State Farm's new direction is uncertain -- perhaps not a good company anymore
Pros
I've worked at State Farm for 3+ years. 1. Pay is OK for this area, especially if you factor in the Pension. Note that pension is NOT the same as a 401K as the investment risk falls on the Employer and it's fully insured by PBGC so your retirement is pretty much "guaranteed". 2. I'm an exempt employee so I don't feel all that micromanaging that people are talking about here. Yes, there is 1-1 with manager each week, or every 2 weeks, but that depends on whether you like to have them and you are not required to have them. I don't see that as micromanaging, but an opportunity to communicate my progress and my concerns with management and they can communicate their expectation to me. It creates a more productive environment. 3. The time off system has been changed -- it wasn't as good as before, but still great compared to other companies I've worked for. Some complains about limited sick days versus unlimited sick days before. I can't see how this is a valid complain -- I don't know any company that gives unlimited sick days so this is rather just eliminating abuse. 4. Some perks are nice -- SF park activities, discount programs such as Hertz rental car, local services, restaurants....etc. They also give you three fully paid trips to places like Hawaii, Bahamas, or Canada if you study and obtain the corresponding insurance designation. Also they pay for your masters once you complete a designation but degree must be relavant to your current role. 5. Depending on the department, work life balance can be good, but given recent company underperformance, that'll likely change (if it hasn't already). 6. Lets you move to different positions, but this will like be more restrictive going forward.
Cons
1. Annual raises are controlled by the enterprise and NO department can go over the cap of 2.5% on average -- seriously? 2.5%? Taking into account current inflation, you are giving your employee a 0.3% raise for good performance. 2. Way too difficult to change anything around here. All this preaching about "Change" from senior leadership but the fact is you can't change anything. Senior leadership perhaps already has a vision for the company or its subsidiaries and they aren't going to take "no" for an answer. I feel they care about their bonus and "making things look good" more than actual, organic growth. 3. SF puts in layers of "validation" functions but in reality they are just multiple people playing "devil's advocate". I get the "Three lines of defense", but at SF, it's more like 5+ lines. I would recognize their value if they actually add any. However, the reality is most of those people are completely unqualified to give any opinion. They hire students straight from college with zero industry experience to "audit" a process that they probably have no clue whatsoever. As a result, most of those "oversight" functions come up with "findings" that makes absolutely no sense. Yet, we must deal with it because it's a "finding". Instead of giving some real and useful advice, these multiple layers of "defense" functions have this "got you" kind of mentality. They are really a backward and impeding force. We can build a better forecasting model in 3 weeks, but to get it validated, we must push it through those "defense" functions which may take a year or more. Most of us who have 10+ years of industry experience and a Master's or PhD just don't want to deal with this kind of absurdity and hence we'd rather keep our mouth shut when people asks us if there's a better model. The end result? Departments end up using outdated models that are producing huge errors. 4. Retaliation -- many people come in with new and legitamate ideas, but director-level managers are often unwilling to listen -- they encourage constructive feedback, but as soon as they remotely sense you want to challenge them, you'll face strong passive agressiveness. 5. I have not directly dealt with the Enterprise Claims department. However, I heard from people who works there that they are completely burned out and they are not treated as human beings. Senior Management doesn't seem to understand that failure to treat your client facing employees with dignity is what's driving the current losses. 6. Location -- It's the middle of nowhere here. It used to be okay because SF once promised that they'll never have layoffs and will place people elsewhere in the organization to the best extent they can. NOT the case anymore. Laid off workers will likely have to sell their homes at a loss and move elsewhere. 7. A lack of transparency -- with the recent tumoil in the company, little was communicated to us as to why is this happening and what is being done to improve customer service ratings and stop losing policies. 8. Division of labor -- they want to hire the most talented people, but fails to give them suitable tasks. As a result, talented people are not using their skills and their growth prospects are dim -- they soon leave the company. 9. You can help yourself with a free glass of tap water. Soda is $2 in the cafeteria, double what I pay at McDonald's. Starbucks machine on 2nd floor, but pricier than the actual Starbucks store. 10. Medical benefits are not good -- 5000 deductible HSA being the ONLY option. Yet cost goes up each year by at least 5% whereas your salary goes up by only 2.5% or less.
