Thread regarding State Farm Insurance layoffs

Keep in mind, the Downtown Building was our second building. It was the Chinese restaurant around the corner that was our first office, and generations of leadership let that history slide. I worked in the downtown building for years- it was a dump, I think I saw where we were paying somewhere near $170k to keep it air conditioned monthly- not efficient and not worth keeping. Many people put on clothes and spent time in it, but end of the day go sit in the Chinese restaurant and think about the gamble GJ Mecherle was making! :)

If you haven't, you should stop into Corporate and see the new company museum- long over due and very well done! The new interior is amazing as well! Befitting a top Fortune 500 company.

@nwk-I did not make the post you responded to. That said, what are some of the wrong toxic comments exactly?

So says somebody who never stays at one company long enough for their results and lack of depth to catch up to them.
You are wrong on many of your toxic comments

No, this didn't age well. Never has there been a bigger pile of hot & steamy delusional B.S. of 'oh bring back the old days' from a change-hater group of self-proclaimed longest-hardest working 'loyalists'. Tipsord & company has posted the best results in the history of the company. Let me repeat that, we just did better than any of you retired folks ever did. Ed is a GREAT man, yes, and I can give you many examples of his kindness, ethics, and his deep rooted passion for this community. Ed also did not address systemic issues in the company for years, things Tipsord had to do on day 1. Changes that were NEVER going to be popular to the entitled, over-paid/under-performing, cozy, and non-continually developing soon-to-be-retired haters. CHANGE IS INEVITABLE, yes, even at State Farm in Central Illinois. Change can be difficult, but that is where true Americans set out to improve, change with the times, get new training, new degrees, and challenge yourself. Look at yourself and stop pointing fingers. Oh, and earth to the haters on here: we were losing market share for a long time, and you are solely to blame for what happened to you and your positions when they were deemed highly ineffective, expensive, and surplus to requirements of what policyholders actually want and are willing to pay for.

You expect a company to care about you?
Wake up and smell the coffee!!
The dollar will always be their bottom line.

This topic did not age well. Since it was posted in 2018 SF has had the best production and profit run in its history. Not only is SF still #1 but they have widened the lead against competitors, not lost ground.

Come back!

Is this the year? I am hopeful.

State Farm agency is Blockbuster movies of the 2030s. An out dated business model. State Farm agents have been over rated thru the years. Most absentee, play golf five dats a week, and totally stupid.

Left State Farm in 2011 after 20 years due to move to an area with a tiny State Farm presence. During my 20 years I was a commercial account underwriter and then an auto claims adjuster. State Farm was a great company to work for. After I left, I was still in touch with many . It's been painful to hear about. Enetering a code in your phone for everything you do? Answering email? There's a code for that. Working the queue? Consulting with a coworker to resolve a customer issue? At lunch? Break? Restroom? Crazy. State Farm used to treat their people like professionals. I am no longer insured by State Farm because I cant stomach the way they treat their employees.

I worked in claims from 1994-2004. Was the best company to work for then. Was truly a family. Sad to hear what the new leadership has done

How about providing factual statements vs broad and false generalizations. Look in the mirror and realize you may be pointing at yourself.

Wow, I am absolutely amazed at the transformation that State Farm has gone through. I graduated from Illinois State University in 1987 and worked in the Lafayette, Indiana regional office. State Farm, by far was the company to work for. I had many good memories and friendships that came from that environment. In those days, we read Farmer from Merna and the humble beginnings of the company. We trained extensively, and it was a very caring environment, especially in the Bloomington, IL office. State Farm was definitely a different company back in the early 1990's...…..

I am especially disappointed and upset that State Farm wants to demolish the downtown Bloomington building, which was the company’s corporate headquarters until about 1974 when the current one on the belt-line opened. My father has fond memories of working in that building twice in his career. It is also a staple of Bloomington’s skyline. Not sure, but I also think the downtown building may be on the National Register of Historic Places (NHRP). If that is the case, why can we not find a buyer for it? Why did the potential buyer fall through? Why can’t the City of Bloomington buy it and least multiple tenants (I.e. residential, retail, etc). Does State Farm eventually want to pull out of Bloomington and Illinois completely because the taxes are too high among other reasons? What will happen to all of the other buildings in town that they own? I know people see dollar signs in some instances and are enticed by the opportunities they see involving those dollar signs? But what about trying to salvage history? Mike Tipsord, I know you are all about the money but keep history in mind! Just my thoughts!

No sh!t, Sherlock!

The State Farm that we know has died but this quote, "It's such unfortunate news former President and CEO Ed B Rust Jr passed away from his illness of Aplastic anemia.", kinda indicates the poster was talking about Ed Jr and not the company metaphorically.

She meant State Farm died, not Ed Jr.

Ed Jr. is alive (and presumably well). HIs father died years ago of aplastic anemia years ago. But other than that, touching epitaph.

It's such unfortunate news former President and CEO Ed B Rust Jr passed away from his illness of Aplastic anemia. This company has mourned of his retiring in 2015 and now for his passing. He was a very passionate and caring man for the employees who has worked diligently to keep State Farm #1. Mr Rust Jr you are forever going to be missed in the hearts of your family and the people of State Farm. May you forever be at peace.

