Gallagher Bassett Services, Inc. Reviews

Pros

Great atmosphere to work in everyday

Cons

Big company enviornment is sometimes difficult

Pros

The fact that they grant you time off for family reasons. When it comes to family they are very supportive.

Cons

No room for advancement opportunities. Satellite offices do not get the same opportunites as the main office. Though communication is always open.

Advice to Senior Management

Actually this is for the leadership of Medinsights. The supervisors/management really need to get more training in leadership roles in order to be leaders.

Pros

Gallagher manages many interesting accounts, and I personally developed relationships with those accounts that are strong today. I was able to earn more supervisory experience, with increased exposure to issues outside my supervisory territory and jurisdictions. I was priviledged to work with a team of talented, supervisors, experienced adjusters and support staff.

Cons

Most of the adjusters I supervised were handling caseloads that were extremely high in comparison to industry standards, and was not permitted to increase staff. Customer service and efficiency suffered as a result, and caused many to become frustrated, underappreciated, and ultimately leave the company. Communication between upper management and the "rest of us" was meager, at best.

Advice to Senior Management

Communicate open and honestly with your staff. Salary ranges should be reconsidered.
There is an incredible pool of experienced, talented claims people in this state. , Salary restrictions poor communication and a general feeling of being "underappreciated" , leads to unmotivated, non-productive employees who find themselves updating their resumes, with one foot out the door.
I understand new management/leadership is in place, and hope the best for Gallagher. I cannot comment on Mr. McKenna as his name was never mentioned during my tenure at Gallagher

Pros

Gallagher Bassett promotes out-of-the-box thinking and resourcefulness. It is not a cookie-cutter insurance company. It boasts a laid-back atmosphere and would never be considered "stuffy". When presented with opportunities to leave for higher pay, I couldn't help but think of all the things I love about my current position and I've made the decision to stay in my current position because money can't buy happiness.

Cons

While being laid-back is often a plus, there are some who are a little TOO laid back. Conversations sometimes get too loud and profanity bounces off the walls. The work/life balance needs some work, but this seems to be the case with every insurance company I've ever worked for (with the exception of one).

Advice to Senior Management

Leadership training for supervisors and managers would be great, especially if feedback from the adjusters was solicited as this would both help supervisors/managers to improve and would allow the adjusters to feel they had a part in the growth of the management team.

Pros

- Fantastic people for the most part.
- Managers are (in the main) clued up and understand the business.
- Great place to work for internal promotion on the claims side of the business, it's more difficult in the supporting functions, but that's only because of the size of the business.
- Relaxed atmosphere, short notice holidays, time off etc is not a problem.
- Great social scene if you like that sort of thing.

Cons

- Sales team make it up as they go along, they promise a level of service that just can't be delivered with the existing workloads everyone has.
- Clients are sometimes taken on at too low a price, yet still promised great service.
- Salary / benefits are nothing special. If you don't force them into it, you won't get any extra money / decent raises.
- No bonus scheme outside of the sales team, yet it's adjusters, account managers, office managers etc going the extra mile that is often the reason for keeping clients on board.
- IT systems / department are a complete shambles.
- Rely too heavily on young (read cheaper) people. Sometimes more senior positions need to be filled from someone outside the company with more experience.

Advice to Senior Management

- Reduce adjusters workloads to the levels written in the marketing material handed out to potential clients, so that clients can be serviced properly.
- Sort out the IT.

Pros

35 hour a week job - 40 hours and 1 hr paid lunch

Cons

pay, benefits, no bonuses, nominal vacation time

Advice to Senior Management

add bonuses, modernize benefits including vacation time, compensate people for what they are worth

Pros

Good pay, ok benefits. Flex time granted with the possibility to work from home on occasion. Vacation time is also good

Cons

Very demanding work load. Claims assistants are not competent. No opportunity for advancement. High caseloads. Upper management doesn't listen when presented with issues.

Advice to Senior Management

Listen to your colleagues when they bring issues to your attention. They know the day to day issues. You have lost a lot of great employees because of your failure to take action

Pros

The pro's are that depending on your supervisor it you can have a lot of freedom at GB. If you are getting your job done for the most part you will find that management will leave you alone and let you come and go as you please. If you are a go getter you can even work from home if you are approved to do so your management. The people in my experience are knowledgable and most are nice enough and will give advice if asked. There are on-line trianing courses that will help you further your edjucation in an area yu select if you can find the time to do it.

Cons

Computer systems are outdated and slow. They have attempted to move to a paperless system which has been a nightmare. If you did not get what you wanted when you came in the door $$$$ then you got screwed because who knows when your going to get a raise and if you do it will probably not be much of 1. 2% is normal if they give a raise. The gossip (caused by the lack of comunication from management to peons) is a horrible. Be prepared to go to a company who has outsourced part of its work force to India and no doubt will be sending more jobs overseas as any ME TOO company will do if they think it will save a few $. Dont get mad when the execs get there 3 mil bonuses in stock options and you got nothing because they worked hard for that money and the people who own stock voted to give them that.

Advice to Senior Management

Quit crunching the numbers and look around for a few minutes. Then if you think you can go sit at an an employees desk for about a week. Not just 1 employee but 1 in every position. See if you could do that job for a week and with the trianing that we received when we where hierd. Here you go theres your desk Hop to IT.

Pros

They allow telecommuting, which is the only perk.
Coworkers are nice but everyone is overworked and overstressed.
There is 401 K plan, they will match up to 6%
Minimal Medical benefits.
They have not cut our pay, but there have been no raises for over 3 years.
Office Admin manager assists with license renewals, that is a HUGE help.

Cons

Excessively high workloads
Phones and computer systems go down quite often.
Technology is very behind the times.
Morale is very low and workers are over stressed.
The turnover is down because of the slow economy, but pretty much everyone is looking for other opportunities and leave when they can.
There does not seem to be any attempt to retain staff.

Advice to Senior Management

Lower case loads to a reasonable number. Allow input from supervisors and adjusters to define what a reasonable workload is. This will vary between accounts and claim types. This will increase work quality, closing ratios and overall client service. Not to mention a huge increase in morale.
We need an adequate number of technical staff to assist the adjusters, not to just complete office projects.
Split workloads by complexity not just by account. Large losses should go to those who are experienced enough to handle them. Those losses that have nominal value, minimal complexity with quick turnaround times should go to a special unit.
Sales staff should coordinate with claims regarding what service requests are within reason. To promise services that cannot be adequately provided do not make us look good to clients. Some requests impede the work flow and are not necessary. If those promises are being made, there have to be enough staff to adequately provide the service, regardless of what the numbers are..
Supply the tools to do the work. Phone systems that go down, antiquated printers, copiers and IT systems make it difficult to do the basics. When they are down constantly for repairs or system problem, that stops productivity and costs money in down time.

Pros

there are no reasons to want to work here

Cons

poor compensation
incompitant management
hostile work environment
inefficient equipment

Advice to Senior Management

Staff branches with management that actually have management skills and an IQ greater than a kindergartner