Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Reviews

Pros

PTO, benefits, work life balance,

Cons

salary, work culture, career growth

Advice to Senior Management

do things to face-track top performers within the organization; promote information sharing

Pros

Position is central to the training effort of the entire group. Opportunities to work with multiple business units.

Cons

IDs have little support within training department. This is due to lack of training background for all managers within the department (the managers come from the various other business units). Poor Project management and portfolio management leads to overloaded IDs. Usually must serve also as a PM and curriculum manager. Technology is a full decade behind; zero opportunity challenging cutting edge projects. Finished projects are far below quality level and industry standards for training courses. Work Culture features unprofessionalism and severe distrust of work from home.

Advice to Senior Management

Those who manage training should have a training background in order to do so effectively and put in place the necessary processes. Middle management often does not even have a college degree, yet are leading teams of folks with Masters and years of training expertise. Soft skills amongst middle management are nearly non existent (very unprofessional environment from mid management down). Technology must be expanded and workloads relieved to allow upgrade of WBTs to the current industry level.

Pros

It's in a good location

Cons

The salaries are very low and the benefits cost twice as much as other employers

Advice to Senior Management

The Directors will throw anyone under the bus to preserve their jobs

Pros

Decent salary and decent benefits

Cons

This is a very political company. It seems like every VP hates every other VP. Directors acts like 3rd graders on the playground. Everyone is in constant CYA mode because of the politics. It is amazing that we actually get any work done around here.

Advice to Senior Management

Stop the politics. Make the VPs and Directors grow up and act like adults.

Pros

There are many positions offered to nurses in which they are able to work from home after a 1 yr trial period.

Cons

BCBS is forever changing rules, and processes. A bit like living in California in an earthquake zone. My biggest compliant was that nothing ever settles down before they decide to change something else, very stressful to employers and non productive.

Advice to Senior Management

Think out a proposed change, before implementing the change, and then discovering it's not working.

Pros

Compensation is great. Work with some dedicated and gifted colleauges.

Cons

Lack of commercial competition has bred an in-bred management culture out of tune with the industry & staff management

Advice to Senior Management

AVP's should be replaced across the board & new blood brought into the organization

Pros

Excellent benefits package. HR put together a really nice deal.

Cons

Speaking specifically about the IT side of the company, I'd have to agree with everything that the previous poster said (“The worst company culture I have ever seen"). The management is horrible and it's "Stone Age IT." It's a very top heavy organization and its very hard to get promoted or even recognition.
Definitely not an "Equal Oppurtunity Employer." Skill set, talent, accomplish and experience alone will get you nowhere here. You have to be on the "buddy list" to move up. And some of the most inexperienced people get promoted for whatever reason.

To be fair, there are a couple in management who are great to work for and can make life enjoyable. But overall, the management is horrible and people are dispensable.

It's a shame because there is talent on the ground scattered throughout the organization, yet there input is not valued. This can be a very frustrating place to work to say the least.

Advice to Senior Management

Cut management by half and stock up on talented individuals; and listen to them. And listen to the experts on the ground. This should and can be a pleasant place to work.

Pros

Good pay, good benefits, workout room, people on the phones in the call centers are dedicated to helping policyholders and providers.

Cons

I worked in the IT department. Managers treated employees with utter contempt and were rewarded for it, some project managers seemed to have no clue what they were doing, good employees who tried to make a difference were terminated without cause. This was truly the worst work culture I have ever seen.

Advice to Senior Management

I never saw nor interacted with "the leadership" at Blue Cross, but if this were a for-profit company I can't believe it would survive. I suspect that the problems with the culture start with "the tone at the top."

Pros

BENEFITS, BENFITS, BENEFITS!! Gym on site, free trips to nurse practioners on site, massages on site, nearly free health care coverage, the company promotes healthy lifestyles, great fitness classes offered int he gym. If you are a person that cares about your health, this company is for YOU!!, They are really trying to make sure that their employees are healhty. They've gone to the point that everything in the snack machines are healthy, no regular sodas can be found anywhere on site, water is about 50 cents a bottle, and you get reduced healthcare based on how healthy you are and what steps you've taken to improve your health.

Cons

Because of the benefits, the pay is going to be lower. Work anywhere except customer service, and you will be satisfied.

Advice to Senior Management

Listen to the people who work on the phones. They know the customers better than everyone else.

Pros

Working for Blue Cross and Blue Shield gives you the opportunity to be a part of a vital contribution to the community - by working for the state's largest health insurer.

Cons

The promotion process is very political

Advice to Senior Management

Please ensure that all employees have equal opportunity to advance. In some positions, it's very difficult to get time away for the job responsibilites to work on career development