Pros
Honestly hard to find anything good to say about ERS. At least on an informal basis they let you work from home a few days a week. Not having to come in every day into this bizarro place made it just a tad less untolerable.
Cons
Wow! This was a real culture shock for me. The company is in the business of collecting on student loans. Collections is the dark-side of finance. I had to rationalize this for myself before accepting the job offer, but I convinced myself that this was a legal and necessary business. I wasn't prepared, however, for the work environment and culture. Most of the employees are collectors, who make the money for the company, but (I hate to make sweeping generalizations) aren't really a professional class of people. The policies and culture of the company are oriented toward these classes. This includes electronically clocking in/out each day, even for professional, salaried employees. This is completely unprofessional environment. There are more employees than spots in the parking lot. If you leave for lunch, you might not have a parking spot when you drive back. What does management do? Nothing -- they have there own reserved parking and everyone can simply fend for themselves. There are no performance reviews given. I didn't stay long to see if raises are ever given, but I am told the previous year they simply handed out $150 Visa gift cards, and an opportunity to participate in a raffle for more. There's a lot more: how about bedbug infestation that happened last fall? The company took no action until they were reported to OSHA. Reportedly, fights sometimes break out between collectors, and the police need to be called in. I've heard it said within the company that ex-drug dealers make the best collectors because 'they know how to best get money out of people. Collectors probably do well here, but any professional would find this a bizarre, dysfunctional environment that sounds like a bad joke. Stay away!
