Thread regarding State Farm Insurance layoffs

Systems has always been full of non-performers. Other roles listed are a sad addition to that. :-(

Systems people can never speak up. If they do they will be isolated or booted off the island. Sure they sit there with their thumbs up their behinds. They aren’t allowed to do, think, speak or look in any different directions.

If your lips aren’t attached to someone else’s rear end you likely won’t have a job soon.

I have done 3 of these jobs listed. Pretty accurate observation. In system hoping to get sev. Huge mess over here & don’t see it improving.

/Too many comedians that should be the ones to go./

I've already been laid off.

Thanks for re-enforcing the politically tone-deaf nature of the original post in this thread, and the reason it went south to begin with. Listen, I get it that you're afraid for your job, but I don't even have one anymore. And it's not going to help your employment prospects one iota to point the finger at other roles which are ALSO on the chopping block.

And now you're explicitly calling for a job that I've already lost?

Son, you can go f--- yourself.

Agree 😩

Too many comedians that should be the ones to go.

I'd say it was a nice touch even if you were 13 or 14. And I don't even know what the f--- a jort is.

The Gucci jorts were a nice touch. Kudos for that. ———->>>>>If you are 12. None of us know what’s really up or gonna happen.

The Gucci jorts were a nice touch. Kudos for that.

/Ok, it has to be said whoever is remarking about Strawmen and Hubbard/

Not the same person.

/ how do you have time during SF working hours to be on this forum much less making such ridiculously long remarks? /

I can't speak for anyone but me, but I've been laid off. So I have all the time in the world.

/Didn’t you say you were super busy? /

Nope. I said there was plenty of work in my area. But reason comprehension has become a recurring problem i this thread.

/I for one am very worried about my job./

I don't have one. Which is one of the reasons this thread pissed me off to begin with. This thread is basically a shot at roles that are already in the process of being sliced and diced. What more do you a--holes want?

Ok, it has to be said whoever is remarking about Strawmen and Hubbard how do you have time during SF working hours to be on this forum much less making such ridiculously long remarks? Didn’t you say you were super busy? I for one am very worried about my job. SF has huge problems. We are sustaining cuz of investiment income.

Layoffs coming down the pipe

Work faster, work harder

/You, my friend need to relax understanding many disagree w/you. /

No one ever argued that there were NO MEMBERS of those roles sitting around doing nothing. Again with the ridiculous strawmen.

Work hardest so you’ll be eaten last!

Read through all these comments. There are totally ee’s sitting around doing nothing. I was not blind to it. I was in Systems for 13+ years. Finally had to resign 5 months ago because being there was driving me insane. I am much happier for it. Lots of money being dropped in salaries for ee’s not adding value. It is my opinion The Farm is positioning themselves to sell. Reducing ee’s is a must.

You, my friend need to relax understanding many disagree w/you. No argument to win. Have a blessed day.

//////////The disagreement wasn't about whether they were over-staffed. It was about the notion that we're all just sitting around with our thumbs up our asses and exist in some magical, rarified air beyond any and all evaluation./////////////

/Also, due to our increased sacrifices to L. Ron Hubbard (praise be to him), there are fewer Nepalese children to fan us with palm leaves while we slumber./

Oh, I usually get call center employees to do that for me.

/I too agree there are too many employees in these listed departments especially systems. If one has ever worked for another insurance company (I am assuming most of these disagreeing posters haven’t) then one would realize there are other large successful insurance companies who do it well without the same size of departments (less people). /

Strawman argument.

The disagreement wasn't about whether they were over-staffed. It was about the notion that we're all just sitting around with our thumbs up our asses and exist in some magical, rarified air beyond any and all evaluation.

I too agree there are too many employees in these listed departments especially systems. If one has ever worked for another insurance company (I am assuming most of these disagreeing posters haven’t) then one would realize there are other large successful insurance companies who do it well without the same size of departments (less people). They pay better too. I am only here until my children finish ISU.

When I read this post, from my Italian leather recliner in the Systems Department, I almost spit my company-provided champagne all over my $7000 Gucci jorts (also company provided). Thank goodness SF laid off all of those agency employees to fund the Systems Department masseuse, because I had a lot of tension that needed to be massaged out as a result of these traumatizing accusations.

