Travelers Companies Reviews

Pros

You get 20 days off when you start with the option to purchase 6 more. Benefits are good: Medical, Dental, vision, 401k match.

Cons

Travelers needs to quit sending the work to India. So many people were laid off at Travelers and many more to come. We just sit and wait for the chopping block to hit us. It's hard to work at a place where people are always uptight about their job. Some leads have there favorites, and if your not one of them then good luck getting anywhere. The leads will also try to put you down for things and try to make you look bad to management instead of good. Since the latest storms in 2011, most employees did not get a raise. Budgets are cut so bad that we don't get our holiday meal which is about $12 per employee. Things are only getting worse for Travelers. Every week someone will quit, and thats because everyone feels there job is on the line. They will never replace those that leave. If you are on the phones, I feel you have nothing to worry about, most people on them seem happy with their jobs, but they have to work some weekends.

Advice to Senior Management

Quit India. Its not good for you. If you advertised you were an all American company, I believe many people would switch to your company knowing they are saving American jobs they would pay more for the insurance. India makes tons of mistakes than us US workers ever did.
Give your employees what they work for what they strive for, working for a rate increase every year. Without my increase, you think I'm still going to give you 100% don't even ask. Shame on Travelers! I would like to know what the CEO received this year I received $0.

Pros

Lots of good people, new more professional management.

Cons

Senior management in some departments very incompetent. Lots of backbiting. No desire
To do professional development or expectation management by managers. Performance evaluation based on favoritism.

Advice to Senior Management

None.

Pros

Travelers invests in training their employees. It has a good knack for recognizing good talents. This company is very structured and it's the epitome of corporate America.

Cons

Sometimes management does not set realistic goals.

Advice to Senior Management

They need to set realistic goals.

Pros

Travelers is a financially stable company where conservative ideas are the norm. Management sticks with what works to avoid surprises.

Cons

Work volume expectations are very high and you are expected to get it done with little concern for ones personal health. Performance evaluations focus on negatives with performance criteria being subjective and measured by your ranking within your immediate managers group of favorites.

Advice to Senior Management

Performance should be measured objectively with compensation and advancement aligned accordingly versus an overworked persons skill/ability to navigate Travelers political landscape.

Pros

Travelers provides a nice benefit package to employees along with wages that are higher than their competitors. In return, they demand some pretty long work hours and an incredible workload. They also reward you with really nifty and useful things like water bottles, duffle bags and really trendy logo shirts. I ended my career with an entire closet full.

Cons

Employees are pretty much treated like a number. Management changes frequently but not as much as policies and procedures. Typically, management comes up with a new way of doing things, completely forcing employees to learn new procedures and follow new policies. A few weeks or months later, they will decide it was a bad idea and change it again. Because of these types of behaviors, claims employees end up working incredibly long hours in an attempt to catch up to an incredible case load. The company also wastes your time by forcing you to travel to, or attend via conference call, all sorts of meetings and conferences that have absolutely nothing to do with your job. Again, putting you way behind and unable to keep up with the case load.

Advice to Senior Management

Device a system that works and stick with it. Find a way to provide manageable caseloads to your employees so they, in turn, can have a balanced life.

Pros

* Great at insurance - knows their market well and I would consider them a market leader in the insurance industry
* Decent campuses with an above average work environment
* This pro is also a con - Totally empower their managers at all levels; if you get a great manager (and there are a number of great managers at Travelers), this is great, if not... see cons section
* One of the best leadership development programs (LDPs) in America - if you can get into one of their LDPs, it is THE fast track to management and longevity in the company
* Pays fairly well
* Top level management is some of the best in the business at business. Very financially savvy and know how to run the business; I would put top senior management at Travelers up against anyone as far as the straight business aspects. (But not culture -- see cons section).

