have been abysmal. I’m interested to see how raises change under this new leadership. Unfortunately when you are working in a member facing position, the branch you work at really makes or breaks your experience at ORNL. My manager tends to be on the more laid back side and that comes along with stronger relationships between branch employees, but not every location or manager is the same way. I have seen how some other managers work through the mentor training program, and I could confidently say that there are only a few branch managers I would be happy to work under. Along with the differences in environment comes differences in dress code and things employees are allowed to do in their everyday job functions. Some managers keep all their employees on a super tight leash which doesn’t allow a lot of opportunity for growth, learning, or advancement. I think another big thing is that before our salary increases at the beginning of this year, employee retention rates were very poor and therefore ORNL would hire people out of desperation who didn’t have the people skills or ability to perform their job well, which puts more stress on other employees and inevitably leads to more employees quitting or losing their jobs. Working face to face with the public is not for everyone and that’s ok! Something that has bothered me in my time at ORNL is the way HR conducts business. They live by a see something say something policy when it comes to employee behavior outside of work which can be a pro or con, but with specific policies, specifically the tobacco free work place, employees can be held accountable for choosing to smoke tobacco in their life outside of work which just feels like a huge overreach. I have even heard of other employees getting called into HR for being tagged in posts on social media where they are just having a drink in a public setting which adds to the whole big brother feeling. HR also will dismiss employee applications for other areas of the credit union based on how they look on paper instead of allowing internal candidates to have a shot at an interview which leaves little room for advancement and causes a lot of employees to be stuck in the jobs they were hired in to do, and only external applicants getting opportunities to interview. The last con I have is really more about double standards across the board for employees. If you get in with the right people, you can get away with practically anything, and others are stuck being punished for things others are actively able to do. It is frustrating there isn’t a standard across the board for dress code, behavior, workplace bullying. Harassment, etc when all you have to do is be friends with some higher ups and never face consequences.