Not one to take things lying down, I removed the three pounds of diamond rings from my typing fingers (paid for in part by layoffs and sacrificing children to L. Ron Hubbard, praise be to him); and set about constructing this rebuttal. It wasn’t long before my fingers developed a minor cramp, so I ordered my personal secretary to capture my dictation. Do you know how dry your throat gets when you have to dictate? Luckily, SF pays Nepalese children to hike to the highest summits of the Himalayas and collect water, melted by the sun, and bottled by only the purest of hands to quench my thirst. All of this so they can turn around and be sacrificed to L. Ron Hubbard (praise be to him).

Just so you are aware, being in systems isn’t all yacht parties and gold chains. Sometimes, our currier is busy, so I have to walk down and get my own coffee. Not systems coffee, but “commoner coffee,” made with unfiltered city water. Also, to keep our cover, we often have to sit idle for days at a time so others like the OP think we do nothing and provide less. Do you know what that can do to your back? We have all cut our daily naps back by a minimum of twenty minutes, meaning we only sleep three hours per day now. Also, due to our increased sacrifices to L. Ron Hubbard (praise be to him), there are fewer Nepalese children to fan us with palm leaves while we slumber. I’ve actually seen people perspire as a result... disgusting.

The grass isn’t always greener.

Also, I agree that people in operations are vital. Claims and underwriting were great experience and I learned a lot. I know so many people still in those departments that work their butts off for the farm. The same goes with systems. I have personally worked countless 70 hour weeks and know many, many others who have done the same and continue to do the same when the need arises.

My only point was that neither area is perfect. Metrics are great to an extent but they also limits what your managers are looking at to evaluate you. Numbers numbers numbers. In systems we don't have the rigid metrics but a competent manager should be able to determine if their employees are working and how effective they are.

The last post nailed it, particularly about the hidden, often-overlooked costs of making changes to entrenched IT Systems.

I was on a project last year where the business wanted to change ONE field in a database. I had to calmly explain that doing so would force us to update 400+ separate batch programs running on the corporate prodplex and would introduce tremendous risk into downstream systems.

We gave the business what they wanted, but not in the way they originally requested it.

However, to be clear, I do in fact recognize that Systems is bloated and inefficient. These inefficiencies come in three primary flavors:

1) Management -- we have the wrong managers, with the wrong knowledge, and the wrong level of engagement

2) Role specialization -- it takes 10 people to do the work of 1 because many roles are far too specialized. Conversely, there are a handful of roles that are too damned generic.

3) The last re-org broke systems -- as I've said multiple times, the last re-org fundamentally broke systems and we have never recovered from it. Again, that's on the executives.

But the idea that all the roles in the OP are lazy and shiftless and cannot be supervised or monitored is just plain wrong.

Lol. I've been in both operations and in systems. 10+ years in operations between claims and underwriting. 6+ years in systems as a BA, testing, and now SA.

it's true that operations has a ton of metrics around it. But those metrics really don't mean they are any more productive than they used to be. Honestly prior to UOE and EOM and the other metrics, things were much more productive. Once the metrics were introduced people figured out how to game the metrics/numbers to look productive. Besides that, from what I hear they've abandoned things like QE over the last few years. They're not bothering to check quality except through informal file reviews done by peers. The result is a numbers game where quality is an after thought. A ton of rework needed. There's no accountability because the errors/reviews etc get pushed through connecz/tango and sent to random people instead of being sent back to the one who messed it up to begin with.

Claims is also just about getting the people of the phone within the allotted time. ECS doesn't have a single claims rep handle from start to finish. Get a call, get the person off the call as quickly as possible. Again, game the system.

I also remember thinking systems was worthless when I was in operations. Then I got to systems and learned exactly why systems can't just snap and make changes to host screens or other things that operations asks for. The process is much more complicated than I ever realized. Aside from the process to change massive systems being more complicated than I ever realized, there are multiple layers of approvals needed to greenlight the project or SOW.

Nobody is saying systems is perfect but it's far from a bunch of worthless, overpaid, lazy bums that have no supervision.

/Have you ever been a Claim Representative? Majority of them hold degrees even masters, licenses, designations, and they have learned all the policies. They have been forced into headsets because our leadership is seeking quantity and they feel this is the only way to have quantity. Many of the good ones have left to go to other insurance companies who value their skills. You should job shadow sometime and know the facts before you make statements you have no basis. I believe Systems is necessary but I also believe your dept is worker heavy. We need to get back the good customer facing employees. Customers are leaving because they are not satisfied with our claims handling now (quantity over quality) or our rates. Without claims we don’t need systems as there won’t be a business!/

Just because State Farm treats claims as a "headset job" doesn't mean I think it should be a headset job. Claims is a complicated process. And not everyone in the claims process from beginning to end wears a headset.

