- Due to not providing work from home systems to employees, alongside other random issues with vendors or just the remote connection itself, this job is not going to move towards permanent work from home at any point. This is in part because Amica does not want to encourage that to happen. In truth, they are ill-prepared to do so between manager availability and general investment in work-from-home technology, but they also do not want to lose control of their micromanaging capabilities.
- Of note, during the beginning of the pandemic, employees were initially forced to buy their own computers to work from home, with a small reimbursement that came later. I actually helped a few people to purchase computers because they did not have one at home, and did not know what to pick. Most people were picking low cost computers that would not be able to support a stable work environment. What does that say about Amica wanting to prioritize its customers?
- When I started, the environment was not a call center. It has rapidly deteriorated into being just that, and an understaffed one at that. They send out emails happily talking about the people that are coming on board, but I frequently see that being offset by experienced representatives leaving or being let go. My office has a lot of longtime employees that say they are only still there because they have the pension plan still locked in. Amica won't keep people for as long without this benefit in place.
- Longtime representatives have been forced to help out with regular call assistance, instead of the company wanting to utilize their expertise with more important matters. Why should someone who has been with the company 25-30 years be taking a billing call? That's just absurd. Even some of the trainers have helped with general call assistance. My last company had two full-time trainers that just worked on material development and training. We would have much more educated employees if they were allowed to do their job like that. We regionalized our call centers out of sheer desperation, and the actual training was so limited, and we were untested on our knowledge until well after the original training. Despite having previously taken calls in all of these states at my last job, I still feel ill-prepared on a lot of things, and I genuinely believe I am better at my job than the job has been making me feel lately.
- Even the longtime managers have had moments of getting fed up lately. However, there have been many instances where I've brought up a concern, and it's been Amica "Koolaided" away until I actually force them to admit that they agree with my concerns.
- Progressing up the chain is very limited unless you meet life referral goals. I only got a promotion due to a fantastic review by my manager on my behalf, and I will be eternally grateful to them for that. But even though sales goals are not emphasized during the interview process (at least during mine they weren't), you will rapidly get sucked into the necessity of meeting those goals if you want to make more money.
I have more concerns but that's all I feel like typing up right now, and I think it's concerning enough.
