Great workplace representing greater part of my career
A typical day involved attendance at management/project team/stakeholder meetings; supervision of resources located in various countries within the Caribbean region; ongoing training/mentoring of staff; management reporting and review of strategic management information and quality assurance reviews.
The interaction with bankers and other professionals across the region provided an opportunity to enhance my skills overall in training and development of resources in relation to their respective capabilities toward the achievement of overall organizational goals and strategies.
A very well developed and globally strong management -
For the most recent project undertaken, co-workers included a team of bankers/other professionals from 17 countries within the Caribbean region. These individuals and other staff have all been very supportive of the 'teamwork' concept toward achievement of our goals.
I would comment that the most challenging part of the job was to ensure that all participants received and understood the same message toward achievement of the overall goals and the strategy and effort from all concerned to meet the daily output requirements to a high standard of quality. It was also necessary to always have an alternative strategies to mitigate unforeseen/unplanned emergencies.
It was most enjoyable to work with individuals from across the Caribbean and Canada and to have been able to complete a very challenging regional task successfully.
ProsMeeting and working with individuals from numerous countries
ConsMany management/team meetings daily to monitor progess/train of develop plans
5.0
Registered Representative | New York, NY | Feb 25, 2018
Fast paced, commission based salary and compensation, competitive
A typical day at CIBC began at 7am each day. I reviewed and reconciled all trade activity from the previous day which included extensive documentation according to the by laws of FINRA. I worked as a 5th Team Member specializing in Options, Munie Bonds, Gov't Bonds, Equities, Margin, LLC's, Research on Investment Strategies for Clients and facilitating Managed Accounts for Qualified investors. After a "Team Meeting" each morning, in which we discussed and researched Investment Strategies best suited for our Client base, we began interfacing with Clients and Traders. The job was fast paced and required the ability to assess and re assess Client Investment Strategies according to market fluctuations. A working knowledge of market fluctuations in relation to the Equity Market VS the Bond Market was essential. The challenges of Market Fluctuation was both rewarding and stressful, depending on the day, and brought out the best of each team player and our area of expertise. The most enjoyable part of the day was making money for our Clients, as per our Fiduciary Responsibilities, the guideline of both CIBC and FINRA. The most difficult part of any day, would be large movement in either the Equity Market or the Bond Market and adjusting our trade accordingly, while answering Client concerns.
Benefits are great as far as medical, dental, bank holidays and vacation time.
No formal employee development, ongoing feedback is absent and team dynamics overall is poor
All levels of salaried employees should receive ongoing feedback and have the opportunity to work with managers on his/her own employee development. Being left in the dark until the day of receiving annual merit increases via direct deposit isn’t fair for all parties, starting with senior management on down down. When management decides he/she is leaving after working 8 hours during a paid holiday, then punish their employees for doing the same, this really sets a poor work environment. Employees should feel there’s an open door policy. When errors are discovered and brought to management’s attention, they shouldn’t be told to cover it up. Or to ignore it. Employees should also feel empowered to be able to go to senior management in situations as mentioned here without worry of being fired. Benefits are great, medical phenomenal, 401K standard but the company they use to for their investments is one of the best in the country. Work perks are great, including free onsite gym at both Chicago locations, free coffee/lattes, carbonated drinks, great employee lounge.
ConsPoor management, no feedback or development, no guidance or support. Hiding accounting errors.
proof officer , I would get the checks from the previous day, and run them through NCR machine, get the total and then send the total to the supervisor. I would sort the check in numerical order and hand them over to my co-worker for filing. If there is a difference an investigation would have to be done to make sure the customer doesn't loose and money. We usually would get check companies come in so we can review the encoding on the check to make sure the customer checks are protected. Management was hard, but after a few years we had a great working relationship. the hardest part of the job is making sure all of the thousand checks are balanced as well as all of the encoding are correct. The most enjoyable part is the race the staff would have to see if we can beat our time. I have changed many procedures in that area
Prosbenefits
Consincrease of duties
4.0
Chief Operating Officer | Trinidad, CO | Sep 19, 2018
A challenging position with varied responsibilities
As COO I am responsible for setting up a full luxury environment in a two-tower 21 floors each.
