Amica is a solid company, but could benefit from many key improvements
Pros
Pros: Comprehensive benefits: Health, dental, vision, FSA, PTO which gradually increases the longer you're with the company, employees working in SCS (Sales and Client Services) can take time off for major/minor holidays, however, there is a need to staff during these timeframes, so if an employee works a holiday, they can earn a vacation day to use later and there is a special compensation plan for the summer months, known as Customer Service Pay, where you can earn vacation time plus double time for hours worked. Mental health resources are available including EAP Coastline, free access to Calm app for you and immediate family members, 401k with match, generous parental leave benefits with up to 6 months maternity leave for birthing parent (combination of paid/unpaid if you choose to take 6-month leave with short-term disability), etc. Amica also provides paid time to volunteer and has a grant program where you can apply to receive funds for an organization of your choosing, so long as it falls within specific parameters. Amica pays for continuing education through The Institutes, tuition reimbursement, student loan re-payment. The list of benefits goes on, but I think I've covered the major ones. Success Sharing: If Amica achieves strategic goals, the board approves that employees will receive a percentage of their pay in the form of a check. Workplace atmosphere: My experience has been an overall positive, inclusive, collaborative atmosphere where I feel that my thoughts and ideas are welcomed without judgement. Future Leaders Program: Great entry-level management program, especially for young career professionals who are just gaining their footing into the working world. You can choose between two associate tracks, including Team Manager and Adjuster. The training program is an estimated 6 weeks at the corporate headquarters in Rhode Island and provides you with great insight into the company while networking with senior leadership and other associates.
Cons
Cons: Compensation: Having been with the company for a little less than a decade at the team management level (SCS), my compensation is lacking. HR continues to promote that they offer a competitive salary and that they do a market analysis to ensure compensation is on par. However, I find this difficult to believe when the merit increase program raises my salary incrementally year after year. Success sharing is a bonus, not a part of my salary. Upward mobility: Amica rewards managers who are mobile and can move from branch to branch or department to department after one or few years which often includes a promotion. If you have reached the mid-senior management level after starting in the Future Leaders Program and are not mobile, I'm sorry to say that unfortunately, you will experience diminishing returns as far as your salary is concerned. Gaining an additional responsibility, such as exposure to a special project to help with career development, is not the same as earning more pay, and hence, a promotion, as a result of being mobile. I've been sold this, and quite honestly, it's a bit insulting, as often times, at the mid-senior management level, we're often at capacity and cannot take on more work. If I'm being given more work, I need to be compensated accordingly. Linear career track: If you're located in the corporate office, there are more varied career opportunities, including being in Learning and Talent Development as a trainer facilitating the Future Leaders Program, being an Innovation Analyst, or being an SCS Operations Specialist. Amica did recently open up the Ops Specialist role to employees not located in the corporate office but only to a limited extent. If you're located in a branch or department operation, it's very difficult to move into these specialist roles which is disappointing, and feeds into the lack of upward mobility I spoke of earlier. Micromanagement: I enjoy being able to encourage autonomy with direct reports. Unfortunately, with the recent adoption of Workforce Management, I'm now required to micromanage my team which only leads to feelings of disengagement in the long run for those I'm tasked with supervising. We're all adults. Having to track my team's whereabouts is not what I'm about. Disconnect from senior leadership to front-line employees: Often times when a new initiative is rolled out from the top down, it takes quite a bit of time to gain buy-in from front-line employees. Who can blame them when they feel that senior leadership is vastly removed from what they do on a day-to-day basis? I can try my best to promote things in a positive light as a supervisor, but that doesn't remove feelings of disconnectedness that many front-line employees feel.