Don't blame me for putting headsets on you guys. It wasn't my f---ing idea. My point was that any job that management has funneled down into a "headset" process will be evaluated by a set of common metrics. I wasn't saying whether that was good or bad, nor am I the one who brought it up.

My point about evaluating Systems jobs is that they CAN be evaluated. I can evaluate most of them. But it takes years of experience to evaluate them properly, plus the person evaluating them MUST be engaged in the actual work of the team he is evaluating. That is not a problem with the people in the roles in the OP -- it is a problem with State Farm's management style wherein they think you can plug in anyone from Claims or any other part of the business and suddenly have them evaluating Systems people. That's the big disconnect and the main reason why low-performers are never weeded out.

Why you and I are eating each other alive, I have no idea. The problem is NOT the roles in the OP. The problem is executive leadership. They're the fools who got us here.

/Headset jobs are held to robot-like, easily quantified standards because they can be

Have you ever been a Claim Representative? Majority of them hold degrees even masters, licenses, designations, and they have learned all the policies. They have been forced into headsets because our leadership is seeking quantity and they feel this is the only way to have quantity. Many of the good ones have left to go to other insurance companies who value their skills. You should job shadow sometime and know the facts before you make statements you have no basis. I believe Systems is necessary but I also believe your dept is worker heavy. We need to get back the good customer facing employees. Customers are leaving because they are not satisfied with our claims handling now (quantity over quality) or our rates. Without claims we don’t need systems as there won’t be a business!

I had 4 co-worker in claims that were not meeting performance goals in claims. They all 4 did little to nothing. They all posted for JOP’s for Analysts. They got the jobs. Common factor? All 4 were kiss- a’s. Here I still sit in claims although I always make performance goals. Yet I am worried if I will be out a job someday and annoyed that I do not seem to be promotable. I blame the Supervisors and Management. I will continue to meet performance goals as I do not have it in me not to.

/Depts that the OP referenced can and are easily not productive. There are no standards for them. There is no monitoring to ensure they are doing the job they were hired to do./

LOL, and with this b---s--- response, this forum has officially jumped the shark.

I can tell you whether the Java devlopers on my teams are doing their jobs. I can tell you this because I review their code.

I can tell you whether the business analysts on my projects are doing their jobs because I review their requirements and I can tell you whether they satisfied the 5 SMART principles and can be deconstructed into System specifications.

I have never had a problem getting what I needed from first through third level support via the business services line, but you have to understand that's comprised of hundreds of different groups.

Headset jobs are held to robot-like, easily quantified standards because they can be.

/When we go out they joke and laugh about how they sit around doing nothing all day because there is no work. If it’s not they sitting around doing nothing it’s the person sitting next to them according to them. My Analyst friends constantly laugh about how they are given fictitious projects that never get completed because they are pulled off those projects to start new ones that never get completed or if they do nothing ever comes of the project./

I don't know what area your friends are working in, but there's plenty of work in my area. As far as projects going NOWHERE, that is often because of the business. First, it's ISD (which is an extension of the business and is populated by so-called business experts), and they can't write requirements for the life of them. Second, it's the business refusing to listen to Systems when we try to help them understand the work.

So the business keeps inviting high-priced, idiot vendors in who do nothing but lie to them and fill their heads with nonsense, then they b--ch because Systems can't get this vendor crap to work. Well, we TRIED TO WARN THEM. THEY did not listen.

Thirdly, it's the failure of state farm to regularly purge under-performers, or even to have any clue how to identify them.

Keep in mind, Systems does not approve projects in a vacuum. Projects are completed at the discretion of business. If projects aren't getting done, often it's because the business is clueless and inept.

State Farm has been grossly overstaffed for years.

Prior to CDE/ICP, all of the projects I worked on for State Farm delivered successfully, typically well within their time and budget constraints. There has always been dead weight in systems, but it could not be relegated to any particular role or set of roles. Rather, it was the inevitable consequence of State Farm refusing to clear out the non-performers.

Then, State Farm executives decided to completely rearrange systems. It's like if the executives chopped off your arms and legs, and then decided to fire you for non-performance.

