Long story short I accepted the vsp and got a match 2027 date. Then reorg assigned me to a new team and my manager was genuinely excited to train me on new tools and start creating reports. I created the reports, and extras because I'm not given enough work. I was told there would be an "all hands on deck" project this week but it Wednesday and I haven't got anything. I even said I wanted to withdrawal my VSP if possible and was told yeah that's probably fine, I'll submit it. Then it was I'll submit it next week, then he said to wait until December due to your march 27 date. I'm pretty sure it's a delay tactic and they've already decided to move on without me. Anyone else experience something similar with advice (other than update my resume and apply like my life depends on it)?
13 replies (most recent on top)
What do you mean, you feel like you’re being phased out? You effectively resigned!
@fs When I was hired in 2020 as a contractor, my first question was about governance for Adobe Analytics. Things were in tumult from previous implementations and there were various groups running in disparate ways, as companies grown through acquisition frequently are. The entire month after I left Centene was filled with discussions about data governance and its need for solid foundational footing for AI.
My deliverable for the PowerPoint for the final interview was an analogy of residential building with blueprints, architecture, guiding principles, and methodology that worked the previous 10 or so years in countless similar implementations.
I was told that we would be “building the runway, while flying the plane, serving the passengers… etc.” I should have run far away from it, but I found myself wanting to be a part of one of the biggest challenges of my career, and coming off of the consulting bench I’d placed myself on to serve the larger mission.
I suppose I could be bitter about the 6 years I sunk into swimming upstream, but in the end, that which does not ki-l you only makes one stronger, I suppose.
We did lots of great work and all it remotely, but the finish line was always the deployment. And that’s wrong.
I have absolute clarity in my purpose now. Deployment isn’t the destination, rather it’s a single milestone, albeit a very important one. I’ve clarified my purpose, which is to get back to helping people make sense of complex software and making it usable. It’s been distilled down to something simple: “ Deployment makes it available. Launch makes it usable. Adoption makes it valuable.”
I wish I had that handy during that initial hiring conversation, and I wish I’d pushed harder to help lead others to the logical conclusion I’ve found. Anyway, wanted to swing by to let others know that bitterness or upsetment with our common former company is not the way. Try to see the good in things that we can take from it and move forward to find your own clarity of purpose. That’s my hope for all of you. ☮️
(Sorry about the book. Just know it’s my passion and honesty shining through!)
@fh I do not oppose if people are allowed to request to revoke VSP. I only wanted to point out the message said you can not and apparently it has been approved for some individuals while this has not been shared across the board and offered to others. Why secretive and why not an official offer to all or clarification that we can request to pull if we like.
@fq If they were a dog grooming company, you would see a lot of dogs leaving their shop with only either the front half or back half shaven, not both.
If the were a bridge building company, none of their bridges would go all the way across the river.
If they were an airline company their planes would take off but never safely land.
If they were a package shipping company, they would pick up your package but it would never arrive to its destination.
I could go on but think you probably get the idea.
@f5 "Missing was the crucial steps of actually implementing at scale and organizing around the value and enablement needed to advance the practice. We just never got the charter to keep any sort of momentum, sadly."
AMEN. Corporate loves to initiate, never to follow through. They have a project culture, not an operating culture.
This just proves still transparency issues. The VSP clearly states you can't revoke, no one on my team has been offered but you hear on here known employees offered or requested. Why are we not treated equally?
@f1 How did we go from “culture” and “employee retention” to VSPs and ISPs in just 18 months? And what makes Centene confident it can outsource its way to AI readiness when the organizational problems that held back earlier efforts still appear unresolved?
From my point-of-view, and granted I left there in June, there's an important distinction between making an organization AI-ready and obsoleting the employees in anticipation of AI. Centene seems to be getting way ahead of itself on the latter. On my way out, I met with various leaders who are presumably taking on that work now or in the future, and I didn't get the sense that they had a clear plan for what they'd be actually working on. I suspect they are thinking that AI can complete the transformation started a couple of years back and accelerate or replace some of the capabilities that they're betting on replacing or outsourcing.
Since I left, I've been working with lots of other companies and paying extremely close attention to narratives by some of the larger companies who've gone whole hog into AI and the promises it seems to hold for them. They made the investment and they need that to start paying off. What drew me back to this board was a video of Sarah London that popped up in a message board for a recent interview.
