Blue Shield Of California Reviews in Sacramento, CA Area

Pros

Not many IT jobs in Sacramento that is non-state. This one of them. They also use many of the newest technology. Work-Life balance is quite flexible.

Cons

Not a culture of execution. A lot of people who don't have current skills. Poor commitment to excellence and building the best solution.

Advice to Senior Management

You need to hire a different set of people into position. People who can execute and support the people who know what they're doing. Loyalty isn't everything.

Pros

First - I feel that in comparison to other companies, Blue Shield of CA has the best work life balance. I have a very flexible schedule, the ability to work from home and the ability to travel to other offices as needed. Having a creative position, the company allows me to work when I am at my peak, not the standard 8-5. This is not true for all position, as usual it depends on the manager you have.

BSC is working hard towards its goal of health care for all Californians. The company is also involved in many projects that will modernize the way they do business now, including internal tools to aid communications between employees. It’s still very behind the times in some aspects, but the path towards a “cooler” company is very engaging.

The company also has very nice offices, with gyms, cafeterias, good security, nice cubicles and landscaping. BSC also promotes community service and social networking. Many of the executives are very involved in the community and are just very good people in general. The company also has a wellness program that will greatly benefit their employees. Finally, the reason myself and many others are there for the long haul is the retirement package. The company offers a generous pension, 401(k) and retiree health benefits.

Cons

In my opinion, the company does not pay as well as the going rate, salaries should be much higher. The review process is a not top notch, and there is no 360 for managers. You have to "walk on water" to get a high mark in certain departments.

There are many issues with IT, mainly due to the leader of that function. The groups in our IT departments that are there to help you if you have trouble, or are in charge of our infrastructure (servers, etc) - are in many aspects are very unhelpful, backwards thinking, slow and frankly lazy at times. I think they should be required to take classes on current technology, and then use it.

Advice to Senior Management

Cut the dead-weight. Praise people who think outside the box. Allow more visibility into your departments, what they are doing. Share, we are all in this together, not in competition with ourselves. If there is a social event, show up. Support your employees, they deserve it!

Pros

Opportunities for professional growth and education, salary plus bonus plus time off is really good, company is supportive of telecommuting (however, not all managers support telecommuting). Buildings are well maintained and clean, and most locations offer a gym or discounted local gym membership. Company allows flex-time. Employees are updated regularly on projects and legislative changes via intranet and email.

Cons

Work-Life balance is not always possible, resources are not always available to support work load, commuting to San Francisco office when necessary can be challenging, promotions are not always justified for those who receive them (some managers are able to promote "favorites" instead of basing decision on merit).

Advice to Senior Management

Know what your upper management team is doing. It amazes me how many managers have no idea what is going on with their team right under their noses, and if the manager knows, they don't always deal with it, even when it is clearly promoting animosity amongst the team members or even other teams.

Pros

I really like what the company stands for and their non-profit status. They do a lot of work for the community. They are up-to-date on technology and sometimes offer cool perks. I enjoyed working for the actual company.

Cons

The biggest con to working for this company is that once you are in a department, you may be stuck there for life. One manager has the ability to crush your professional development, even if you are applying for another department. I am not receiving the growth opportunities I would like and feel very stagnant in my current position.

Advice to Senior Management

Keep up the good work but also realize that you may be losing good people because of lack of opportunity growth. Take staff concerns seriously!

Pros

Salary and benefits are good for a non-profit.
Good work/life balance
Nice facility
Good place to start learning about the healthcare environment.

Cons

Highly political and backstabbing.
Too much tolerance of unprofessional behavior
Not tolerant of new ideas, opinions or independant thought.
Fundamental middle management skills lacking.
Primitive IT environment.

Advice to Senior Management

Train your middle managers in fundamental managment skills.
Bring your IT environment up to date
Be open to new ideas and ways of doing things. Too much "Not Invented Here" syndrome.

Pros

The "people" want to do a good job
Middle management tries hard to create a good work environment
The 2006 roll-out of the "new" Blue Shield logo was a great success

Cons

Not rewarded for taking risks/punished for thinking independently and making decisions
Poor senior leaderhsip/no visionaries
Wearing people out - no work-life balance for managers and above
Spending too much money for system upgrades that ultimately won't improve speed/quality
Strategic Plan is a joke...

Advice to Senior Management

wait for it, wait for it...time to appreciate the people that brought BSC to where it is today (not the current leadership)

Pros

Opportunities to "grow" into roles. There is a strong desire to promote internal candidates

Cons

The technical infrastructure is limited and therefore requires manual manipulation and undocumented and ever-changing processes.

Advice to Senior Management

Company knowledge and needs to be systematically developed across a broader spectrum of employees.

Pros

excellent benefit package and training availability

Cons

Politics are rampant at this company. Departments are run by Directors who rarely have strategic plan or directions in mind and rarely give any direction or feedback to direct reports.

Advice to Senior Management

Watch what your directors are doing and their communication with their direct reports. Recognition and rewards are highly desirable and not communicated well at BSC. Employee morale is stagnant and requires an injection of fairness and respect for each employee at the company.