Pros
I don't believe there is a perfect company. This was a good place to work for along time. I stayed with Optum longer than any other company in my career. I was a Culture Ambassador and really believed in progressing the culture through the organization. I loved that we focused so much on volunteering and doing the right things. There are some very good and smart people who work at Optum and UHG. There are lots of learning opportunities. There is a LOT of communication. I loved being able to work from from and the flexibility it afforded. I LOVED my payer clients. They were all great, even when they had an issue that needed to be resolved. At times, people are rewarded for the good work that they do. The company continues to grow and gain traction in the marketplace. Overall, I would still recommend people work there as long as they know what they're getting into. I didn't leave because I wanted to.
Cons
The stated culture and actual behavior of the upper management team are incongruous. People are stretched to their limit and always asked to do more with less. The health benefit options have been terrible until this year, right when I was laid off! While there is a lot of communication, there is no tie to why it matters to anyone other than upper management. I was in the same position for nearly 8 years, taking on more and more and bringing on more and more business and it was not taken into account when the layoffs occurred. Upper management in my group did not understand my value and they played favorites. Too much money is spent on internal sales conferences, which are fun and VERY well done, but not enough on pay raises and bonuses for the people doing the work. It's very "what have you done for me lately?" Also, like most large corporations, it's very political and there is a lot of reliance on who you know rather than what you know. Employees are not truly valued. Finally, internal job postings are earmarked for people who they want to put in those positions. They are not true opportunities for all qualified candidates. Just go ahead and put the people in the those positions and stop with the pretense. It's insulting to everyone.