FHLBank Chicago reviews

3.3

49% would recommend to a friend

(168 total reviews)
avatar

Michael Ericson

48% approve of CEO

57% positive business outlook

FHLBank Chicago has an employee rating of 3.3 out of 5 stars, based on 168 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The FHLBank Chicago employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Financial Services industry (3.6 stars).

Reviews by job title

168 reviews
1.0
May 13, 2022

Headless Chickens!

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Office is nice - free fruit and grain bars

Cons

Engineering is just a mess - no leadership everything is last minute and nothing gets done - pulled all over the place - super stressful and no sense of purpose or value to the job. The last 6 months have been a living hell for me and many. Bunch of long term contractors quit for better jobs (not hard!!) - now we're all picking up even more slack. Gets worse by the day. Avoid this place like the plague - oh but you can learn all about racism though (borderline accusing you of it for merely existing) - we may not get any work done but we do tick the DEI boxes. Thankful for the Glassdoor & LinkedIn jobs section! can all see how underpaid we are and how easy it is to get another job - as most people are doing if they are even remotely good - what's left behind isn't quality.

avatar
FHLBank Chicago Response
4y
We know there are last-minute requests and changing priorities as we navigate how to best deliver successful organizational changes. We are undergoing prioritization sessions and engaging in employee listening opportunities to better address the needs of our valued staff. While our business has important priorities to be met, we do not want any of our employees to experience overwhelming stress and hardship. FHLBank Chicago encourages anyone feeling overwhelmed to speak to their manager or HR business partner for support.
1.0
Mar 16, 2021

Top Workplace (NOT)

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Pay, nice coworkers, benefits, new office space

Cons

To many conflicting priorities, vacation time invaded and really not allowed to fully take, even though 30 days are given. ET’s favorite employees are known across the Bank and always given opportunities. Managers are not held accountable and if you are a favorite then you get a pass. HR controlling remote work and forcing people to be on camera for meetings. A lot of talk about diversity but no opportunities for people of color. Probably not the best workplace for people of color.

avatar
FHLBank Chicago Response
5y
Thank you for taking the time to share your comments regarding your experience at the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago. We take all feedback seriously. Let us start by telling you that we are grateful that you are currently part of our team. This means there is certainly an opportunity for us to work with you to better understand how we can overcome these challenges together. We invite the opportunity to speak with you directly to learn more about your frustrations. • Paid Time Off (PTO): We offer generous vacation days because we want employees to unplug and enjoy their personal time. If PTO is not being valued across teams, we can look into this matter and hope you will inform us if interrupted time off continues to be a concern. • Accountability: We stress accountability throughout our performance management process because it is an integral piece in building trust, learning from our mistakes, and creating strong teams. Managers and employees go through continuous coaching on what it means to be accountable – but if you are not seeing this in practice, we want to know more so we can identify the disconnect and course-correct as needed. • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI): Here at the Bank, DEI is of utmost importance. From job growth opportunities to comfortability with virtual work, we strive to ensure everyone has the tools and support they need to be successful. When this is not an employee’s experience, it concerns us, and we want to address it. Your HR Business Partner and our Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are here to listen and directly tackle anything that is inconsistent with our culture and our commitments to our employees. Thank you for your continued service to the Bank and honest feedback. We hope to connect soon to learn more. Whether we get to speak to you directly or not, know that we hear you. Your comments are being reviewed thoughtfully and will help us continue fostering a culture that prioritizes each employee’s professional growth and overall experience.
1.0
Nov 10, 2021

Top Workplace? I don’t think so

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great benefits, decent pay, pension

Cons

Where to start? A PTO plan you really can’t use, being tracked by the CFO on what days you come into the new office and a toxic culture that gives you anxiety It used to be such a great place to work that cared about people and provided a work-life balance unlike no other. Then something changed. The culture started to move in the wrong direction. If you're a favorite, you can write your ticket. Just look at HR. You need to be a white, blond female, and there's instantly a job for you. It happened with the department head a few years ago, and it's happened again recently. Meanwhile, people of color are pushed out or leave because they can't take the blatant favoritism. Gone are the days when employees were valued and cared about. You need only look to the Bank's Return to Office plan for evidence. We're required to return no less than two days a week, AND they're going to check badge swipes to reinforce the rule!! I have friends in other companies whose CEOs have said return as much or as little as you want. The office is a resource. You can either use it or not. This isn't a workplace anymore. It's a prison camp. Come in and do your two-day sentence each week. And the CFO is playing warden. He's been tracking the days when employees have been coming into the office. I'm sure it will impact our bonus payments next year; the more you come in, the higher the bonus. The place is a joke among its staff. If you're being interviewed for a job, ask why it's vacant. People have been leaving en masse for months. The place is going down the tubes, and the CEO and his CHRO minion are calling full steam ahead. Get me off this sinking ship!

avatar
FHLBank Chicago Response
4y
Everyone has a role in helping ensure we have a strong culture and that begins with the way we speak to each other and treat our coworkers. While we are always open to feedback and encourage employees to reach out to HR Business Partners when concerns arise, toxic language is not a constructive means of contributing to solutions. Our return to office plan is flexible and in line with other firms in our industry. The Bank strongly believes that its mission, vision and culture is best served by having some level of in-person collaboration and teamwork, and has strived to provide balance and flexibility to its employee with the blended operating model. While some employees enjoy working remotely, others prefer being in our office. Our model was created with this in mind and we have done our best to take various working styles into account. We have been consistently communicating our eventual move to a hybrid model throughout the pandemic, shifted our target date as needed, and worked to give employees enough notice to make a transition to this new model. Turnover has affected every organization this year and while we have vacancies, we have also added new employees and roles that will help us continue to grow our organization. We’ve also made improvements to our performance management process which allows us to better assess and recognize strong performers. We have a strong dedication and mission to ensure our workplace is diverse, equitable, and inclusive. From a recruiting and hiring standpoint, we have a bankwide goal of considering a diverse slate of candidates for open positions. DEI is woven through our organization, whether it’s through trainings and employee-led sessions or in our practices when deciding on vendors or supporting organizations in our communities. The pandemic has proven difficult for all organizations as they assess new ways of working and we will continue to support our employees on our path forward.
Viewing 1 - 3 of 168 Reviews

Glassdoor has 195 FHLBank Chicago reviews submitted anonymously by FHLBank Chicago employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if FHLBank Chicago is right for you.