This thread isn't exactly helping in that regard.

The blame for all of this lies squarely on executive leadership.

Don’t blame us analysts for sitting around. It’s our lazy peers who do nothing and get passed from manager to manager and out on go-nowhere projects and performance management that you’re seeing. There are plenty of us who work very hard and accomplish a lot in Systems but we are bogged down by insane and risk adverse process.

Lol! Have you ever called Systems or even the help desk? Clueless! Their solution is 1) Turn it off 2) Unplug it 3) We will bring you a new computer when we find one. You then sit a week twiddling your thumbs as your station doesn’t work.

A lot of Systems/IT are working out of lockers. That means they find an open seat around the corporation or Work from home. That means they are surfing the internet or hanging out at home. All they have to be is signed on to appear to be working.

The employees who wear head-sets have solid metrics in place that must be met to show productivity. They are also under workforce management and must log all time worked. They are tracked. Depts that the OP referenced can and are easily not productive. There are no standards for them. There is no monitoring to ensure they are doing the job they were hired to do.

Policies that come in through digital and CCC, still get assigned to an agent. Get. Rid. Of. Agency.

SF must be paying in the billions for all of agency...instead of flushing cash down the toilet, they could have licensed sellers on phones in cubicles being paid between $50-80k. Or they could focus on digital/CCC and do it right. Doubtful though.

Poster of This “OP may be the stupidest one on the forum.

First, agents and the whole agency model are a huge part of the problem. The agency model itself needs to go.

I've been a State Farm customer for 15 years and I've never spoken to my agent once. He serves no purpose, as far as I can tell.

Secondly, it seems you've randomly selected a bunch of roles and then tried to suggest they all just sit around doing nothing and delivering nothing. ISD I will grant you, but that's not their fault -- that's the fault of executives who never should have moved them to corporate south to begin with.

As far as all the other systems employees, they all worked fine and delivered plenty of value until the executives decided to butcher Systems 8 years ago.

And you lump Marketing in with that? Marketing is still doing the same work they've always done. Put down the crack pipe.

We have plenty of dead weight at State Farm in ALL ROLES. In particular, in management.”

I have friends in all the areas I have listed. When we go out they joke and laugh about how they sit around doing nothing all day because there is no work. If it’s not they sitting around doing nothing it’s the person sitting next to them according to them. My Analyst friends constantly laugh about how they are given fictitious projects that never get completed because they are pulled off those projects to start new ones that never get completed or if they do nothing ever comes of the project. My Analyst friends were moved into Analyst roles from productive roles. Those are just a few examples. Again, FYI I listed the areas that I know about. I didn’t just pull those areas out of thin air. I do agree with you about Management. If you look at other posts it seems that is going to be addressed.

Yeah, because the company is doing such a bang up job writing policies thru Digital or CCC

Get rid of agency! No more “storefronts”...go digital! As has been mentioned several times throughout posts/comments in this forum...if SF gets sold/goes public...agency will either drastically change or go away completely. Its done, dead, over with.

This OP may be the stupidest one on the forum.

First, agents and the whole agency model are a huge part of the problem. The agency model itself needs to go.

I've been a State Farm customer for 15 years and I've never spoken to my agent once. He serves no purpose, as far as I can tell.

Secondly, it seems you've randomly selected a bunch of roles and then tried to suggest they all just sit around doing nothing and delivering nothing. ISD I will grant you, but that's not their fault -- that's the fault of executives who never should have moved them to corporate south to begin with.

As far as all the other systems employees, they all worked fine and delivered plenty of value until the executives decided to butcher Systems 8 years ago.

And you lump Marketing in with that? Marketing is still doing the same work they've always done. Put down the crack pipe.

We have plenty of dead weight at State Farm in ALL ROLES. In particular, in management.

And that laziness is defined in their contracts. Contracts that define what they need to sell. Agents are set. Regular employees are getting the boot.

Agency is capable of change. They are lazy but it’s not too late.

If you don’t understand how agency is the problem right now then I din’t know what to tell you. Its not going to change. I agree, agency SHOULD HAVE been selling more products across all markets, etc. But its too little too late.

Huh? “Agency is the wrong way to go” what do you mean? I think the writer was saying we need stronger Agents and Staff. Their reference to fat was their bullet points. I tend to agree w/the writer.