The property housed many of the Ambassadors and high Commissioners along with Industry leaders.
Being responsible for the Real Estate I learned the art of selling to the very wealthy by creating a really impressive lifestyle environment.
I was on my own but reported to the local Director and the banks. There was not much of a culture per se since I was mostly on my own with a small staff. I really enjoyed training the staff, however.
The hardest part of the job was the Real Estate sales as there was only the indigenous market which presented a huge challenge.
I enjoyed meeting some very interesting people and also selling the apartments.
Extraordinary experience on Wall St. Clients where wonderful. As face paced as can be. Invigorating.
Started in a co-op program in high school and promoted to work with top producer by the time I graduated. Learned a great deal of the markets and gained knowledge that will last a lifetime. Still friends with co-workers and management. Traded in millions every day, and kept clients abreast of all activity and most importantly had to be there early to check prior days trades for accuracy and inform clients of morning news that affected them, all prior to opening of markets.
ProsExperience gained, fast paced, relationships, challenging, always changing
ConsStressful yes, and position I held would be extremely difficult to maintain with small children and commuting.
CIBC FirstCaribbean Bank is a fast paced organization. on a daily you always have to be on the go. I have learned most of career at this organization. They sends you to seminars overseas and locally when they see your potential, to help you advance your skills.
There was a warm and diversity of culture in the organization.
The Management team is always seeking the development of the team.
The hardest part of the Job was receiving approval for my existing loans clients when they implemented new procedures
The most enjoyable part of the job is helping my clients accomplish their goals and they leaving with a big smile on their faces.
Junior Software Engineer | Warrens, WI | Aug 23, 2020
Productivity over everything thats the main aim and every one is willing to help no matter what
A typical day at work would be learning about the task for the day or the issues and delegating tasks , working on those task for the rest of the day.
Learned to use programming tools such as postman, Git, Jira and bitbucket and programming techniques as well.
Management is very clear and instructive with the task they need delivered and if more is needed they are willing
Workplace is very open to inclusion and helping even though they are not involved with that department
Hardest part of the job is getting adjusted but people always willing to make you feel comfortable
the most enjoyable part of the job is the culture its so open
CIBC Markets was an enjoyable experience. It allowed me to work with senior management giving me a new exposure. It was my position to analyze the projects that I was assigned and provide and alternative approach for savings for the company. I was given projects that were new to the procurement department and took the head on and provided outstanding results. the most rewarding part of my job was creating a company car service for all staffing in NY and other states that CIBC was located. The most difficult part of my position was the time frame in which I had to accomplished creating the data base for the car service application.
-Ability to find answers within company with relatively low bureaucratic difficulty
-Management focuses on their objectives, can be confusing on what they need at times as they are communicated down from parent company
-Normal hours except for monthly close which necessitates early mornings and demanding deadlines for several days a month
-Culture is laid back, everyone is expected to work on their own, be accountable for their work, flexible on time as long as work is done
-Random projects in vastly different areas make the job interesting
-Collaborative nature of getting the shared objective completed
Systemic issues with employee performance rating and talent management
CIBC has poor leadership; they have limited understanding of the needs of their staff and it is not a priority to rectify the deficiency. This makes it difficult to help your employees become self-actualized. A large percentage of the leadership simply lack the EQ to perform this task or even understand it. There are some decent leaders, but not all employees may experience this, as the middling performers tend to be ignored rather than encouraged to improve. The bank prefers fealty (sycophants) over performance. You could work 60 hours a week or 30 hours a week and get the same rating, as employee performance measurement is more about ticking the box, than evaluating the employee or helping them grow. Similarly, the yearly leadership rating system, ESAT is not effective. If you are one of the chosen you could have multiple poor ESAT scores and live to underperform another year. Conversely if you are a good leader, but someone dislikes you, you are likely to be shunned. There is also no screening of new people managers, training courses can only help so much, when you do not offer the compensation to attract good talent. Do not expect HR to help the employee, they are there to do management’s bidding and bury it deep.
