Health Net of California Reviews

Pros

I no longer know because they have outsourced many functions and I believe it is now a very different place than when I worked there.

Cons

Outsourcing has caused problems for the general population.

Advice to Senior Management

none

Pros

The pay is good. The benefits are great. If you find a department you love stay there.

Cons

They hold back important information from employees i.e. financial trouble which led to reduction in force.

Advice to Senior Management

Before you discipline an employee, get all of your facts right. I was retaliated against because I was out on worker's compensation. I went from an exceptional employee to an employee that was put on probation within a 3 month time. I ended up going out on stress and eventually got laid off while out on disability.

Pros

Decent benefits, good working enviornment

Cons

Typical highly bureaucratic HMO, communication with Sr. management is unidirectional

Pros

For most part there is open information sharing within the company. People are cooperative and happy to assist in projects. The management tries to make employees feel valued.

Cons

Opportunities for advancement might be somewhat limited. Management seems to change strategy every 6 months. The company had been going through a series of layoffs. There isn't a feeling of stability within the company.

Advice to Senior Management

Try to chart a clear course for the company and stick to it. Constant changes make the employees lose faith in the management.

Pros

Great benefits all around. Work / Life balance is good. Great people to work with. Very loose / laid back culture.

Cons

Out of touch leadership. Leadership not seriously in tune with the needs of the business. More talk than action. No aspiration from management to grow, nor compete in the marketplace.

Advice to Senior Management

Hold all levels of management accountable. Too many leaders are there to pick up a paycheck and have no interest in moving the company forward.

Pros

The salary and benefits are standard for the market. The office buildings are convenient to restaurants, shopping malls, freeways and local transportation.

Cons

Lay-offs, budget cuts, and shareholder performance pressure are the norm for Health Net.
Opportunity for advancement is slim if you are not in Sales or a Sales-related support position.

Advice to Senior Management

Health Net underwent 12 re-organizations in the past 4 years. Poor decisions are being made re: leadership, operations, and the strategic direction for the company. Health Net struggles to maintain market share while ineffectually doing little to improve customer service and retention. Every aspect of company operations is problematic, and often poorly planned "band aid" solutions are put into place that only exacerbate the problems and frustrate employees and customers alike (Health Net's typical method of correcting for these misguided efforts is more lay-offs and budget cuts). Perhaps it's time for Health Net to seriously consider acquisition by another health plan.

Pros

relaxed work place, good training and nice coworkers

Cons

outdated softwares, lack of documentation

Advice to Senior Management

need to do better on documenting things

Pros

Health Insurance is a safe bet in today's economy. Health Net is the last regional insurer left in California adding a competitive edge. Salaries and benefits are decent, including a $5k annual tuition reimbursement. PTO allowance is graduated based on years worked and severance packages are 1 month salary for 1 year worked (up to 12 months). Internal career growth is good if you have ambition to apply for jobs that will challenge your skills.

Cons

Health Net has gave in to industry pressure to outsource many operational areas including claims and IT. While Health Net is one of the last to do so, it is unfortunate to see jobs going offshore. Like any large company, getting things done can be difficult here. People and negotiating skills are a must.

Advice to Senior Management

I would say they need to focus on making small yet high impact projects successful before tackling the major multi-year projects that always seem to fail. The company needs to become much more agile and efficient. Smaller projects are often what makes a difference to our goals and profitability yet they seem to given the least resources and the most red tape.

Pros

The health benefits are good, 401K, PTO

Cons

No promotions. Raises are small

Advice to Senior Management

Compensate your employees for the good work done.

Pros

Health Net is a convenient company to work for. It's not rocket science. There is generally a lot of technologies that one can work on yet you need to seek out the opportunities and teach yourself if you want to learn them. One can generally expect a yearly merit increase of 2%. Generally the older the team the more stable the job. Health Net has gone though many changes over the years. It's current state is shaky, but in time the dust will settle. This happens about every 3 to 4 years in the company. I wouldn't relocate to work for this company.

Cons

Is there a perfect company to work for? If so they are few and far between. Health Net is no different being a public company. Driven by stockholder demands for a good quarter. The problem with working for Health Net is that some of us actually care about the product we produce and the people in the real world that we affect. With the rush of applications and products that being installed there is no time to make what we have work better and more reliable. We generally always are putting out fires and while trying to implement something new.

Advice to Senior Management

Explain Better, Cheaper and Faster and how this applies to the systems and applications we support.