Farmers Group Reviews

Pros

Pay and benefits are comparable to other companies.
FIG pays overtime
Opportunity to go on CAT duty sometimes if you want
Company car
Work from your house

Cons

Quality assurance runs the company. Every decision made while at a claim is prefaced by the thought, how can I justify this to get a good QA score?
You can't set your own schedule; appointments are made for you. When you have a large territory this means a lot of driving; last month I drove over 4,000 miles.
It's a large company and you don't feel valued as an employee. You're given the impression that anyone can do your job and you are expendable.
If you don't meet your QA and customer service scores you are put 'on par' which means if you don't get it together you'll be fired.
You have to regurgitate info in a claim and write a novel about why you did something. The file can't stand on it's own because QA will second guess you.
You can get OT but you have to plan ahead and ask for it ahead of time. As if you can see the future and know when you will need to work late.

Advice to Senior Management

Treat your employees like they have a brain. This position requires a bachelor's degree for a reason. It's not all about the money. If employees aren't happy they're going to leave but I don't think management cares.

Pros

They spend a lot of time and money training you to be successful - from laptops, phones, etc. to 2 and 3 week classes across the country.

Cons

In the office I worked in, it felt like only a few select people advanced. I don't think I would have moved up much if I had stayed there for a long time.

Advice to Senior Management

Even new people have a lot to offer - the training is really great just work on the encouragement back in the home office.

Pros

Working with the agents is the best part

Cons

Everything to do with the management of Farmers

Advice to Senior Management

Try knowing what your talking about before giving advise.

Pros

time flexibility is the best pro.

Cons

you have to work like a horse and don't get fairly compensated. When you leave, you owe them money?

Advice to Senior Management

hire more professional management

Pros

The benefits package is good but getting less and less each year. Some departments allowed flexible work schedules. Convenient cafeteria with decent food.

Cons

Somewhat unfriendly atmosphere. Not customer friendly in their processes and procedures. Not enough quality support for agents. Developed a severance package policy and promoted it as a new benefit for employees.

Advice to Senior Management

Farmers was successful for many years in spite of itself. Investments have been made to help bring in new business but very little has been invested in the servicing of business or delivering the promise. This is a great time to focus on providing a great customer experience and bringing the companies processes into the current century.

Pros

Farmers has a career path that allows for individuals to advance at a fairly reasonable time. Management tries to make changes but thanks to the lawsuits, the workplace has become more of a babysitting feeling than an adult works here type of place. Compensation is average to below average. The benefits used to be amazing. Health insurance was reasonable, the profit sharing was great and the month of profit sharing was a party. It really made you feel valuable to the company. With the move to Zurich, profit sharing is now one week and the guidelines are so stringent, getting off the phone for call center employes removes most of the activities available to them. Places change so it is something to get used to.

Tuition reinbursement is great if you are getting a business associated degree. They paid for my education. I think they are a somewhat fair company to work for depending on your position.

I feel that upper managment really cares about the employees and they aredoing all they can to be good liasons between Zurich and the Farmers employees. Yet when it gets to middle management, there seems to be a disconnect. The VP's will travel around and say grat things and make you feel good about the company you work for, yet, when their vision is put into practice by mid levels, everything falls apart. David Travers and Bob Woudstra and those around them seem to just "get it". Once you leave their presence, it is more of a sheep vs. wolves atmosphere. There is a department whose sole job is to increase employee morale or engagement. Great idea, now put the money behind it to move it along. It is amazing at how diffferent the employee engagement survey is when employees actually feel valuable and not despised.

Farmers is well run and very conservative. So the technology is a bit behind and they are covering flesh wounds with bandages for the time being. But having over 8 million policy holders, it takes time change a system based on old technology and code.

An honest company who I think wants good things for their employees.

Cons

The non-exempt employees are treated as children. The mid level exempt employees are over-worked and not thanked enough and the leadership, sometimes one questions WTH... Depending on location the supervisor job can be heaven or hell. Some of the directors are complete idiots who care about nothing but themselves and treat those around them like they are in the way whereas others really show they care about the employees. Leadership training is little to none. So if you are not a good supervisor before you get the position, you will not become one. Sometimes they promote based on performance but my experience is, they promote based on favortism. The matrix system is one that can be manipulated and weighted to promote the individual they want in the position. And, your leadership can sabatoge your career with one salary review that is not exceeds expectations. The promotional capabilities really fall under how well does your direct leader like you. Performance is questionable. I have seen individuals who are amazing with their co-workers get turned down for leadership because they think the friendships will get in the way of their ability to criticize and employee in review times. So then they hire the heartless individual who has no people skills and we lose some great employees.
Idea stealing is rampant because you can be promoted based on one good idea. So there is a wall up around employees who have been here a while.

Leadership could do better at recognizing talent and rewarding jobs well done. They moved form cash spot bonuses to a point system and now instead of receiving cash for something you have done, they divy up the points to small groups and say, take this 5 points and buy yourself a pack of bubble gum.

Middle-management has serious issues. They think that everything that comes out of their mouths is the greatest thing for the industry. A wise manager said this, "The industry is over a hundred years old, you ar selling a policy and covering claims. Don't make it harder than it needs to be."
Middle management seems to read the newest books then implement the easiest parts of the ideas without any follow through. then when problems arise they jump to new books and blame the process for te issues and not themselves. It is somewhat funny at times and painful at other times to watch. Then again, they are just people trying to make it along in this lonely life.

Advice to Senior Management

Pay well for great leaders and cultivate that trusting feeling between management and personelle. As bad as the economy is, the best people can still find jobs with companies that respect them and will pay them for a job well done. If you really want to become the premiere company, your middle managers are the ones that need to take your vision to the employees.

Pros

good products to sell, helpful customer service, brand name, ability to choose office location any place desired. discount on insurance for employees.

Cons

no effective training for sales or financial products, keep on raising premiums and lowering coverage so that agents lose clients and have to replace them by spending more money,

Advice to Senior Management

having better training programs for new agents would be a first step into building better more profitable agencies, also discussing premiums and coverge with agents,

Pros

Farmers has large presence in Kansas City and seems to be always hiring. There are plenty of growth opportunities. You can start as Customer Service Representative and transfer after one year. Within that first year you can graduate to underwriting while increasing your pay. If you somewhat driven the advancement opportunities are very good. The average pay may be a little low compared to some. Farmers does have profit sharing or what's called STIP now. That helps boost salaries.

Cons

The starting pay would be the major complaint. Depending on your position it can be a highly monitored and structered environment. The ability to make meaningful change.

Advice to Senior Management

Think things thru, don't always chase the almighty dollar.

Pros

The harder you work the more you will makes.

Cons

Home office/underwriting needs help. Customer notified prior to agent on any policy problems

Advice to Senior Management

Keep your agents informed, by notifing them first on any policy problems.

Pros

Great time off benefits, competitive pay, plenty of opportunity for advancement, weekly performance reviews, laid-back working environment, respect and support from management

Cons

Constant system issues that create angry customers and agents, slow to fix on-going problems and communicate known issues to customer service reps, ineffective training upon hiring and then little follow-up to mitigate the problem. Must rely on peers to find answers, which are largely incorrect.

Advice to Senior Management

Ask employees what we think is important since we deal with the everyday issues. You are focusing on all the wrong things to update and improve upon. Reassess your priorities.