Bankrate – “Change is not always good or bad, just different.”

Pros

-Good career opportunities exist for those who care about their jobs and perform well.

-People who do not care about their jobs, typically do not last long.

-Industry Leader
-Good Benefits
-Location downtown is superb
-Free coffee, soda, snacks, catered food on occasion
-Young professionals make the culture much more enjoyable
-Company always advertises new positions internally and does look to promote within whenever possible.

Cons

Bankrate is extremely corporate, and as a result things tend to move at an excruciatingly slow pace. Everything from a new entry level hire, to when you can use the restroom, seems to have to be approved by Bankrate corporate, which is an excruciating process in and of itself.

There appears to be a duplication of efforts between the executive team that was put into place by Bankrate to run the Insurance vertical, and the executives in New York who appear to be trying to maintain control of a company whom they never visit.

After the Acquisition of NetQuote.com and the subsequent merger between NetQuote and Insureme, the culture definitely became much more of a politically motivated environment, than a results motivated environment. As a result, many key individuals have left the company in search of a more desirable work environment, and some have actually been fired for giving their honest feedback to the executive team.

Bankrate no longer hires directly for service and sales related positions. Rather, they hire through a temp agency which provides disposable employees at extremely low pay who come and go without ever really learning the business, or having any motivation to perform.

Bankrate appears to be running the company at an extremely high margin as almost none of the employees who have left have been replaced. This has left the remaining employees disgruntled as there has been little to no attempt to secure the remaining employees who continue to work hard for the company, other than the possibility of a company standard 3% annual pay increase.

Advice to Senior Management

Why put an executive team in place if you do not trust their ability to make good decisions for the company?

Start filling the positions of those who will left to show that you are committed to your company. Without committing to your employees, no employee will commit to your company.

Stop hiring temps to do the most important jobs (which is retaining your customer base).

Offer incentives for performers, and recognize those who perform.