21st Century Reviews

Pros

Acquired some good friends as well as learned that a management title isn't always given to the most competent people.

Cons

There is no career path for those who would like to do something other than claims sales and management/ leadership.

Advice to Senior Management

Show more interest in your employee career goals. Be aware that everyone isn't interested in team management. Encourage growth rather than looking down on it.

Pros

Co-workers very friendly, but all stressed from overload.

Cons

Management doesn't have a clue what is manageable as far as workload. Everyone pushed to the limit and beyond.

Advice to Senior Management

Obtain feedback from your employees and LISTEN. 21st Century knew how to keep their employees satisfied, even after AIG took over. After the Farmers buyout, there was no compromise, it was Farmers way or no way.

Pros

A lot of opportunity to make money.

Cons

Micro management is very irritating

Advice to Senior Management

keep doing a great job

Pros

Great raising if you work hard, co-workers become like family

Cons

workload can make it stressful

Advice to Senior Management

Better communication between employees and corporate regarding changes in the company.

Pros

It's a call center so getting there on time is important and showing up when you're supposed to is also important. If you're not good about punctuality, you will be fired. If you are interested in building a career somewhere but not taking a lot of schooling, this could be a good place to go. The insurance industry is stable and they offer things like health insurance, time off and a pension plan.

Cons

The work is tedious. They are very backward when it comes to technology. You can't email anything so customers tend to get irritated when they email stuff and vice versa.

Advice to Senior Management

Take advantage of the technology that the 21st Century offers! There is virus scanning software so not emailing documents seems very un-21st Century. And the supervisors at the call centers need to be accessible. Finding one when there is a problem can be a challenge. Then you have to convince them to help you. Very frustrating.

Pros

They are always hiring because of high turnover. If you need a job and want to get an insurance license go for it, get your experience and then move on. Company benefits are comparable to most other call centers.

Cons

Good employees are over worked to make up for the slackers who play the attendance and phone systems games. As a Supervisor you are responsible for everything, but have the ability to do nothing to improve your group. Absolutely no work/personal life balance, the place runs on reports and presentations, none of which achieve anything. Pay is well below industry standard, reps on the phone make more than Supervisors and senior Management wonders why they can't get good Supervisors!

Advice to Senior Management

Actually to the management of Farmers, clean house in the Wilmington office, they are out of touch as to what is happening in the centers throughout the country. Bring in new, fresh minds and out with the GE/Colonial Penn clique.

Pros

You can work all the overtime you want and the pay is pretty good.

Cons

I was actually fairly happy with the company until a major management shake up, suddenly the entire office changed, I felt like I was working for another company. There was also many people that quit, which brought down the moral a great deal. After the management shake up.

Advice to Senior Management

Learn to value the employees and their contributions.

Pros

They pay for the insurance test and licensing.
The training for the test is very good.
It is a good entry in the insurance industry.

Cons

I was lied to in the interview. I was told by managers I would be earning on average around 40-50k. I listened to an average rep who made it look easy. It turned out that he was one of the top producers. I was told that most of the sales floor earns 40-50k when reality is, it's closer to 10%. Everyone else barely makes it. The Internal processes are totally opposite to what every other company in the Western World does. The software systems are beyond antiquated. The running joke is that the company should be called 18th Century Insurance. You had better be prepared to put in 50 to 60 hours a week if you want to hit the base monthly goal. The leads suck. People calling in just want their airline miles points, or points for their facebook game. They rarely know the current insurance they have. Once on the floor, don't expect any positive coaching unless you screw up. The managers offer no support for anything. You have to bring in your own office supplies. The overtime pay (If Correct) is paid two weeks behind while your regular pay is for the current week - Yes it's confusing to track your correct pay. The top leadership is nothing but double talk about how great things are going yet everyone is demoralized. The ones who are successful are the ones who get in a good que. It's all luck of the draw rather than sales skill.
I got into insurance because I thought it had higher ethics/standards, etc. but not here. It's all about get someone on the books as quick as possible. Badger a competitive quote until they buy or hang up and if the quote isn't competitive hang up and get to the next one.

Advice to Senior Management

All of you quit and get fresh blood in the leadership and management spots. Get rid of CSG leads

Pros

Middle and Senior Management worked hard and were very intelligent.

Cons

Many of the Managers seemed terrified to cause any waves with other Managers or their Superiors. The Waves I'm talking about are for example; (1) requesting reasonable project due dates, or (2) saying "No" to taking on a new project when the team is already busy up the ying-yang.

Advice to Senior Management

Don't only track how many customers have non-renewed or cancelled, examine why they took their business elsewhere. Sometimes it's the employee or Manager that needs to be let go.

Pros

Respect for the individual within my department. Very professional. Overall, excellent experience.

Cons

minimal interaction with other departments. Minimal communication on company performance.

Advice to Senior Management

Be more accessible and hospitable to new employees. Treat temps with respect.