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Go west and prosper In 1850, Henry Wells and William Fargo were among the New York businessmen who founded American Express. Because the pair could not persuade their colleagues to take a risk on the California gold rush, they started the famous Wells Fargo stagecoach and pony express company in San Francisco. Wells Fargo separated its banking business from its express service in 1905, and has remained with banking since. Wells Fargo rocked the banking world with its 1996 hostile takeover of First Interstate, the largest such takeover in U.S. banking history. With more than $100 billion in assets, Wells Fargo became the second-largest bank in California. The firm had difficulty digesting its acquisition, and lost customers because of poor service. (Among its problems: delays in the processing of direct-deposit payroll accounts and mistaken small-business loan statements.) The Norwest merger The problems with the First Interstate merger didn't make Wells gunshy, though. After watching a series of mega-mergers in the commercial banking industry, including the NationsBank/Bank of America and Banc One/First Chicago NBD mergers, Wells decided to merge with Minnesota-based Norwest. Officially, the combination was a merger of equals, but Norwest head Dick Kovacevich became CEO of the combined bank, which took the Wells Fargo name. The new Wells Fargo is the seventh-largest bank in the U.S. The Norwest story The Northwest Bancocorporation was formed as a consortium of Midwestern banks in 1929, on the eve of the Depression. Known as Banco, the cooperative struggled during the Depression, and did not see major growth until the 1980s, when it was renamed Norwest, and the 1990s. When it agreed to merge with Wells, it had moved throughout the Midwest, into Nebraska, Minnesota and Texas, and had even bought interests in South America. Do what you do best The merged Wells Fargo, surprisingly, is not planning on expanding internationally - or even to spread its reach in the U.S. Instead, the bank will concentrate on its strong presence on the West Coast and Midwest. The old Wells Fargo was known for efficiency, both in its operations and its offerings to its customers - the company was one of the first to offer online banking and open small branches in supermarkets. Norwest was better known for its sales culture, with a focus on cross-selling products. (So now that you've opened your banking account, can I interest you in a credit card or home loan?) The new Wells Fargo is banking on taking the best from both cultures. The two sides of the merger aren't rushing in - they will maintain separate human resources and finance staffs through 2000. And rather than make massive personnel cuts in the immediate aftermath of the merger, Wells is hoping to retain employees that want to stay. The company still expects $650 million in cost savings because of consolidation, but hopes to accomplish this savings primarily through natural employee attrition and a hiring freeze.
The company's employment web site, www.wellsfargo.com/jobs, describes current job openings (including degree requirements and salary ranges) from all of Wells Fargo?s departments. Many of those positions, however, require prior experience. Most of the company's corporate hiring is administered by its San Francisco headquarters, but some positions require that applications be sent to one of its other locations. The bank does recruit at both undergraduate colleges and business schools. For branch positions, visit the appropriate branch. The company is in a hiring freeze because of the merger, although insiders are optimistic that it "won't last too long." In general, "recruiting is decentralized, so the process varies." For example, one contact in sales reports an interview process with "a group interview that includes role-playing and individual questions regarding customer service and person-to-person interaction. A panel of managers will observe the proceedings." This contact reports two, and sometimes three rounds before a candidate is made an offer. At the retail level, on the other hand, "most entry-level positions have one-on-one interviews with a regional manager or the hiring branch manager," reports one insider. Reports one insider at the company's headquarters, "depending on the job or department, the number of interviews could be as few as talking to two people to as many as 10." Sums up another contact: "Technical jobs require technical interviews. Sales or retail qualifications would be determined by your interpersonal and organizational skills." Once employees are hired into Wells, they do not have a hard time getting hired away, insiders say. Says one former employee: "You do get a pretty good education with Wells if you have a good manager. Once you've been trained by Wells, most banks are dying to hire you." Reports a branch manager: "Wells is renowned for its employee training. I have found that as a Wells Fargo employee I am quite sought after, and have been offered several unsolicited opportunities by other companies and banks."
"Run it like you own it" Wells Fargo insiders stress that the company's culture varies widely by location and and business group. For example, "customer contact, more than anything else, drives dress." (However, "Friday's are universally casual so even if I were to go meet with the CEO, I'd be casual that day.") However, our contacts stress that the firm's culture is a "very entrepreneurial" one, exemplified by Wells catchphrase, "run it like you own it." Says one contact: "The corporate culture requires that you can change on a dime. Always progressive, Wells Fargo is not an old-boy static network. If it doesn't work, change." Says another insider: "The culture is consistent in that there is a 'run it like you own it' attitude across the bank." Perks and benefits pick up the slack in compensation Insiders at Wells don't wax effusive when it comes to pay. "Pay scale is about average for banking, which is not the most generous industry," reports one source. "Annual salary increases are bsed on merit and can range up to 10 percent, although the company budgets for average salary increases of 3 percent." Salary, of course, isn't the only compensation Wells employees can earn. "Officers are eligible to earn discretionary bonuses up to about 30 percent of annual salary," reports one insider. However, warns an insider in sales: "They will try and talk about sales, sales, sales and all the bonus you can earn. Truth is, the bonus structure constantly changes and you never know what you will be making." However, Wells employees enjoy some decent perks, including "free checking, a lower APR on a credit card and some loan products." Although one contact describes the firm's perks as "good but not the best in the industry," another says "the benefits package is great." Says the happier insider: "There are several different health care options to choose from and the cost for the employee and family is reasonable. The retirement options are also great, again with many options - stock, pension and a 401(k). You get to choose how your retirement is invested." "People who goof off typically don't last" If you're going to work for Wells Fargo, you're going to work hard. "We work hard and sometimes that means long hours," says one employee. "In the entrepreneurial environment, which I think we mostly all buy into, folks work the hours they need to work to get the job done." Reports a source in San Francisco: "It is not uncommon for a manager to work from 6:30 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. and spend one day of a weekend at work." Another employee at Wells' headquarters agrees about the long hours: "Wells would like every employee to get the job done in a 40-hour week, but Wells isn't going to stop you from putting in a lot more - and many do." Several contacts link the work ethic at the bank to corporate cost-cutting. "The corporate culture is 'work hard.' Wells Fargo is a very bottom line organization," says one insider. Reports another: "Wells runs really 'lean,' meaning employees run several concurrent projects. People who goof off typically don't last around here." Diversity? It's California "My boss, an executive vice president, is African-American," reports one Wells insider at the company's San Francisco headquarters, "and there is one African-American senior vice president, one lesbian senior vice president, and several other gay and minority women and men at the vice president level - and that is just in my group of 100 people!" Employee comments about diversity at the bank are unanimously enthusiastic. "In supporting women in the workforce, Wells Fargo has a long history of being extremely supportive," says one woman. "In fact, Henry Wells founded a Women's School of Business over 100 years ago." Another contact agrees, saying "my sense of the company's treatment of women and minorities is based on several women colleagues' comments that Wells is one of the best companies here in the Bay Area with regard to not having a glass ceiling." Says a minority insider: "The diversity within Wells Fargo amazes even an old cynic like myself. The culture within is a literal United Nations." Reports yet another contact: "We have a very active Cultural Diversity Committee and a real commitment from the top down. We have coverage for (same-sex) domestic partners, and were one of the first banks to do so."
Patricia R. Callahan Human Resources
Retail banking;Business banking;Investment services;Real estate;Consumer lending;Mortgages
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