Cons

* Unfortunately, too much of management is "good ol' boy" - Bonuses are tough to get and you have to please; bonuses and promotions not solely based on merit, you have to be "liked" or favored
* There are great managers at Travelers, but there an unacceptable number who have absolutely no idea know how to lead, don't know how to communicate and motivate, and who simply don't know how to relate to their employees. Due to total empowerment, if you have a good manager, that situation can work out great for you. If not, then there is next to nothing you can do about it.
* Very poor upward mobility in the company. Favorites are promoted and fast track preference is given to LDP participants. I know of a number of individuals with 10x less experience who were promoted ahead of me and other very talented individuals in the company over my 5-10 years there.
* Again, some good managers, leaders and communicators, but way too many pockets where there is a clear divide between managers and non-managers, lack of communication and true team building. Too many egos and turfs.
* Internally, it's very political - if you don't understand it and play to it, you can be the most talented person in the world, and you aren't going anywhere internally.
* No true 360 degree review process, so all the cons never change. "Surveys" with locked in multiple choice "answers" (often the real answer isn't in the list) are not true 360 degree reviews. Feedback only flows downhill.
* Travelers believes firmly in a "bell curve" system, meaning, they feel it's impossible to have a department where everyone shines (and departments which excel across the board do actually exist at Travelers), so performance measurement is literally forced into a "bell curve" across the board. So some who have average (or even above average) performance are brute forced into subpar categories, etc. This is a solid, unalterable philosophy of the company. I've spoken to many good managers there who are chagrined at this philosophy and practice.
* Very defined roles at Travelers - if you are someone who is good at many things, you will probably be frustrated. Travelers does not seem to recognize or understand at all how to truly leverage multi-talented, multi-faceted individuals.
* No true loyalty. You can work for years and years at Travelers and even attain a high position in the company. If the "numbers match" and it makes "fiscal sense" to lay you off, you're gone. Doesn't matter what you've accomplished, how hard you've worked, how good you are or even your position.
* My bottom line opinion is: Travelers knows how to run a insurance business, but they don't understand how to manage, motivate and lead people. It's not a sweat shop; it's just very entrenched in its management approach and entirely focused on the business aspects of selling top flight insurance (which they do absolutely do well.)

Advice to Senior Management

There are a number of very talented people at Travelers who are completely overlooked year after year. There is a "good ol' boy" network that plays to favorites in doling out promotions and awards. You actually protect the incompetent if they are in management. You need to implement a TRUE 360 degree review process and provide some capability for weeding out poor managers. And you have, unacceptably, too many of them. Promotions and bonuses should be based solely on merit and not on favorites. You have no equal in running an insurance business; but your "intouchness" with your internal workforce is sorely lacking. You could be making twice the profits you are making now if you would commit yourself to to truly getting in touch with your workforce, promoting people who are truly talented (and not just favorites), and look to alter some of you current unalterable work force philosophies. It's 2011 now, Not 1980.

Pros

Great benefits and time off package, fun co-workers, 401k

Cons

Really hard to advance unless you play the politics game, management doesnt listen to "lower level" employees. At times it was hard to forge ahead with what you believed was right, and what management may be telling you to do.

Advice to Senior Management

Instead of "managing out" people to other jobs they do not belong in- man up and fire them. I've had 2 different jobs here, and 4 different bosses and two of them in no way shape or form belonged in that position. Listen to the employees- they are the ones doing all of the work anyways.

Pros

Good balance of work and home

Cons

Hard to stand out in a crowd of thousands of people when you want to advance. The only people seriously considered for advancement are those in the Leadership Development Program.

Advice to Senior Management

Do not overlook people who are not in the Leadership Development Program or you may be overlooking an opportunity.

Pros

work enivorment is ok, needs some improvement

Cons

not enoguh employees, very very very long hours

Advice to Senior Management

more support needed

Pros

Good start pay, work from home potential, company car, benefits, large company with room to move and grow, pension plan, 401k match, vesting period

Cons

High expectations, large quantity of work, some recent lay offs, low raises, low bonus, long hours, sometimes low moral overall

Advice to Senior Management

More compensation for work performed, more incentive, create promotions with in, u marked company cars, lower charge for branded company cars