Toxic environment with a culture of fear and control
Pros
No pros. The company is toxic
Cons
Fiserv shows very little to no respect for its employees. There is a strong culture of monitoring and control, including badge-in and badge-out tracking. Employees are expected to be on site for around nine hours, and HR appears to be expected to challenge managers when individuals do not meet that expectation. This creates a culture of fear rather than one based on trust, output, or performance. There is also a constant sense that employee information is being retained and may be used later when the company carries out its regular reductions in force. The perception is that people who do not meet certain attendance expectations, or who are seen as less favoured, are more vulnerable when cuts happen. Performance management is at best weak or non existent. Managers do not invest properly in developing or managing their teams, partly because there is an expectation that every six months they may be asked to give up a significant percentage of their team. As a result, instead of structured performance management, feedback, coaching, or fair process, people can feel that decisions are based on perception, politics, or convenience. Senior leadership are disconnected from the rest of the organisation. There is a visible divide between the leadership team and everyone else, including separate treatment and perks that reinforce a “them and us” culture. The reside on the '5th floor' and have zero interest in leaving them confines to speak with the team. The leadership style (if you could call it one) is best described as bullying, hierarchical, detached, and dismissive of the wider workforce. The HR function is far from an independent advocate for employees. It operates as an extension of the CEO and executive leadership rather than as a function that challenges poor decisions, improves culture, or protects employee wellbeing. Over the past few years, I have zero positive cultural change or meaningful employee-focused improvement. Overall, the environment is toxic, fearful, and demoralising. People are afraid to speak up, trust is low, and morale is poor. I would strongly caution anyone considering joining Fiserv to think carefully before doing so