Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island Reviews

Pros

They treat people well in general unless you are truely awfull at your job. advancment within the company is very posible

Cons

uncertain future direction of business model and corporate culture. There have been multiple recent changes at the top and it is too soon to tell how it will all work out.

Advice to Senior Management

Focus on eficiancy. Stop the across the board stuff and try to focus on the areas that underperform. Calm the employees who are stresed due to nearly continous cut backs.

Pros

Great fringe benefits (free Health insurance, discount on gym memberships, dental, 3 week paid time off - which includes sick and personal time). Wellness programs, such as yoga, help with stopping to smoke, nice downtown location, close to the Providence Place Mall (everyone eats in Panera).

Cons

Everyone does their work quietly. People whisper when in someone's cube. If you want to speak in normal tone you go to conference room. Teams of 3-4 people work on their own assignments and despite the department meetings often teams don't know what other teams are doing. Difficult to move from one team to another. Such a large company that you might only know your immediate neighbors and coworkers you work with. Poor communication between departments.

Advice to Senior Management

Communicate with team members. Ensure that departments communicate with one another. Let the information flow between departments. More "all company" meetings (instead of once a year in Trinity). Have HR create a directory that explains what department does what and who the employees of that department are (with phone numbers and titles). Unblock yahoo mail.

Pros

Very ethical comapny offering fair salaries and great benefits

Cons

Lots of politics live everywhere else.
Towered thinking
Poor review of impacts prior to implementation of significant organization restructuring.

Pros

Flexible work schedule. Nice people.

Cons

Layoffs every year. Paying for parking.

Pros

Good benefits and time off.

Cons

No place for advancement for strong employees.

Advice to Senior Management

Stop laying off people.

Pros

A pay check and good benefits.

Cons

Out dated technology and older managers and workers are afraid of changing it. If you are in IT be ready to perform your work on outdated IBM Thinkpads and not having the proper software to do your job. Company lost over $100 million in 2009. Management have less years of experience and lower college degrees than the people they manage. Seems like people were in the same jobs for years. Very little advancement. Starting is higher than industry average but the raises are under industry average.

Pros

Blue Cross people are nice for the most part . The building is clean and new. They provide good benefits and ample vacation time.

Cons

They dont have the internal structure needed to move the company forward when dealing with the competiion. There is als a significant amount of 'good old boy' thinking which makes it difficult to get anything done. The management does not promote qualified individuals, only those whom they like. There are way too many managers and most are not qualified for the job they have. There is little support for new employees coming into the company, hence the frustration and a HUGE turnover rate.

Advice to Senior Management

Realize that you continue to be a major player only because of the political landscape within the state. In any other area of the country your practices and attitude would not be tolerated. If you wish to truly excel beyond your competitors then there must be a complete overhaul of the senior management. The executive leaders really don't know the real story. It is shielded by the bloated middle and upper middle managers. Also, decide what you want to be when you grow up; a claims processing company or a healthcare management one. You dont do either one very well at this time.

Pros

Nice Benefits: Excellent Health Ins. Coverage has a small employee contribution, Employees with less than 10yrs. receive 23 days Paid Time Off. 10yrs.+ receive 28 days in addition to 10 or 11 company holidays. 401(k)match, etc... lots of work / life balance type focus. Remote work options and flex time. Brand new building in downtown Providence, beautiful gym and cafeteria on the premises.

Cons

Advancement is practically nonexistent. You can have a job for life, but you better like it, because it will be your job for LIFE. Pretty much the biggest increase you'll ever see is 3%. Regardless of how well you perform, you'll being doing the same thing at the same pay, forever. The annual bonus is weak.

The company has adopted a "promote from without" approach both in Finance and IT where senior level hires both brought in "their people", effectively shutting out existing employees.

It's a non-profit, insurance company - progress occurs at a glacial pace. Mistakes are repeated, often.

Management communicates to the employees like they're talking to children.
The company has a bloated middle management layer - lots of chiefs, not enough braves.

VERY political environment internally.
The company took a $100 million loss in FY2009

Advice to Senior Management

Develop a mentoring culture. Listen to your employees. Reduce management. Hire more "doers" and fewer "meeting attenders". Fire incompetence. Judge accomplishments, not activity.

Pros

The people there are very nice.

Cons

The management is incompetent. There is internal power struggle for CEO position. They are loosing a lot of money and there franchise name could soon be at risk.

Advice to Senior Management

There needs to be strong leadership at the top. You need a new CEO.

Pros

Medical benefits are discounted. My colleagues were great, and are willing to help and answer questions. Experience in a different industry.

Cons

Management did not communicate. Management did not keep personal information confidential. In the department I worked in there was EXTREME favoritism. You are expected to do your job, and then any other job that they deem you should do. then, when you don't meet deadlines, and try to communicate the reason, you are told you are an incompetent failure. Management does not encourage feedback from employees

Advice to Senior Management

Leadership needs to get down into the rank and file to really know what is going on. There needs to be a way in which employees can talk to someone for guidance without feeling the conversation will get back to the department management, where there will surely be retribution.