Receptionist/Administrative Assistant | Mississauga, ON | Feb 28, 2019
No Advancement and Catty Management Team
I was hired for the position of Administrative Assistant/Receptionist with BMO through an agency. The contract was set to be for 7 months with the potential for advancement and remaining with the company.
The initial interview went well and it seemed like they were in the stages of implementing new management and rebuilding team members. The BOM had just received her position not long ago and was adapting to the responsibility and changes that came along with the role. Her Cage Operations leader has been in her role much longer and it seemed they were each others support.
After lack of initial training because they were always too busy, you learned quickly from many other staff members, that they have all at once been in the administrative role and it was described as a "sink or swim".
I learned very quickly that the opportunities for advancement were not going to happen unless you became part of the clique that existed within the branch between upper management members and the cage operations. I was told countless times that they needed me to see and be supporting of "their team", and that the Investors and Sales Advisors were not part of that "team" - they had their own teams and saw it as "us" and "them". I didn't support or accept the truth in, as many times as I was told, because I strongly believed this promoted a negative culture in the work place and I was treated very kindly and supported way more by the "them" (IAs & SAs) they were describing.
I
ProsSome Friendly Investment Advisors and Sales Assistants along with some members of management
ConsNo advancement, catty culture, dishonest and lack of training
Interview:
The interview was confusing and seemed to be very unprepared on their part (multiple managers took turns asking questions). Questions were oddly worded and they did not know how to offer clarification so I was made to look stupid for misunderstanding instead.
Training:
Once I started, training was very hands off and purely done on the computer for the first few weeks then shadowing was incorporated later on as well. No guidance, so I had to find the training material myself.
Once training period was complete, I requested a review and guidance to set goals (a requirement at the end of training) but was told it was unnecessary.
Environment:
Work environment is nice and relaxed. Co-workers are friendly and helpful. Assistant manager is very helpful and responsive. Manager is however very uninterested in helping with questions or tasks (and frankly seems unqualified to answer questions from tellers). Customers are friendly and patient as they are all "regulars" and do their banking daily at the branch.
Salary:
Hours are set in stone in your contract. Pay is capped. Comparable to other banks however so although it's definitely not enough to live off of, they are at least competitive. Work on weekends is pretty much mandatory for newbies so you get shafted there if you have weekend plans as senior co-workers book time off at the beginning of the year!
Benefits:
They start immediately on start date and are included for basic coverage of health, dental an
Prosbenefits, nice employees, nice customers, esop, workload is not overly challenging but not too simple/boring either, great for short term job
Conswork on weekends and hard to book off time, little to no development or coaching, not many accessible options for advancement, raises (if you get one) dont make a noticeable difference
5.0
Senior Customer Service Representative | Winnipeg, MB | Jun 2, 2020
Busy and also productive and enjoyable place to work
Working for Bank of Montreal is a learning experience everyday. Besides providing service customers with their banking needs, there are a lot of paper work that has to be completed .. like scanning, filing, customer request that has to be completed and follow up, answering the phones and returning those phone calls. You can do this only when it is a quiet day or after the Bank closes. I do not believe in selling stuff to customer just to get revenue. I look at the customer and their financial situation and then provide them with the information that could benefit them. It is up to them to make that decision to proceed. I Know Management gets told from the higher ups that they have to increase revenue and strive to be the number one bank but I always tell them that you can only do so much with the person in front of you.
The workplace can be a very happy place when you have staff members who help each other and cooperate with each other. When I learn something new, I am happy to share it with others so that they can also be successful. In the 40years with the Bank, I have learned a lot and I am happy to share my knowledge with the old and the new staff.
The hardest part of the job is trying to achieve your sales target. It is so difficult when you see the same people everyday I cannot understand why the bank has sales target. We are supposed to be the to help customers and provide the best customer service that we can. In doing so, customers refer their friends a
ProsHaving Management say thank you for doing a good job ever so often, standing up for you when you have that rude customer.
ConsAll the others work that has to be done that does make it a long day.
BMO provided opportunities that were challenging; very good recognition program for contributing to the organization's needs & employee training
In my most recent role, a typical day may begin with reviewing project/release requirements documents for estimation sizing of the solution requirements, for all applications across the Enterprise; using historical data and engaging with the business partner to understand their needs, metrics, the services our team provides and reporting. I may also be providing Awareness sessions for new teams or coaching PMs/ASDMs on how to use a simple Basic estimation analysis method for their application that I created. As a Senior BA I would be meeting with the business partner to understand their problem/needs/opportunities and use various techniques like JAD sessions, workshops but most importantly listen to their concerns and issues and work with them to find a optimal solution. BMO's IFL provided excellent training for BAs and other professions. My immediate managers were always supportive and encouraging - to go beyond the job description and allowed creativity and thinking. My co-workers were professional, collaborative and for the most part were willing to share their knowledge. In return, I coached my colleagues on how to understand business requirements for functional sizing and encouraged them to run an engagement meeting with their business partners.
