Pros
The Standard is making some very positive structural and cultural changes. There is a growing culture of mentorship. There is great corporate support and many opportunities for professional development and career advancement. The company is on solid financial footing so the recent financial crisis has been less painful for us than for many in our industry. We have developed some bold and industry-changing ideas that are making us all proud. Also, there has been a recent movement toward sharing with our own employees some of the same benefits that we offer customers through our products and services.
Cons
Although I keep hearing that progress is being made, the benefits package is really not what it could be. I was attracted to The Standard by starting pay that was about 15% higher than the top of my previous employer's pay scale for my profession. But at the end of 12 months, with family medical expenses, this move actually resulted in about 5% net loss in total compensation because of the relatively poor benefits package. It also doesn't help that the benefits are so complicated to manage. It's rather analogous to someone assembling a computer from cheap components, then having to use a dozen complicated work-arounds to operate it. There seems to be no practical way for an applicant to know about this before accepting a job offer, but neither would it have been a deal breaker for me. With generous merit pay increases, I was able to get back into the black within about 15 months.
