Symetra Reviews

Current Employee – been working at Symetra full-time for less than a year

Pros – * Great location - near restaurants and the transit center.
* Competitive salary and good benefits package (including 401k match and generous stock purchase plan).
* Good worklife balance.
* Unlike many other companies in the area and/or in the same industry (including the company I left earlier this year), Symetra is in very good financial shape and is actually poised for growth.

Cons – * Change management - I'm ok with change, but feel that communication with employees could be better. I do believe that the company is moving in the right direction though.
* Like with most companies, employee experience/morale probably varies a lot by department. I can only speak for my own experience, which has been positive.
* Parking is expensive.

Advice to Senior Management – Senior management should work harder to communicate with and be visible to their employees.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at Symetra full-time for more than 7 years

Pros – Employees with some longevity are genuinely nice and would like to partner with others to build a sutstainable, successful company.

Cons – Execs are 97% white men who all worked together elsewhere before coming to Symetra. They don't have great reputations in the industry, so that puts a cloud over Symetra. (There is a buzz throughout the industry, but they are too arrogant to listen or to care.)
They pay each other very well and do a LOT of wining and dining each other at sporting events.
The managers are not leaders; they were handed the positions by their friends, so they have no idea what it means to empower employees or foster a positive work environment.
New employees actually make comments that they were hired because they are "smarter and better". In reality, they are arrogant and rude, and don't have a clue about this business.
HR violations take place on a daily basis, but nobody cares. Leaders yell and curse at employees on a daily basis as well. Everyone knows not to even talk to HR because management is called within seconds of an employee reporting a complaint. Retaliations runs rampant. That is the undercurrent of the new culture at Symetra.
Fear and intimidation define the culture. It's sad.

Advice to Senior Management – The Board of Directors needs to be reminded that Symetra is a publicly traded company. Please get rid of the executives who sit in their ivory tower on the 14th floor (in their newly-constructed offices) and spend millions on themselves (high salaries, ridiculous expense accounts, perks) without actually doing any work to bring sales in the door and replace them with true leaders who will focus on the value of their employees. Happy employees will do great things for an employer they can trust.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

Former Employee – worked at Symetra full-time for more than a year

Pros – They have good products and high papyouts

Cons – Their suport system is not that good

Advice to Senior Management – They need a better overall support system for their reps

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at Symetra full-time

Pros – Stable work evironment (if you can avoid the layoffs). Good location in Bellevue. Cool looking building but the interior office space is worn and has odd odors.

Cons – Design documentation is missing or outdated so good luck figuring things out. Old programs merged in over the years from various sources will give you a headache.

Average age of employees seems like 60 years old so you will feel out of place unless you enjoy working with grandparents who bumble around and can't make quick decisions.

Advice to Senior Management – Retire and bring in younger talent.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Symetra full-time for more than a year

Pros – 401k match.
good work/life balance.
good location.

Cons – majority of middle management/senior employees are old/inefficient.
higher positions are based on longevity/seniority within the company as opposed to knowledge/efficiency.

Advice to Senior Management – wipe out middle management and reopen the positions for interviews. many positions can be performed in a fraction of the current time.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at Symetra full-time for more than 7 years

Pros – Most non-management people are great and hard-working
Great location
Good benefits
401K

Cons – Lack of clear vision
Entering a very mature market at high costs. (Everyone is asking why are we doing that at all?)
Constantly shifting priorities
Executive Management cares more about their job security and perks than anything else
Politics are horrible, people being reprimanded if they voice their concerns openly
Interdepartmental conflicts and competition
Favoritism
Miniscule pay increase for worker bees, expenses and budgets being cut, while executive comp is growing by 30-40% per year (check out financial and executive comp info from public sources)
Many good, talented people left, some were let go. Waves of new out-of-town senior management people come and bring their own people with them, who are yet to prove themselves
Lack of managerial courage and responsibility - lots of finger pointing.

Advice to Senior Management – Instead of talking about willingness to make positive changes DO IT! I know management conducted polls and were "shocked" to learn how unhappy people were. Either there is a huge disconnect or you know the problem and don't want to admit it.
If you really want turn this around start actually doing what employees suggest, not what Divisional SVP thinks.
Also, minimize the gap in treatment and comp between senior/executive management and workers who actually make this company great.
Don't be afraid to reward and appreciate talented people. And stick to your promises.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at Symetra full-time

Pros – The company is financially solid. Great location (Bellevue)

Cons – Most of the employees are very old so change cannot happen here. If you work in IT, you will find yourself hating coming to work everyday. The carpet on the floors is old and it stinks.
This company is good if you are over 55 years of age and are looking for a place to retire and you have no more dreams.

Advice to Senior Management – Get rid of all your old managers and hire people under 30 years of age to manage your teams. Clean the building more. Find younger candidates to work in IT.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Symetra full-time for more than 10 years

Pros – Good location and people. Nice view

Cons – Going through too many changes

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at Symetra

Pros – - Some great coworkers
- Great location

Cons – - Managers are able to do things employees cannot (work from home often, etc.)
- Employees are afraid to share thoughts and ideas
- New senior management structure and resulting changes have put a lot of strain on the morale of remaining employees
- A lot of really great people have left the company through lay-offs or resigning because of changes

Advice to Senior Management – Remember that employees make the company great, managers often get credit for successes that their reports are responsible for.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Symetra

Pros – Great size of company - not too big, not too small - you have the ability to make a difference and influence the direction
Professional work environment
Smart co-workers - we are in a complex business and we have some of the best in the business
Lots of opportunity due to growth in every area of the organization

Cons – Growth has a downside too - makes people nervous even when it's good stuff
New Leadership team - some of them still getting their feet under them

Advice to Senior Management – Communicate, communicate, communicate
Don't hesitate to tell employees "I don't know", but that's better than not communicating at all
Provide lots of feedback - what is working well, what needs to be done differently

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend