Jobs at Mechanics Bank generally do not pay very well, and the Bank considers IMT Operations as just "an overhead department." Moreover, many of the generous benefits that ameliorated the low salaries -- such as fetterless educational reimbursement and especially a traditional pension (defined benefit) plan -- have been completely eliminated. Within Operations, performance review as well as professional development and promotion is extremely slow, especially compared to many other Wealth Management departments. The Bank also allows pronounced nepotism to go on within the Wealth Management division.
A Senior Operations Specialist in IMT is discouraged from thinking and asking questions, and the job offers very little opportunity for achievement and growth. The Operations work can be decidedly unchallenging at times. An unfortunate challenge of the job may be that the Operations staff are routinely excluded from being involved with new IMT accounts or new Wealth Management projects until late in the process – after the accounts or projects have changed from being important to being urgent – and then Operations is suddenly expected to jump through hoops and put out fires.
Vacations are very strictly regulated amongst the IMT Operations staff. Particularly for new employees, it can be quite difficult to make vacation plans in advance, especially for the beginning of the year. The supervisors in IMT Operations also put tight controls on overtime, even though the workflow is irregular, unpredictable, and typically not well managed. Moreover, the Richmond office, where IMT Operations is located, can be both a risky place to park and a highly dangerous place to commute by bus.