I have worked for Fairstone for 11 years. I started at an entry level position, and have been giving all of the training and experience needed to grow and advance throughout the years, allowing me to be promoted to a Branch Manager in my first 3 years on the job.
Fairstone offers competitive salaries, lucrative incentives programs and a stellar, best in the industry benefits, vacation and pension package. HR department is top of the line, the company investment in the employee experience is bar none.
With this being said, you do need to work hard, the incentives are rewarded to those who accept the challenges of their positions and work together with their management and teams to achieve the goals set out. Every day is a challenge, which with the right drive & passion for success you can really thrive in this business. This career is not for those looking for an easy way to earn a salary, however if you want to grow professionally with and open mind for learning than this could be the place for you.
Some of my the core values of this company are honestly and integrity. I look at some of these reviews from others who talk about the company being “shady” or having to break policy in order to get ahead, and that is not what Fairstone is about. The people who get ahead in this company are those that are ethical, and act with integrity in everything they do for the company, the customers and the employees. This company recognizes those who achieve goals the right way, and rew
Welcoming atmosphere at first, quickly became stressful
I recently worked at Fairstone and realized early it was not the career for me. While my managers were lovely people, I found the training to be very inadequate and unsuitable to my learning style, especially as I was brand new to the industry. There are the first 9 days that consist an information dump learned via online tools and tutorials, with a quiz at the end of each subject. I found it difficult to retain much of anything, and then things move very quickly to getting on the phone to begin with solicitation, delinquency calls and learning to take applications, with very little hands on practice or opportunity to fully understand what to say or do in specific instances, which caused me to feel incompetent and not confident in the role.
As it is a daily pressure to attain sales goals and meet delinquency targets, the general message is one of stress, in the form of daily review of performance metrics and reminders of where you need to be, as well as hearing how stressful it is while a colleague is trying to do their job. As the manager and assistant manager both have targets to meet as well and have to concentrate on their duties, I found it frustrating to have to interrupt them frequently to assist with my training. Also, a new employee has targets to meet within a month of being hired, which I found to be too soon and was stressful on top of trying to absorb the information and learn the job. The role is primarily to book loans and bring in as much business as
ProsSpacious, clean office and decent working hours
ConsInadequate training and stressful working environment
I have been with Fairstone for 13 years! I started at the entry level position and within 3 years became an Assistant Manager with my first Branch Manager opportunity at the 5 year mark (which could have been sooner however I wasn't mobile).
Aside from the competitive salary, Lucrative Bonus programs and Industry Leading Benefits package there has been on going training and mentoring through every step in my career. I have made life long friendships and have had numerous mentors that have enabled me to grow not only professionally but in my personal life.
Fairstone truly cares about who you are and what/where your career/personal aspirations are going. HR and Senior Management work along side with you to ensure that your career goals are being met. Not only do they support your growth but they encourage feedback and ideas on how they can improve processes and the customer experience.
Opportunity for advancement continues to grow since we are now a stand alone company and finalized our separation from Citi.
This job is not for the faint at heart and hard work goes a long way! I take great pride in what I do at Fairstone and it does not go un noticed or un appreciated.
It is a customer service based job so if you like people this is definitely the job for you!
We are proud of our Community engagement and we are constantly looking for new ways to support our local communities whether it be with Sponsorships, Volunteering with Local food banks and Educati
ProsOpportunity for Advancement, Compensation Package, Training
4.0
Senior Account Executive | Winnipeg, MB | Jan 16, 2019
Team work makes the dream work
I have been with Fairstone since 2016 and am still currently with the company. Fairstone is not just a job, it is a career. You have to be prepared that it is not going to be all rainbows and sunshine. This is a place where you are lending and collecting from the same clients. You need to ensure that you are making the right decisions as clients aren’t always knowledgeable on finances, especially when it comes to high interest. We have a saying here “a loan well closed, is a loan half collected”, this proves again and again to be true. If you are doing your job right, explaining the loan properly and optional products properly- then you will be at peace knowing you did everything you can to service these clients. Times are stressful and sometimes you will feel like you are in a time crunch, just know that the rewards make it beneficial. Constantly learning within workplace, opportunities to advance within the company. This is a company filled with employees from all over the country eager to help one another out! Complete team environment. Everyone will help you, if you just ask. Compliance is a huge factor into every day decisions, you don’t feel that you are being pressured into doing something “shady”. Your branch managers and district managers are always approachable and there to assist. They will provide constructive criticism as they only want to see the best for you, not the worst. Again, I cannot stress enough the importance of teamwork with this company.
One of Fairstone's values is Accountability. Own your role and behave responsibility. This is a company that encourages you to look at problems as opportunities for professional development and learn new skills along the way. As a financing company, there are a lot of rules and regulations that we are required to follow each day, regardless of what role you are in, but the structure is designed to leave room for responsible innovation while ensuring we protect our customers and our brand.
Like any company, there are regular duties, performance metrics and responsibilities that need to be met each day and they differ based on your area of focus (Sales, Operations, Marketing, Risk, Finance...etc). Fairstone is a company focused on growth, and there are lots of opportunities to try new things, tackle problems and innovate. Own your role. Own your career.
The people are what make a workplace enjoyable. The London centralized office is full of passionate talented individuals who work hard, laugh a lot, and enjoy working together. Hectic? Sometimes. Changing environment? Often. Boring? Never.