The quality of the staff is quite disparate, those who have decent skills may get promoted, but it is more likely that they will be under appreciated and leave. This is largely a function of the leadership issues outlined above, but the performance rating also
Great Opportunities and Long-term Relationships Built
CIBC ISI is where I started my professional career, I have learned a lot and I enjoyed working there so much that I stayed close to 10 years.
I started as a front-line customer service support member while doing my paid internship for College. I talked to many clients on a daily basis answering queries about their investment accounts and processed their routine and non-routine requests. I was consistently recognised for my service excellence. Got an additional 1 day off every quarter!
When I graduated I was offered a permanent full-time employment and promoted to Senior Investment Representative. In this role, I got to experience the excitement of the stock markets, it's highs during a bullish market, and its lows during bearish times. I got to witness well-known companies and their initial public offering - what a busy day on the trading floor and so exciting! We used to make guesses as to what the closing price would be at the end of the trading day, who ever guessed the closest gets a free coffee.
With my mind being curious of understanding how things work and also having a passion for delivering service experience excellence, I decided to join the Customer Satisfaction department, ISI's internal complaint and resolution team. I was granted the assignment for a year. I acted as a point of contact and subject-matter-expert to clients/customers/colleagues for unresolved and complex cases. I worked on a case once that lasted for 3 months, it involved a lot of r
I am happy i got out. If you are thinking to quit, just do it. This company doesn't deserve you.
I had worked with CIBC for close to 6 years. All this time thinking that this was the best place to work and grow. I slowly started realizing just how cheap and unfair this company is. Working at the call center was stressful as it is. So, i moved to the branch a year later. Branch was no good either. With DVP's changing all the time, and new policies coming in place every other month, it was a lot to keep up with. Because of rising expenses, the company decided to kick a lot of people, took control of basic branch expenses, took away the coffee that was being serves to the customers. If a customer came in asking for water, we would have to run to the manager asking for a cup, as they would hide it in their drawers and lock them away. Customer are not people for the big banks they are just numbers. This would be same for all banks just that the intensity of selling things would be different. As sad as it is, people think that working for a bank would be a privilege but in reality it felt nothing less than working as a car salesman to me. We were practically forced to sell sell and re-sell to the same customers if needed. The basic trend is to offer the customer a credit card, once they overuse the card, offer the customer a line of credit. If the customer overuses the line of credit, then offer them a loan. This is a good enough tactic to anchor the customer to that particular bank. Why would you switch banks if you think your bank is doing so much for you.
About work ethic
ProsBenefits, mostly helpful co-workers and reliable support staff over the phone. salary, paid and unpaid vacation
ConsUnpaid long hours to finish outstanding work, worst management, car salesman like feel, lack of freedom and creativity and many more already mentioned.
1.0
Customer Service Representative | Wallaceburg, ON | Jun 21, 2016
Seems good on the surface, but no value of employees.
I was so excited when I was offered the job at CIBC in 2015. The training was simple enough, and within a short amount of time working my own wicket, I felt comfortable with the job requirements. A typical day involved opening my cash, serving clients with varying financial needs from simple deposits or withdrawals, to more complex transactions involving lines of credit, or foreign exchange. At the end of the day we had to balance our cash, and that was the most difficult part for me, though I found with more focus on each transaction I was able to improve and master this task. I learned a lot about the financial sector, and I really enjoyed working there. Although it did feel like the company as a whole has very little value for their employees, in a small town I felt connected with my coworkers and our clients. I honestly loved my job. I was going to take on additional responsibilities within the branch. However I have never worked in this industry before, so I was unfamiliar with some of the red tape. As I approached my one year with the company, in a misguided attempt to do something nice for my coworkers, I unintentionally violated a privacy section of the code of conduct. In my disciplinary interview, the district manager came into the branch, whom I had never met before, and did not believe my innocence when I explained what had happened and I was immediately terminated. I felt completely helpless. I had worked so hard for this company, consistently improving my perfor
Prosemployee banking, excellent hours of operation
Consfrequent management changes, high turnover, understaffed, do not value employees.