That's the tipsord legacy - never change course. The guy has zero understanding of how to adapt in the dynamic environment that is the real world. He concocts ideas with external experts, drives it forward internally as the must be done intitiative, destroys anyone that questions his course, and forces us to march. Even if it's towards a cliff. He's a joke. The worst part is the ripple effect this is having on our culture. Wannabes now follow this horrible approach. Unless tippy poo totally changes, this company is a lesson in cultural malfeasance.

@ @SnScNOX-3Lfte...Couldn’t agree more!!! It’s as if the end goal is to not only shrink the employee base, but to shrink the customer base? There’s really no other explanation...did the Farm get too big?? I’m in a customer facing position and it is rare to have a customer that has had a smooth process...nothing is being done!! We are losing customers left and right, but the ones making the decisions are dead set on plowing forward with the plan they began with in the migration. When will someone admit they made the wrong decisions and try to turn this company around before it’s too late?

Micro management, poor training, horrible morale, no customer service, creating mad anxiety among agents, reps, and supervisors - it's awful and no apparent plan, unless it's to lose all employees and current customers and start from the ground up. :(

Analyst single mom supporting kids. You in leadership s---. Some of us are trying to do our jobs but at this point we don’t even know what that. Thanks for the fees in my heart.

Ed Rust is a coward and a douche bag.

The agents made this company. The current contracts hose them out of a decent retirement. Once you piss off the agents, the claims department, and the underwriters you are pretty much history.

Agency has not been exempt in any way. 20 years ago, those guys made 15% commissions, travelled easily, and retired with "term pay" which was really a sizeable pension. New agents make 6% commissions, have to meet crazy metrics just like ops, and retirement is whatever they personally save. There are no meetings, no formal training once you're onboard, and they feel like they're out on an island.

And one thing about agency is they don't make any money unless they bring money in to State Farm. Millions of policyholders are here because of their agent. Millions more have stayed only because of their agent. There's not a single person who ever bought a State Farm policy because they heard their underwriter was awesome. When customers leave, agents get deductions from their paychecks. Doesn't matter if they're mad at the agent, at poor claim service, or high prices. The agent gets a deduction. When was the last time an underwriter got a paycheck deduction for rejecting a policy, or a claim rep got a paycheck deduction because a customer wasn't happy with their settlement?

When is agency going to take their turn at the re-org fun that everyone else has to endure. They cost more and aren't producing. Have you seen the eip, it's at zero. It appears we are going to sink with the agency model when the competion saw the change 10 years ago and we are beholden to an outdated sales model. Wake up board we see it. High premiums = high commissions-offices on every corner-staff-vegas get togethers etc.. Its not 1990 anymore.

Hope Amazon buys the Farm takes it public and build their HQ here.

Little known fact. Rust and his bunch took regular training in Europe. Now why they needed to go to England (as an example) and visit tourist spots, eat in pubs, I will never understand, BUT. Each and every time they went overseas (which was expensive enough) they hired a ‘security detail’. Each and every current or ex cop (that made up the team) was paid as much as 10,000.00 a piece, to follow these important people around and pretend as if they could actually do anything if there was a occurance! This was Rust and Mary Thilmany spending this money, among others. The guest list was long each time. I believe the problems may well have started with Rust. Who the heck do they think was going to attack them in England? 40k in security for their vacation! I feel like vomiting.

Right on. This was Ed. All started c.1995.

Good post

The best homeowners customer service I ever had came from American Family. I switched everything over to the farm because I'm an employee (and for the multi-line discount), but I think I'll be switching back.

Mascots won't help. I'm going with the "Flo".

It’s easy to blame it all on Tip but in reality this crap started over 20 years ago and has just now come to roost. When the company shifted to these large operation call centers with teams of claim reps the personal service that made us great went out the window. Maybe we can get a funny mascot to put on commercials and be number 1 again.

Ed kicked all of this crap off with cutting down claims employees and setting the direction for Tippy to follow.

Agency, Claims, and Systems are the top 3 cost centers. Of those, Agency can’t be reduced much (and due to the contracts, is likely impossible to resolve).

When a required asset before the internet becomes the largest liability afterwards, sometime the business model just fails. Like Blockbuster, and so many other companies who had too much tied up in physical locations when the business model changed from tangible goods to virtual ones.

Ed wrote and asked that I respond for him - you see, he is busy getting the equipment ready to work his fields in Merna if this winter will ever end. He is aware of the "troubles" at State Farm and wishes us the best, but MT is just the man for the job of leading us into to 21st century. He knows that there have been some hiccups along the way but everyone will be fine when the dust settles. Now we all need to be diligent and work together to get through this difficult time, and the ones to follow every few years to come. If you are one of the unfortunate few that are impacted, Ed has extended an offer to come help spread some "dressing" on the fields this spring. Bring your own boots...

Little Eddie Munster started this years ago, with his stupid classes, speeches, and various crap. Seems all he cared about was $$$$$.