I enjoy assisting our branch network manage their conduct and fraud risks and building relationships with a diverse group of Canadians along the way. I've been able to take advantage of tuition reimbursement programs, expand my professional skills, take on unique assignments and work with many different areas of the business.
If you are looking for easy, for simple, for a mundane and stress-free working environment then Fairstone is not for you. If you are motivated, like to challenge yourself and feel the accomplishment of success as an individual and as a part of a team, if you like the idea of great earning potential and if you have empathy, compassion, integrity and intelligence then Fairstone may be the perfect place for you!!
It is a company with so much to offer the right people, and the right people find themselves employed there for 5, 10, 15 and 20+ years. Those for whom Fairstone is not the right fit realize it relatively quickly and move on to other things.
Fairstone mentors and trains its employees to be as successful as they can and want to be, promoting from within right to the top management positions. Aside from a very good salary, the right individuals find great earning potential, an excellent bonus/rewards structure and fantastic health and pension benefits.
To sum it up - its a company which offers so much but expects a fair lot from its employees in return - where much is given, much is expected.
If you are one of the "right" people, you will want to be a part of this!!
ProsEarning potential, benefits, promotions, career building, leadership and management training
I have been with this company for 4 years now, I have never worked with a more supportive hard working group of individuals who always have my back and encourage my professional development. My spouse was deployed my first year with the company, I barely made a name for myself yet the management team was very supportive in every way and flexible with my work schedule during this hard time
Fairstone is very transparent in every way , they encourage and actually believe in our company values and support full transparency in the workplace , some companies I have worked for in the past all though had values sometimes encouraged you to "bend the rules", Fairstone is not one of those companies, if you work hard follow company policy to the highest standard you are valued and compensated, the management team is always looking for feedback from their employees to better our employment experience.
Recently Fairstone invested quite a bit of money upgrading our technology to provide us with the most up to date tools to do our jobs. I look forward to my future working at Fairstone and encourage others to come join our hard working team.
ProsExcellent benefits, work life hours, 9-5 type job
Absolutely, do not, under any circumstances take employment with this company.
First, you'll be lied to about wage, bonus and earning potential.
Second, I have never experienced such a emotionally draining, unfulfilling, stressful or thankless job in my life. Why put any effect into a job that doesn't pay more if you beat your sales goals?
Third, the provided office equipment was worse for my body than a construction job. Half the staff needed physio treatments because of this stationary job, including myself.
Nothing like investing time into an 8:30-5:30, where you can be miserable all day, lie to customers all day about how "wonderful" a 39.99% loan is, and convince them that it will solve their financial problems.
I started looking for a replacement job 2 weeks into this job, and will regret my time here forever.
At least I learned one thing : what not to do with my money now that I'm making a real, good wage. The pay from Fairstone was terrible, and I got screwed over on 2 paychecks. I tried to address the issue, and the payroll department stopped responding.
A fairstone loan is a bandage on a festering financial wound that would otherwise call for an amputation. It is, literally, one of the worst things you could do with your money.
When I started with this company I had no idea that I would be here 12 years later as a District Manager. They hired me with only customer service experience, taught me everything I needed to know about the business, and showed me what my future could hold if I wanted it. For example, when I showed my interest in becoming a Branch Manager they made sure I was mentored, given the proper training, and I was promoted within 2 years of being hired. Before being promoted to District Manager I had the opportunity to work in several markets as a Branch Manager and a Business Trainer for Atlantic Canada. These experiences helped to prepare me for the role I have today. The opportunity to influence, inspire and ultimately make a positive impact to my team and our company is beyond rewarding. Of course this job has it's challenges however that's what keeps it interesting! I would recommend Fairstone to anyone with a positive attitude, a passion for customer service, and a willingness to learn. Like I always say to my team, you can have whatever you want with this company you just have to be willing to work hard for it.
ProsStrong tenured senior leadership team, strong marketing department, great career advancement opportunities.
You’re given sales targets that continually go up. After 4 years I’m amazed I can still hit them. Numbers are all that matters you’re only as good as the last loan you get the company. Depending on when you get hired the most you will get is a month of training and then will be expected to hit normal sales targets in your first full month. Other employees gossip about everyone. Very hard to work up the chain there are not a lot of branches and upper management promote those they like, most job postings the hiring manager already has who they want in mind and that’s who gets the job. It’s a popularity contest. District managers will try to make you do things against policy. Customers and employees in the branches are just numbers. They don’t care how you get to your targets as long as you get there and you get reprimanded for not selling “optional products”. You have to call all day long unless you are closing a loan. You call to solicit people who really can’t afford it or you call to collect payments. Only thing I will say is they have a good benefit program and IF you can hit your targets they have good monthly bonuses and a points program.
ProsPoints program and bonuses if you achieve goals.
ConsLong hours, bad management
Questions and answers about Fairstone
What is Fairstone holiday leave policy? How much holiday leave do you get per year?
Asked Jan 16, 2019
15 days
Answered May 19, 2023
2 weeks
Answered Mar 3, 2023
Is the salary only commission based?
Asked Aug 4, 2017
No you have a base salary plus bonuses.
Answered Jul 5, 2019
No, there’s a competitive salary offered plus monthly bonus, on top of many other incentive programs offered.
Answered Jan 15, 2019
What benefits does Fairstone offer?
Asked Feb 6, 2019
Monthly bonus id you and the branch hit the target
Answered May 19, 2023
Medical dental plus discounts at partner stores
Answered Jan 6, 2023
If you were to leave Fairstone, what would be the reason?