1.0
Customer Service Representative | Red Deer, AB | Feb 3, 2019
Not Recommended
My question for you is, have you looked at someone or talked to someone who has worked at your profession 10, 20, 30 years longer than you. Would you trade their whole life for yours (finances, relationship, family, well-being)? When I looked at the bank people were just as miserable as I was but they had been so for YEARS. A coworker of mine wanted to leave so badly but they were so close to getting their pension that they were were stuck there another handful of years. I refused to be STUCK. Someone who's been there longer than you, that's where you are likely to end up. You're a product of your environment and when you spend most of your time at a job instead of with the people who matter most you start picking up their mannerisms and habits.you dont think you will, but you do.
I had started to work at the bank because I wanted to work my way up, to help people, to help them reach their goals, and help them budget to do so. I found out about 6 months in, while progressing my learning to move up just how sales focused instead of customer focused they were. I became miserable and it affected my relationship because I would always be complaining. And for someone who values their family, time, and well-being I needed to leave as helping people is not what this job was. Some of my coworkers were great people, but at the end of the day it was about how they pay their Bill's, and earn their paycheck. Which means selling customers things 1. They didn't come in for 2. They don't
ProsCo-workers, some clients, 3 weeks paid vacation, benefits
ConsSome clients, management, only 3 weeks paid vacation to start, salary, sales pressure
1.0
Financial Representative | Victoria, BC | Feb 17, 2020
Senior Management is out of touch
Local management in my area is great, but senior management is out of touch. Here are some pros and cons.
Cons:
- lower pay than other banks
- there is an attitude at all levels of the bank to "get lost of you don't like it here"
- external hires are always paid more than existing staff
- EXTREMELY glitchy, poorly designed and antiquated computer systems
- terrible business banking team and products (dead-last among Canadian Banks)
- constant cuts to "non-productive" support/service roles with tellers and associate/assistants
- lack of tenured/knowledgeable staff
- constant "gaming" by sales staff to inflate their sales numbers (no one is measured by the same standards)
- poor culture that promotes mediocrity and underpays the most talented staff (this is done in a number of ways, primarily bonuses, pay structure and incentive programs)
- fewer and fewer teller hours are available (many branches frequently operate with a single teller and no lunch coverage)
- lots of inefficiencies with internal systems (for example, mortgage assumptions are done on PAPER and MAILED to head office, all RIFF GIC renewals are done via a manual form that gets processed several days later by the back office, mortgage documents are printed and assembled manually by the lender often taking 30+ minutes, the only way to inquire about a transaction is to order the original paper receipt, among other things).
- employees are not valued and are treated like they are expendable (because th
As a senior Advisor with nearly 9 years of experience at CIBC, I was looked upon to be a leader among fellow advisors and the core branch team. After moving districts to take on the Advisor role, I was excited to join familiar faces whome I knew were hard workers, supportive leaders, and "go getters". That attitude was projected through me, and I quickly adopted the "can do, will do" mantra that CIBC was looking for. My first year as a Senior Advisor in a new district should have been dedicated to learning, but direct management made me feel very comfortable in my skills and provided positive feedback. Unfortunately, a large shake-up in management occurred into my second year, and advisors across the district felt the changes - not for the best. Wages suffered, and morality came down. We were left wondering what more can we do after many years of successful portfolio building, and helping restore the CIBC brand to a more positive culture to do business. Many requests went unheard and turnover became an issue, as well as less Advisor support vis-a-vis Associates (the latter position became less available and associates were split between two or even three advisors). Year-over-year, clients were impacted by a subpar business culture of cutbacks, a decisive approach geared towards sales rather than being client centric, and restrictions on our ability to meet the progressive demands of client needs.
The team environment and ability to count on fellow advisors to share ideas an
3.0
Entry Level Administrative Assistant | Toronto, ON | Feb 2, 2015
Amazing Employees and Phenomenal Job Culture
While working at CIBC, I had the privilege of meeting some very intelligent and inspiring individuals. A typical day at work would begin with calendar management, to ensure my two Senior Directors were aware of the days events, and so that appropriate time management could take place throughout the day.
My typical day would also consist of an array of requests ranging from onboarding a new employee, completing expense reports, arranging off-site meetings, providing security & print cards, or just ensuring all team members have appropriate tools and supplies available to them at all times.