The hardest part of the job was raising awareness in the organization about the value of the services our team provided. Statistical control is always a challenge so I worked hard to interpret and present their project
ProsTraining, Support for going beyond the job description
ConsLack of visibility at the enterprise level; too many silos
Not sure how I feel about the Meadowvale contact centre
BMO for starters has the potential to be one of the TOP financial institutions in Canada and I truly believe
there is room for advancement and growth depending on a) who your manager is, and b) how much one wants to get ahead. Not to mention I’m sure each BMO contact centre is different. On the other hand , I’m not too sure about the 2465 Argentia Rd BMO contact centre. Feels almost like highschool all over again. Overnight manager walks around screaming at the top of her lungs throughout the contact centre chatting up a storm with her friends yet refuses to provide any help when needed. It’s almost as if it’s a popularity contest. Management, particularly for the overnight team is extremely clique and the same goes for the training camp mentors. My experience thus far with interacting with said overnight female manager along with a few training camp mentors has been puzzling to say the least. Some have been very flippant and dismissive when bringing forth mental health/ personal matters outside of the workplace and even asking for help with Bank processes. When asking for help, no help is provided when on the floor with your manager and during training some mentors in particular were very rude, dismissive, and provided inaccurate information. I recall an overnight female manager basically telling me to pick between my family or my job when asked what options and or solutions are available to me. There’s not much work/life balance, you eat, sleep, and breathe BMO as the sa
ProsFree bank account
ConsNo work/life balance, lots of politics, biased TM and assistant managers, and a whole lot of favouritism
It was a fun place to work along with and especially the Managers and the Executives.
Like any office there is hustling and bustling at times. The most important thing is to get the job done in time as there were deadlines to meet that if not met can cost dollars to the company. The most important thing was to work in co-operation with everyone in the department.
Management was very co-operative and always encouraged you to approach them if you wish to talk about anything. The Executives were very approachable. And we got rewards. Sometimes there were letters and e-mails from clients about how they were helped by certain individuals and these were posted on a large board..
We celebrated events like Halloween and Christmas and decorated the floor accordingly. We also had Bake Sales, 50/50 draws and Silent Auction for Charity.
We were encouraged to talk about our specific department at our monthly meetings. This made the meetings more interesting. I was asked to speak at our conference once and I was delighted that I was asked and I did accept. It was an experience for me.
I got along well with my co-workers. I wasn't bothered in the least with someone's attitude as long as it did not interfere with my work. I have had to work around attitudes and many times it resulted in a friendship in time.
The hardest part of the job was when there were many deadlines and little time, but with common sense, determination and sometimes asking for help from co-workers or your Manager, the deadline was met.
Sometimes it could be tense with the de
ProsWe always had an event where there was food, we would have potluck for some events, the Department would provide eatables sometimes, like at Christmas
ConsThere were long hours of work at time, you were not required to work long hours, it would be an individual decision, . at times there was some work to be finished so you stay to complete it, you can request timeoff for this if you'd like
Banking environment, handling customers inquiries throughout the day, via phone or in person.
We have our daily meeting, exchanging different thoughts and views. Then interacting with individuals "customers" meeting their financial needs on various levels. Doing surprise cash count with customer service representatives. Opening ATM envelopes and balancing each machines. Walking with each customer service representative to take their cash to their post. At the end of the day assisting each customer service representative balance their cash. If there are any discrepancies, we must go through the journal report of the day to find the discrepancy.
I have learned, that we were all working to strive towards one goal, and that was to increase revenue. Increasing revenue for our share holders and customers made the companies "look" exceptional and successful.
As part of the management team, you are called in many different directions throughout the day. New staff has to be trained, policies and procedures has to be followed. Every "T"s has to be crossed and every "I"s must be dotted. Not everyday is stressful but, you handle it as it comes. You are never alone when it comes to making a decision. There is always support.
Respect is the most desirable in every organization, by treating each and everyone with the outer most respect you will gain the confidence and the company will also gain from your attitude.
The hardest part of the job, is being short staff, and trying to handle long line ups. We all would try our best but, for some customers it can be irritating.
The mos
Proseveryday is challenging, new products, but it's the on going preservation, knowledge gained, positive environment it is what so satisfying.
Consbiggest challenge is being short staff, or broken machine to assist in completing your job in timely manner.
3.0
Customer Service Representative | Canada | Jul 31, 2021
Lots of favoritism
At first you will feel excited especially if being a teller is new to you. Again, as a teller you are a bottom feeder and nothing else so if you want to make more money you have to climb the ladder. You will go from being a teller to perhaps a financial manager, customer service manager, assistant manager, branch manager etc. Off course this is sped up depending on who you know, not what you know. I had a supervisor that didn't know anything about their job and was only there due to brown-nosing and sales. Essentially only a sales person and made it just for that factor, with no knowledge. Circling their finger on a screen when customers asked questions, locking their computer and running off to a superior all the time to answer a customers' question. I had to work shifts I didn't want to because I was 'trusted' to do so, as I was told. Someone else received better shifts- their spouse worked at another branch so that had a lot to do with it. Most tellers are set up for failure and then when you move on ahead you still won't have knowledge. If you want to move up anywhere you have to put in the hours on your own time, as I was told. Sit in with a financial manager, for example, see the transactions and listen to conversations and take notes (all while being on your lunch break). So it all depends on how much you want to commit your free time to this job.
