https://apple.news/AIMYyKoFMT3OZWrQR1y5H3g
This article is about Cigna, but it could have been written by any SF today. Take a minute to read it.
With almost 100 years of service, SF is no longer a “good neighbor.” Apparently EVERY DARN COPY of “The Farmer From Myrna” has been thrown out.
All that matters are the METRICS. Frontline managers days are now filled with watching numbers, scanning reports, and harassing employees. There is no “Leadership” at the line level, because that would involve managers having the skill set to actually do the work and produce the numbers they are so vigilantly tracking, while not having brainstorming meetings to try and figure additional ways to makes employees even more miserable with their unrealistic production demands.
The generation of well trained, knowledgeable handlers is swiftly coming to an end. SF no longer trains to policy, but rather SCPs. Customers are calling back multiple times and receiving multiple answers, most of which are incorrect. This in turn causes there to be more angry customers than in the past, which in turn adds another dimension to an already unpleasant and stressful environment. In the office I worked in SF was notorious within the psychology community. Many providers within a 75 mile radius had either had SF employees as past or current patients.
Line managers avoid customer complaint calls at any and all cost. All the while task counts build, without properly enough trained employees to handle the daily incoming calls/work. Overtime (which is now a privilege, based on metrics) is now an everyday ask, inclusive of mandatory weekend overtime “Blitzes”, which even handlers who would not normally qualify for regular overtime, are pulled in to work. This is done with the underlying threat of receiving a “Shield” memo or worse, should an employee not commit to participate.
No longer a SF employee, I hate to see so many really good people treated to these “GlenGarry, Glen Ross” management tactics. The worker bees are thrown a bone once a year based on their performance, raises are insignificant, yet the boys/girls at the top of the food chain are getting tremendous bonuses and salaries.
It is sad to see what is happening to this once great industry giant.