My team was estimated to be approximately 145 people in total, and residing at locations ranging from Downtown Toronto, Mississauga, North York, and India.
I was an active member of many committees including the Health and Safety, Employee Appreciation, and the Diversity Day Committee. I also was nominated to be the Female Searcher for the Fire Committee as well.
While at CIBC, I had the opportunity to learn many things from the Managers that I had the pleasure of supporting. They have taught me many aspects of the financial industry that will benefit me in my future endeavours, as well as providing me with ample opportunities to increase my level of knowledge within a Corporate Environment.
The hardest part of the job was having to say no to a team member when priorities needed to handled for a Director's request. However, I had an incredibly supportive team and was able to help
ProsAmazing people, ample opportunity for advancement
ConsTraining lacks consistency and direction, Transperancy is valued but not exhibited, Lacks job security.
5.0
Financial Representative | Etobicoke, ON | Jun 22, 2016
CIBC is a great company that ensure the needs of all their clients are fulfilled.
A Financial Service Representative is responsible for creating a great experience for both new and existing clients by identifying their needs through utilization of CIBC Financial tools. Throughout the day
we are responsible for proactively initiating phone calls to book appointments with clients to discuss their needs and to offer financial solutions. This requires probing and using different tools to ensure we are providing something suitable for the client.
As FSR's we have weekly sales, service and referral targets for personal and small business clients. We are still responsible for achieving our sale targets. This position requires individuals to have a strong code of ethics while adhering to and protecting client privacy. This is due to the confidential information and documents we receive from clients such as credit bureau, various forms of income confirmation, investment documents. Hence it is important for FSR's to accurately capture and validate clients’ personal and financial information, ensuring all documentation is complete in accordance with CIBC policies and procedures.
In this position individuals learn interpersonal, commmunication and problem solving skills due to the various day to day interactions with clients. Interactions vary from clients losing a love one to experiencing fraud on their account to a client hence being empathetic is very important. This is one of the challenges that a FSR will experience since we cannot control the emotions of
Most days I get in early so I can get emails answered and important work done and be ready for the routine work. On a typical day we had a coffee meeting to discuss of any backlog work and unprocessed mortgage insurance applications. One particular day I was not able to show up to work and this got really messed up due to short staff. The team weren't too happy to have to squeeze in another change, but when I explained the reason they got down to amend their usual schedules to meet the deadline. I bought in pizzas to keep them all happy and to let us steal a bit of space at lunchtime. We'd got it done by three and, with the Manager appreciated very much. We got everything back on track by the end of the day.
My last job was an excellent learning opportunity and I developed my skills and experience in numerous different ways. While I already had strong Accounting skills, I didn’t have any previous experience of Microsoft Excel. When my employer introduced a new order management system which used Access they gave me the opportunity to undertake additional training so as to be able to work effectively with this. I was then able to put this training into practice on a day-to-day basis and I was able to adept at using this skill. I also learned a great deal about handling customers. My previous roles were not customer-facing so it was great to have the chance to develop this area of my experience.
Management was very unbiased and reasonable in all aspects of company policie
ProsClose by, Flexible, Good Boss
ConsLong hours at times
Questions And Answers about CIBC
What is the most stressful part about working at CIBC?
Asked Mar 2, 2017
Sometimes making sure the equipment worked properly and was in sync with remote locations based overseas.
Answered Aug 6, 2018
Creating the data base for the car service application
Answered May 14, 2018
What is the work environment and culture like at CIBC?
Asked Oct 27, 2016
High productivity and teamwork.
Answered Apr 28, 2018
Very friendly and professional
Answered Nov 15, 2017
What is the interview process like at CIBC?
Asked Sep 5, 2016
Interview was pretty detailed to get to know me.
Answered Dec 14, 2019
The Interview Process was extensive. I had to first Interview with the Managing Director of my Trading Floor, Compliance and then with 4 individual Brokers to ascertain whether we were all a "good fit" for one another. I enjoyed the extensive interview process as I was able to learn about the company and the team I wanted to work with. After an extensive background check as required by CIBC/Oppenheimer, and FINRA, I was able to join the team in a seamless fit.
