Travelers Companies Reviews

Pros

Several opportunities for professional growth. Great benefits. Company is financially secure.

Cons

The opportunities for professional growth are in lieu of advancement opportunities. Over the past several years, a lot of the immediate advancement opportunities for front line employees have been eliminated. Management is asked to engage employees and seek honest feedback. However, the feedback is often filtered/buffered before it is received by executive management. I actually had a front line employee tell me that "it is nice that they make an effort to come out on the floor and ask for feedback and I tell them how things could be done better, but I know it is going no where. We have been telling them the same thing for years. I am just going along with the game." Mid-level and senior management are too focused on being "yes" men/women and want to appear supportive and positive of initiatives regardless of whether or not they make sense. Although the company itself is financially secure, front line and middle management are very insecure about whether or not their jobs will be outsourced or eliminated. To truly be happy working there, you should stay focused on just doing your job and stay out of the politics.

Advice to Senior Management

Recognize that constructive feedback is not negative feedback. If you want your staff at all levels to support initiatives,then allow them to voice concerns without fear of retaliation. Just because someone does not jump on the boat right away telling you "that's a great idea!" does not mean they are against you, it usually means they are not a suck up and want to help you make sure the boat will stay afloat. Take your egos out of it and don't take it personally.

Pros

Incredibly well organized
No confusion about why the company exists, it exists to make a profit for the shareholders
Good underwriting knowledge and practice

Cons

Travelers places so much emphasis on underwriting as a skill skill base that they dismiss other skills as unimportant.
Employees that have served as underwriters are given preferential treatment no matter what skills are required for a given job . On the other hand, if you have not ever been an underwriter, that will always haunt you, no matter what job skills are required
There is a large push to lower the average age of the Travelers workforce, many people over age 50 are being pushed out the door, in favor of younger workers

Advice to Senior Management

Travelers is a good company and they are a well oiled machine. As they get bigger and bigger, they are gaining a market reputation of arogance. I would try to correct that.

Pros

Travelers is a company that truly invests in good people and cares about it's employees. My experience with this company was a refreshing change from what I had previously experienced at another Fortune 500 insurance carrier.

Cons

Given the nature of the ever changing business world, it is not uncommon for Travelers to react quickly to changing trends in the marketplace with restructuring, and even layoffs. Having said that, this company has shown great compassion for those who are laid off.

Advice to Senior Management

Continue focusing on selecting and retaining great talent while showing the customers that Travelers is a company they can count on.

Pros

Flexabilty, accessibility, friendly, great coworkers

Cons

Could offer better training to new employees

Advice to Senior Management

Training

Pros

the people and the work ethics are absolutely optimal to kick off an insurance career, plenty of opportunities to develop, and many different ways to get exposure

Cons

must have good people skills, and be flexible. bad impressions can leave a permanent mark on your development path and slow you down. be careful of potholes.

Advice to Senior Management

Clear goals and direction is crucial, however, mentoring and nurturing peers and those that are in a development position is vital to the success of the company.

Pros

better benefits, more time off, high salaries

Cons

a few members of the management team are completely incompetent

Advice to Senior Management

check your managers based on the feedback of their employees...a couple of them are horrible.

Pros

Systems and technology are great. Flexible work hours

Cons

Benefits are good but high employee cost

Advice to Senior Management

Enhance wellness programs

Pros

Access to senior management, career advancement if you can wait for 5-10 years, good reputation for training within the industry.

Cons

Excessive required travel to Hartford, very structured timeline for career advancement regardless of performance or ability, Company facilities are sub par and in rough areas, industry as a whole hasn't been very profitable which leads to lack of raises and bonuses at very large companies.

Advice to Senior Management

The company and industry struggle to evolve and offer a workplace / career that younger talent find compelling, until significant change takes place it will be a decent and stable place to work but not desired or top tier.

Pros

Decent salary but the benefits are lacking, especially the health insurance choices.

Cons

Communication lacking from upper management, the lack of training and the fact that everyone was hired from somewhere else and every company does thing differently. Upper management is incompetent and makes spur of the moment decisions without looking at the long term consequences.

Advice to Senior Management

Get some honest feedback from employees and actually listen to it. Most of the employees have more years of experience in their field then the managers.

Pros

Large organization
Many talented people
Opportunity to work on new technology

Cons

Significant senior management change throughout the enterprise
Lack of communication on change
No roadmap to promotion
Looking for other positions within org is frond upon