Humana – “Not a good long-term career choice. Burn and churn environment with an autocratic management style.”

Pros

Great products, great client satisfaction, great public image. Happy providers. Health benefits could have been better, but overall benefit package was very comprehensive with reasonable employee compensation.

Cons

The public image of Humana and what went on inside the company were in conflict. I became tired of hearing how well the financials and profits looked, yet the expectations regarding work and home life balance were in many cases exploitive to the point of being unconscionable. The proper staffing was lacking, and the sacrifices were made by the employees and not Humana's bottom line. In many cases management did little or nothing to improve processes to save money, and laid out their "expectations" without solid basis (arbitrary) and with a very autocratic management style. Asking for feedback or listening to feedback was not an option. I felt the management in general were not good stewards of the premiums they collected except for how it looked to the shareholders. Many in management lack college educations and management training, and many came from jobs outside of the industry. There is a widespread air among management that they are a class apart from other employees. Unprofessionalism on the part of management is common in the way they communicate with and pressure employees. Employees in some cases were unreasonably withheld opportunities for time off that they had earned.

Advice to Senior Management

Hire qualified, educated management; hire from within the industry for management. Make cultural change in management philosophy and treatment of employees. Implement quality improvement programs utilizing employees to become better stewards of premiums and spending; solicit open and honest feedback from employees and act upon it. When there are abuses of power, act swiftly to investigate and correct the problem. Realize that in many cases Humana is successful in spite of its management, not because of it. Employees are your customers and are of incredible value, but that is something that needs to be felt, not just window dressing. I originally thought these were just regional issues, but now believe that there are management issues that go to the top level in some divisions. Whether this goes all the way to Mike McCallister is not known to me. It will take a major effort and conviction at the Sr. Mgmt level to change it's style of management. I would recommend bringing in experts and following their advice.