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    Swiss Re Reviews

    Updated January 18, 2019
    664 reviews

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    3.6
    StarStarStarStarStar
    Rating TrendsRating Trends
    Recommend to a friend
    Approve of CEO
    Swiss Re Group Chief Executive Officer Christian Mumenthaler
    Christian Mumenthaler
    150 Ratings

    Employee Reviews

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    Pros
    Cons

    • "Lack of transparency by senior management" (in 21 reviews)

    • "Relies too much on work life balance for being a reason to have people stay" (in 10 reviews)

    More Pros and Cons
    1. Featured Review

      Helpful (30)

      "Flexible work environment AND pays for performance"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Business Services in New York, NY
      Current Employee - Business Services in New York, NY
      Recommends
      Positive Outlook
      Approves of CEO

      I have been working at Swiss Re full-time (More than 10 years)

      Pros

      -Offers flex hours, work from home intermitently, accomodates pertinent appts in personal life all provided you're a successfully rated employee at year end.
      -Aids in your development by providing tools necessary for success either thru online internal courses, mentoring with others outside your business line or supporting expense of education while working at Swiss Re and rotation opportunities to other business units to learn more about other areas.
      -Fair cost for benefits in comparison to the cost of other companies outside of Swiss Re. Although costs are rising, so it is for every company
      -Excellent 401k and contributions supported by Swiss Re additionally
      -Can map your success with your manager fairly easily with constant discussions to achieve your goals
      -Bonus compensations are phenomenal compared to those applying to various roles from other organizations provided you do the work and own your success
      -Pays for performers contrary to the posts I have seen. If you get clear directions from your manager on how to improve and do so, you will most certainly be rewarded appropriately. Im sure there is evidence in the teams to support

      Cons

      Hard to find large Cons. Base pay raises are difficult discussions as the larger group of employees see the positive numbers the organization reports/posts and then may not see any base pay increases based on potentially valid reasoning but still does not "feel" good to the average employee. Although, bonus compensation mitigates that should your performance warrant such an award.

      Advice to Management

      Keep educating staff on benefits of working at Swiss Re as I mentioned many above.

    2. "Great graduate program for students right out of school"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Graduate in New York, NY
      Current Employee - Graduate in New York, NY
      Recommends
      Positive Outlook
      No opinion of CEO

      I have been working at Swiss Re (Less than a year)

      Pros

      International travel, great pay, interesting work, rotations.

      Cons

      Overall a great place to work, not many cons.

      3. Join the Swiss Re team
      See Our Latest Jobs

    3. Helpful (1)

      "Great company... Truly global"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Recommends
      Positive Outlook
      Approves of CEO

      I have been working at Swiss Re full-time

      Pros

      There are a lot of smart people who work hard and do their job well. There are a lot of chances to work on global projects and initiatives and take up job rotations or work abroad in other locations. Management pushes a culture of integrity, discipline and empowerment. There are few hierarchies and many chances to work on projects beyond your assigned role. There is very little or no micro management. The company focuses on long term strategies and management does not get not get rattled by short term challenges.

      Management invest in new technology and always looking to stay ahead.

      Cons

      Since the company is based in Switzerland, most of the career growth opportunities are in Switzerland.

      The performance management or employee rating system doesn’t compliment the company culture.

      Advice to Management

      Replace the performance management process and program.

    4. Helpful (10)

      "Rampant Sexual Harrassment Ignored by HR and Management"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Underwriter in New York, NY
      Current Employee - Underwriter in New York, NY
      Doesn't Recommend
      Negative Outlook
      No opinion of CEO

      I have been working at Swiss Re (More than 8 years)

      Pros

      There are no positives of working at Swiss Re

      Cons

      Harvey Weinstein will likely be Swiss Re’s next hire. There have been numerous reports to HR of sexual harassment and physical attacks against several women in the NYC office all stemming from the same individual. Management has turned a blind eye. If you are a female or self respecting male avoid working here at all costs. The HR issues and rampant sexual harassment will likely play out in the press sooner rather than later.

      Advice to Management

      Protect your female employees.

      Swiss Re Response

      Jan 16, 2019 – Strategic Resourcing & Talent Consultant

      We've seen your review and assure you that we take your allegation seriously. Swiss Re is strongly committed to maintaining a positive working environment, free of workplace harassment. We hold the... More

    5. Helpful (3)

      "Supervising Underwriter"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Doesn't Recommend
      Neutral Outlook
      Disapproves of CEO

      I worked at Swiss Re full-time

      Pros

      Big name in the industry.

      Cons

      Bureaucratic behemoth. Very inefficient. US employees are regarded by Swiss as low class. Anachronistic systems.

      Advice to Management

      Get rid of the deadwood. Top down reorganization is needed.

    6. "It's a very good company to work for"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Senior Business Data Analyst in Fort Wayne, IN
      Former Employee - Senior Business Data Analyst in Fort Wayne, IN
      Recommends
      Positive Outlook
      Approves of CEO

      I worked at Swiss Re full-time (More than 8 years)

      Pros

      good work life balance
      nice pay and perks

      Cons

      less growth opportunities and takes long to climb up

    7. "Information Specialist"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Information Specialist in Fort Wayne, IN
      Former Employee - Information Specialist in Fort Wayne, IN
      Recommends
      Positive Outlook
      Approves of CEO

      I worked at Swiss Re full-time (More than 3 years)

      Pros

      great work-life balance, lots of interesting people to work with

      Cons

      periods of light workload followed by heavy workload

    8. Helpful (2)

      "Hires great people then tell them what to do"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Vice President - Technology in Armonk, NY
      Former Employee - Vice President - Technology in Armonk, NY
      Doesn't Recommend
      Negative Outlook
      Disapproves of CEO

      I worked at Swiss Re full-time (More than 3 years)

      Pros

      Brand in the industry is strong. Not much else. At least in the Americas

      Cons

      Typical large organization that hires smart people and instead of empowering the talent, it squeezes it into its bureaucratic engines. My advice to you is to stay away.

      Advice to Management

      Reduce arrogance, increase performance. Or in few years you will be bagging Warren Buffet again for loans

    9. Helpful (1)

      "Swiss Re"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee

      I have been working at Swiss Re full-time

      Pros

      Good work/social balance within the company.

      Cons

      Systems are difficult to learn/understand.

    10. Helpful (8)

      "Some good and a lot of bad"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Controller
      Current Employee - Controller
      Doesn't Recommend
      Negative Outlook
      No opinion of CEO

      I have been working at Swiss Re full-time (More than 3 years)

      Pros

      Flexible work environment, decent pay and benefits, most of the people working here are very intelligent

      Cons

      Very bureaucratic, way too many managers and not enough people to do the work, ridiculous expectations for employees at times, systems are complex, archaic and break down regularly (the worst that I have seen anywhere in my career), employees are just another number - offshoring initiatives require employees to train their replacements and then management wonders why morale is low. The company is about as inefficient as government. Employees are also bombarded with numerous politically correct initiatives and looked down upon when they don't participate. US employees are treated as second class citizens, while European employees are praised and have lavish benefits.

      Advice to Management

      Treat your employees like they are worth something. Get rid of the worst systems in existence. Eliminate about 50% of management and hire more people to actually get things done.