Being a teller aka bottom-feeder, you are pretty much disrespected. The entire job is sales focused. So don't believe in
Interact with different types of nationality daily, whether this person has an account with BMO or not. But learned to cope up with different types of personality from this individual. The manager that I dealt with since August is not a typical manager for me because he loves to micro manage, which is not necessary because of daily work load as you have to prioritize each email that comes from your email inbox, or from the customer connect, software that BMO used to check client's account.
From this job, I learned to be very very patient, understanding, sympathetic, funny, organise, discipline, helpful, fast, quick thinking, not to be emotional, when talking not to be direct to the individual, cooperative and learn how to handle stress in a matured way.
I worked with a lot of different managers in the past 5 years and each of them have their own style and handling different types of situation but some of them are not really that great in handling a very intense and complicated complaints from our client but in the end they managed to resolve the issue.
Bank Of Montreal understand and respect each type of individuals and work hard to make sure that everyone's happy and their concerns are addressed properly.
The hardest part of each jobs that I was offered in the past is not having enough time to train you on how to do your job properly. You have to find a solution or a way to learn your job on your own. Sometimes colleagues are not too happy asking them for he
As a Financial Services Coordinator at the Bank of Montreal, I was always busy.
My days included my usual tasks: receiving/sending mail, assisting clients with their banking needs and inquiries, booking appointments, ordering supplies, preparing mortgage/loan discharges and payouts, financial transactions, investigations, answering the phone, filing, and greeting customers/guiding clients to their appointments.
I acted as a supportive role for my colleagues in the branch and often found myself completing additional tasks, such as cleaning, scheduling maintenance visits, cash management, assisting on the teller line, training new employees, resolving complex customer problems, creating and sending letters and various financial documents, organizing the filing room and stock supplies, making phone calls and sending e-mails on behalf of my colleagues to their clients, scheduling mail couriers, and providing assistance to employees at other branches.
While the job description of "Financial Services Coordinator" is very ambiguous and varies from branch to branch, I appreciate the skills and experience I took away from my time at the Bank of Montreal. For the most part, I worked independently with little to no supervision or direction. I developed strong relationships with many customers, developed my own client base, and acted as a personal banker to a few of our most high-profile clients. I developed strong dispute resolution skills, organization, and time manageme
ProsGood clients, good benefits, free banking, develop lasting customner relationships, networking, acquire a lot of knowledge, extensive training programs
ConsIncreased workload with no change to salary, often take work home, little support from upper managment, little opportunity to advance
1.0
Customer Service Representative | מחוז המרכז | Jun 18, 2019
Toxic work environment!
I worked at BMO as a Customer Service Rep for nearly 5 years and I absolutely couldn’t stand it any longer. I thought with the rapid turn over of employees that things would get better but they did not. Your set sale targets are nearly impossible to achieve unless you enjoy hounding customers for credit cards/products that they don’t need. The branch manager was a bully and had no problem putting employees down or berating them in front of customers and other employees. When I did something right, there was never any commendation or encouragement. There was plenty of favouritism and good days could certainly turn into bad ones quickly. I ended up taking the stress home with me and absolutely dreaded going back in the next morning. Whenever there was a difference in the money at the end of the day, all of the CSRs were to stay and search for the difference in their paperwork, even if they balanced at the end of the day. We never got paid overtime for those late evenings. The manager would offer us the time difference in going home earlier or taking a longer break, which never happened because the branch was so busy. If I stayed for my breaks in the lunch room, half the time the manager would make me come back early to help with the line of customers. This happened no matter what time I took my break. I learned to just leave the building and take my break elsewhere. My manager would often times show up late for work, but if you showed up to work 5 minutes late (only a one time
ProsEmployee shares, good benefits
ConsTerrible management, no overtime pay, exceedingly high sale targets, not enough pay for the stressful environment
Questions and answers about BMO Financial Group
How often do you get a raise at BMO Financial Group?
Asked Nov 9, 2022
you dont
Answered May 26, 2023
In my 1.5 year of tenure I did not get a raise
Answered May 20, 2023
What benefits does BMO Financial Group offer?
Asked Mar 4, 2019
Full benefits
Answered May 1, 2023
Vision, dental, health
Answered Apr 23, 2023
What is BMO Financial Group holiday leave policy? How much holiday leave do you get per year?
Asked Oct 23, 2018
3 weeks
Answered May 10, 2023
Two weeks
Answered May 1, 2023
How are the working hours at BMO Financial Group?
Asked Mar 30, 2017
Headquarter jobs are flexible depending on your needs, most managers are ok with early start/early end or vice versa. especially since the pandemic, very accommodating
Answered May 3, 2021
varied numerous shifts as we are open 24 hours.
Answered Aug 12, 2020
What is the promotion process like at BMO Financial Group?
