The best company I have worked for, the most disorganised company I have worked for.
Pros
The products and services are quite good, VisaNet reliability is phenomenal. Visa is indeed accepted almost everywhere. In terms of Fraud and Security, they don't hesitate to invest in resources and people to protect their network and brand. Paying with Visa is super safe and I have been proud of working for such a great organisation. The company offers great training, coaching, resources and volunteering opportunities. There's no time to get bored. Depending on the role or department, you can get involved in large international projects which can be quite interesting. If you have children, Visa is the place for you. They love families and provide benefits and concierge services for all ages. Not so good for young professionals looking for a vibrant culture. The work environment is quite dull. It is a company mainly geared towards employees with families. You may find the opportunity to work along well known financial institutions, it is a great place to develop a network of contacts. They are finally trying to offer a competitive salary but other players with less financial resources are willing to pay higher rates.
Cons
Some people at Visa have been there for over 20 years and have a really old-fashioned approach to work. I doubt they would be employable in similar roles if they leave the organisation as they live in silo mode. It is a Top-to-down management decision-making organisation whereby employees have no say. Matrix hierarchy which doesn't help with accountability, because everyone is a "leader", but when it comes to executing my decisions, I am reminded of my inferior role. Career development is amazing (courses, training) but career progression is non existent. Hence why some individuals are seen doing the same exact job for years and complain when new starters try to get help from them. It is extremely rare when internal staff move to internal positions of higher ranking. The only option is to move horizontally, but it also means you have to change your specialisation. Therefore, instead of having the best professionals of a particular function, they invite you to go for another different role, as if any of us have any opportunity to become the next COO. It is by far the messiest organisation I have ever worked for. Trying to find information is full day job, be prepared to ask the same question to five people and get five different answers. Only people with great muscle memory should apply for a job at Visa, as there are no processes or procedures in most cases, and if there are, good luck with finding what and where they are. Normally, these are quite complex jobs, but Leaders seem to believe we are all easily replaceable as they couldn't care less if you leave. Silo mentalities and lack of collaboration are part of the organisational ethos. The disconnection between Senior Leaders and the Team are abysmal. Many Leaders with lots of experience in managing large organisations, lots of town halls and good words, great communicators, but when it comes to the day to day we are left on our own. They want us to be faster yet laptops are very old, disruptive, slow, the laptop can freeze when typing an email! It seriously feels like Leaders provide the instructions and walk away, waiting for results. You are on your own and are expected to do your job plus fix everything else that doesn't work. Goals are entirely unrealistic and the only way to achieve them is by getting rid of the flexibility they claim to give, by working long hours. They have now introduced micro-management by checking results on a quarterly basis. They need to look beyond numbers, unfortunately they don't. As many other companies, they also want us 3 days a week at the office which hinders are productivity. If Face-2-Face is so important, why aren't we visiting our clients? They claim RTO is important for their culture, yet hot-desking couldn't be messier, the team can't sit together so not sure what the point of RTO is. Plus for a company claiming to be concerned about ecology, they should be aware that commuting impacts our carbon footprint in the planet, yet "company culture" is more important. Lack of planning is rampant, Leaders are also too busy trying to join 20 meetings a day, forgetting about their teams. The organisation gets messier and messier everyday. It does feel like nobody cares and the day to day consists of putting out fires. They really need more people managers, but specific to the functional strategy of the team, someone who can do the job of the team, not just supervise then. It is astonishing that they care so little about the quality of their organisational structure and then wonder why everything is so slow. In terms of work environment, it is entirely corporative, no team building activities, be prepared to be at your desk without speaking to anyone for the entire day. Lots of Yes-Sir people not able to bring their voice for fear of retaliation. Some of them react dramatically if you criticise anything about the organisation. My advice is to work for Visa if you can but leave before you become complacent. It is a great place to learn and grow, don't hesitate to apply for a role, but once you learnt everything about your role, be ready to move on to another organisation, as career progression simply won't happen. Work environment feels quite toxic at the moment and you shouldn't put a price on your mental health.