I consulted for a long time doing mostly enterprise implementations of analytics, and worked on a lot of that at Centene. What I noticed were lots of stops and starts, reorganizations, new ways of thinking, and a lot of planning. Missing was the crucial steps of actually implementing at scale and organizing around the value and enablement needed to advance the practice. We just never got the charter to keep any sort of momentum, sadly.
It would appear that the cycle is repeating, this time with the promise of consulting and contracting their way to AI maturity. There's no shortcuts for that and I'd contend that introducing other POVs will not make a difference in their efforts, rather it will lead back to the lack of structure and immaturity in the data and processes they've carried along with them over the past decade or so. Every company I've worked with since Centene has shown me this clearer and clearer. This is just the same, but at a much larger scale. That said, it's ironic that I could actually help their efforts as I've got a new sense of clarity and understand the steps they'd need to explore to ensure a road with less friction. One with adoption and enablement at the heart of strategy, with teaching the concepts and tools before they're even made, matching the intent with the output of their efforts. It's a shame the company I once loved so much and bought into the mission is in the state that it's in now with employees sadness evidence in the posts within this forum. I'm hoping there's a way and Centene is able to find it, but I think it really think it needs to come from within the company, not with outside consulting.
Someone here will probably recognize me from what I’ve shared, and that's intentional. My starting point would be helping teams identify where AI could make their work better, giving them time and support to learn, and measuring whether it actually helps. People who know the work really need a voice in shaping those decisions. If talking through any of that would be useful, I’m happy to help.
You took VSP, of course you're being phased out. That's the whole point.
Enjoy the lower workload while you spend your time preparing for your job search.
Update your resume, find the gaps that might hold you back, spend the next 6 months trying to get the experience to fill them.
Do a ton of networking -- who you know is still the most powerful factor in landing a job.
And don't burn any bridges. Today's coworker might be next year's hiring manager.
Most of all, enjoy not needing to give a darn about how uninformed, shortsighted, callous, and exploitative Centene's leaders are.
@b4 Unfortunately, this isn't true across the board, as my coworker was asked to withdraw their VSP after the deadline multiple times. However, theirs was processed months ago so I feel like I might have my answer.
From what I have been told as a PL and what was communicated in the initial FAQ's, there are no "take backs" with the VSP. Once it's submitted and you were past the date to rescind, that's it, it's final. Your best bet is to call the VSP inquiry line, and if that's not operational still, check with HR. I hope you get the clear communication you're looking for!
"I would start applying right now letting recruiters or the employers know that you'll be off on March 2027 (honesty is the best policy)."
This is the best option.
OP still has plenty of time to get a new job (if they start seriously applying ASAP) at a new company. And yet, March 2027 isn't so far away that it would be torture to tough it out until leaving then.
OP: It's almost November. Enjoy the holidays coasting here, collecting paychecks (don't be concerned with however much work they are or aren't including you in on...there is NO viable FUTURE at this heIIhole, trust and believe), knowing you only have to put up with it for another 4.5 months, during which time you CAN can find a new job elsewhere.
And remember, you took that VSP for a reason. Don't deny yourself the opportunity to give yourself the gift of a fresh start somewhere new, with a nice fat V$P $everance pkg. as a parting gift from this crapshoot of uncertainty!
Market is brutal right now but also staying there and not knowing where to go or what to do or who to listen to, especially if you get a gut feeling that they'll be moving on without you, is not a great feeling. My suggestion would be to evaluate your VSP benefits and see if you can be okay with what they're offering you while something opens up. I would start applying right now letting recruiters or the employers know that you'll be off on March 2027 (honesty is the best policy). But if you can't hold the fort with the VSP and you're thinking that you can stay there and basically put up with it until the end, then stay there. You might end up being ISP but that's a gamble you'll have to take. In short, if you did the math and are good to go with VSP, take it. If you're not going to be okay then stay till the wheels come off. Best of luck.
Apply like your life depends on it. Good luck. It's rough but at least you have a few extra cushion months..not trying to discredit your stress. It's not fun out here. And best case, they meant it and will withdraw your vsp and you stay.