Florida Blue Reviews

Pros

Lots of good people and large enough to have varied types of jobs

Cons

Senior mgmt gets huge salaries while the lower ranks get benefits shrunk every year. Too small decreases in benefits to quit, but they add up over a few years. Lots of politics.

Advice to Senior Management

Look below the Ivory Towers to see what's happening at the lower ranks if you really care about an efficient operation more than your huge salaries. Most employees joke about the constant reshuffling of Sr. Management and the huge salaries while others get squeezed for a few dollars.

Pros

Blue cross and Blue Shield of Florida is a pretty big company with a lot of history that provides opportunity for advancement if you can work through the political hoops.

Cons

The downside is all the politics within the company. A lot of times it is about who you know not what you know.

Advice to Senior Management

Set the bar for all employees equal. Base it on education and experience not who the person knows. Also ensure management within the organizations are fit to lead those organizations and have the appropriate skill sets.

Pros

Good Management, fun job, great co-workers, learning new skills, ever changing environment, great benefits package, on-site YMCA, and good salary.

Cons

Interns are cherished by management but sometimes frowned upon by co-workers. The cafeteria food is not the best and meeting rooms are always reserved. No tuition reimbursement and awful pto policy for interns!

Advice to Senior Management

BCBSFL is a great company to work for but interns should receive better benefits including pto that gives more than 12 hours per 1000 hours worked as well as tuition reimbursement.

Pros

Way back when, it was a great company to work for. I actually thought I would retire from BCBSF. However in the last 4 years, things have drastically changed. Upper management claims to be cutting costs, but the upper tier continues to receive skyrocketing salaries and bonuses. The cost cutting is all coming from the "reorganization" of work and subsequent layoffs.

Cons

You have to speak the language and live the BCBSF culture. Promotions are applied for and rarely given. BCBSF is no longer a stable place to work. For the past few years, layoffs have been announced every single year.

Advice to Senior Management

Take care of your providers and clients, particular small business owners. They are your bread and butter. Taking away their local representation is not an encouragement for them to do business with BCBSF.

Pros

401k and health benefits, although the health benefit premiums have more than doubled for employees over the past couple of years

Cons

Constant threat of lay-offs creates low moral and stress at both, work and home. I've been a nervous wreck for a year, can't sleep and have additional health issues.

Advice to Senior Management

Employees are required to grow the business and maintain and/or increase member and provider satisfaction. With billions in assets as a non-profit company, lay-offs are not necessary. You're laying of some of your best employees and in previous times, you've re-hired for those laid off positions within the following year, doesn't make sense. You're hurting the community and creating more uninsured people trhoughout the State of Florida

Pros

BCBSFL offers an excellent benefits package. I have not seen one that would compare with any other employer I have interviewed with. Your benefits begin on day 1 of employement rather than having to wait the standard 90 day period. The benefits are pretty comprehensive and cover Medical, Dental, & Vision. If you select a high deductible health care plan, you pay very little out of pocket for health care costs. BCBSFL sets up a Health Care Savings Account for you and makes yearly deposits into it. They deposit $1,500 yearly if you are an "exempt" or salaried employee. They offer 401(k) match up to 6% and after 1 year of employement they offer an additional match. Paid Time Off also begins accruing on day 1 of employement. Because they allow you to accrue time off instead of just "assigning" you a set # of weeks per year, you can accrue up to 4 full weeks off during your first year.
They are also very flexible with time off. I found out I was pregnant only 2 weeks after starting my job and they were very understanding about working with me regarding doctors appointments.

Cons

Salary and compensation is NOT on par with the job duties. You would be able to leave BCBS under normal circumstances and begin working with a different employer in the same capacity and make 10-15% more than you would at BCBS. I believe they feel since their benefits package is so lucrative they can pay subpar wages. The company has announced layoffs twice already in 2009 and it is only April! Also, several individuals who received an "above average" rating on their annual review did not receive a raise. Moral is very low and management lives in their own little "bubble".

Advice to Senior Management

Pay attention to the "little people" who take care of the day to day. These are the people you will lose if you continue down the same path you are currently on. These are the people who are your bread and butter and who interface directly with your customers. These are the people who make you successful and keep you in business.

Pros

Its a large, stable company, extremely good pay and benefits, and most jobs require 40 or less hours of work each week. The stress level is very low, the people are friendly, the facilities are excellent. Process is stressed above results, so if you have had any government experience, you will fit right in. A very bureaucratic organization, so if you learn the right paperwork, the right rules, can make pretty PowerPoint presentations and can say yes to maintaining the status quo, you can advance quickly. If you agree with others constantly, you can advance to a $200,000 job very quickly.

Cons

If you are a results oriented individual who enjoys change and challenges, you will be quickly disappointed. You must learn six-sigma techniques even in situations where they are clearly inappropriate.

Advice to Senior Management

You have an outstanding brand, a great network of doctors and hospitals, an enviable location in Florida, and a loyal customer base. You are significantly overstaffed in the administrative areas, which inhibits new initiatives and money saving ideas.

Pros

Biggest employer in county, good benefits, convenience locations, nice facility, variety of jobs, nice people work there, and company is a well respected employer in community. You can learn a lot there but don't think of it as a career -- think of it as a training job and then move on.

Cons

Women have few management opportunities. The company is wealthier than ever (with record number of customers, highest reserves ever, and highest revenues) yet they are laying off and outsourcing. In addition, they are doing it in a stupid fashion, laying off the people with corporate knowledge and outsourcing the work overseas. Raises are few and far between, management is very dysfunctional and they mess with your head. A friend was laid off two weeks after winning a major award for being a great employee. People are denied raises and promotions, yet are given little chocolate kisses with thank you notes. The broadbanding salary ranges keep you from ever getting a raise. Most people have job titles and are in lower salary broadbands, yet are performing duties above that title and broadband -- for years at a time -- and are not promoted or given raises. Many people think age discrimination is happening with the layoffs, but to get a severence package we have to sign a contract saying we won't sue.

Advice to Senior Management

Stop the lying. People are not stupid and you are fooling no one.