Symetra Senior Applications Developer reviews

1.0

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(1 total review)

Margaret Meister

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1 review
1.0
Apr 16, 2021
Recommend
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Pros

- Benefit package - 401k matching plan

Cons

- Poor salary - well below industry. - Salary increases small, even if your performance ratings are high. - Lots of in-fighting and backstabbing because pay increases are based on how well you outperform others on your team. - As a software developer, often had to work holidays and weekends because that is when they scheduled software updates. - Expected to be on call in evenings and weekends and still work a regular work week with no time off. For example: If you are called at 2:00 am in the morning for a Production problem and you work until 4:00 am to resolve it, you are still required to be at work at 8:00 am. No compensation or time off for the two hours you spent working on call issues. - Very poor Technology Department managers. They knew very little about the software systems, and very little about insurance. Because they didn't understand these two basic things, they didn't understand estimates and timelines for corrections or new development. They had no idea how long changes to the system should take. - More weight was given to the opinion of a longtime employee rather than someone relatively new to the company with more experience on the system and better analytical and software development skills. - Managers often made promises of promotions that they failed to keep and/or the manager who made the promise would leave the company and the employee would have to start all over 'proving' him or herself with a new manager. This happened at least three times to me in the four years I was with Symetra. Even went to the CEO after manager quit and showed her email proof of promise promotion and she "too bad, so sad". - Because there are many 'long time' employees at Symetra, many when the company used to be Safeco, you would expect a skilled and knowledgeable staff, but they were not. Symetra offered very little training or sill development. Even if you wanted to improve your skills, Symetra didn't allow you any time to do this due to the crazy hours you were expected to work. Because of this, their lack of understanding of the systems that they supported and insurance products in general made it a very difficult environment to work in.

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Symetra Response
5y
Thank you for providing your feedback which highlights several material concerns. Sometimes it can be difficult to hear tough feedback but it always helps us to learn if we have an open heart. Listening and responding to employee feedback is consistent with our commitment to empowering open and honest conversations as an essential part of the employee experience. My hope is that you were able to discuss your specific situation with your HR Business partner or a member of the IT Leadership Team to give them the opportunity to respond and improve your situation. On one key point, I am sorry to disagree with the premise that existing employees have an advantage over new people with outstanding skill sets. In our hiring process, we emphasize the importance of finding great people with outstanding skill sets. Our hiring mantra is that we should always expect to hire people smarter and more capable than the people participating in the interview. A rising tide lifts all boats. The new Talent and Product model introduced in 2020 aligns employees by functions and skill sets to enable our people to grow their careers by focusing on growing their professional skills and capabilities. Besides networking with people in similar roles, this new program requires that all employees spend a minimum of 10% of their time focusing on education and career management including workshops, mentoring, and continuing education. We absolutely understand the importance of investing in our people. I am sincerely sorry to hear about the issues you highlighted in your post – thank you for sharing. I promise that has not been part of my Symetra experience. I believe most of our current IT employees would say things are very good today. For anyone interested in working in a progressive company with some of the leaders in cloud technology and the business – we would love to hear from you.

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