Reply to: Advice on working with RBS?

[Underscore Pt2]

contracted there for 6 years .....used to be a great place to work....but they have ruined it now..millions wasted every day on projects started but never finished....

[Bovvered]

I've done 2 stints at RBS (GBM). As poster above aceboy says, the environment has become very restrictive, politicised, and management by committee is common place. I had some great times there, but at the moment they are in a bit of a quagmire.

Look out for fish puns on MindAlign...

[aceboy]

RBS: It should be a technologists dream, however they are going nowhere fast.

The Mngt are stuck in the "decision by (very large) committee" model. No one can agree, and so they don't get anything done. the problem is your projects, never get moving.

In the eTrading world, the technology moves very fast, and you soon find that your skills are behind the curve, which mean you are less employable...

So Yes RBS are paying a lot on money, but they have NO road map, NO Direction, and will make you less employable!

But if you're looking to sit backl a cruise for a couple of years, it can be (read was) a good gig

[Scrag Meister]

Yep, Silly you.

Most banks cut their contractor rates by 10-15% about 18 months ago, that's life.

[rsingh]

They cut my rate by 10%. I left....silly me.

[Spoiler]

Worked for RBS a few years back, before it went pete tong. Didn't get involved in doing long hours for no extra money, although I did do some out of hours work (nights & weekends), which I naïvely didn't charge double time for - it was my first contract so wasn't sure about stuff like this at the time.

Found the manager I worked for to be fair & flexible. Fortunately I had the same manager throughout my contract which was a surprise due to the amount of re-organizations they had.

[facboy]

haha, i would guess not! this was back in...2007-8? he actually had to start doing work around the middle of last year.

[northernladuk]

no, no slang. actual baking contests. ok they wouldn't actually bake the cakes at the office, they would bake them at home, and then bring them in and they would have taste tests and judges. truly bizarre. i thought my mate was joking when he told me, but he wasn't. think he baked a flan or something.

Ahh the good old days of comradery and fun in the office. Brings back so many memories. You ought to be thankful they are forward thinking enough to allow this cause I am dam sure it won't be around for long

[facboy]

no, no slang. actual baking contests. ok they wouldn't actually bake the cakes at the office, they would bake them at home, and then bring them in and they would have taste tests and judges. truly bizarre. i thought my mate was joking when he told me, but he wasn't. think he baked a flan or something.

[DieScum]

they used to have baking contests (as in cake mix and ovens) during the day, i kid you not. he was on £400+ per day too.

WTF? Is this some kind of slang?

[facboy]

i dunno, i know a few who have worked at RBS and none of them enjoyed it. as for slackers, my mate contracted there for 2 1/2 years, and for 18 months of it his team literally did no work. they were dependent on some project that was perpetually two weeks away from completion. they used to have baking contests (as in cake mix and ovens) during the day, i kid you not. he was on £400+ per day too.

[ronanm]

RBS are hiring like crazy right now. I heard they even poached teams of people from Barclays Capital recently.

I work for Barcap and interviewed for a couple of roles at RBS last week

[Scrag Meister]

Banks pay top dollar, and expect the work and results to match.

As has been said before in other threads, it does depend on the mentality of the manager too. Some are 18hr pd maniacs and some have there life in order.

I have been forunate to date, not RBS but another bank, having a sensible manager and a managable workload.

Obviously expect some out of normal hours work, but don't let them walk all over you either.

They don't mention "project failure scapegoat" in the role specification, but can be the case.

GL.

[AngelOfTheNorth]

tolerate the usual % of slackers that I've found on most jobs?

Uh huh ..... those 'other' people right?

why would you care if it has its fair share of slackers, unless it was hoping that it does. Slackers make you look better.

[ChimpMaster]

RBS are hiring like crazy right now. I heard they even poached teams of people from Barclays Capital recently.