Kaiser cares about members and employees - IT Project Manager Kaiser Permanente Employee Review

4.0
Jun 15, 2008
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Primary focus is on member care and service rather than being profit-driven. This a refreshing change from the profit-driven corporation that I worked in. Great boss and co-workers. My boss is smart and cares a lot about his employees (and people in general). That along with my co-workers make it an enjoyable place to show up to work. Opportunity to work on interesting and challenging projects. There is always something new or really big going on. For example, HealthConnect is the largest electronic record system of it's kind (over 8M members). Good salary and benefits package. This is proven by many employees who have worked at Kaiser for decades! There is even a pension package which you're vested within 5 years of service. There is also a training incentive package to upkeep skills.

Cons

Very large organization which can be bureacratic and slow moving. I've encountered several classic 'Dilbert' moments. This can be infuriating at times when people are only focused on process and not results. For the most part, I've learned to deal with these situations work around the red-tape. There is also a chronic issue with accountability. Experience very high-level of leadership turnover in the IT department. I think change is good but this is ridiculous. I've had more managers in the same department than I can count on two hands and many of my co-workers would echo the same sentiment. Difficult to keep up with the marketplace (competition). Dealing with negative public perception at times on being a large HMO.

Explore other reviews about Kaiser Permanente

5.0
Feb 3, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Collaborative environment, opportunity for career growth, flexibility.

Cons

Unions can create union workers.

4.0
Sep 9, 2015
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Kaiser is a great place to work and build a career over time. In my experience salaries are above market for most positions, and the benefits are so good that many people become "lifers". The health coverage is extremely generous, and time off starts off adequate and gets better over time (18 days when you start, moving up to 33 after 15+ years - this does not include sick time). Employees truly believe in the mission of KP (at least, I do) and it's clear that this is a place where employees' contributions are valued. Although my role is not part of any of the unions, the fact that our workforce is predominantly unionized also places a positive role in KP's reputation as a good place for workers (although having unionized staff also presents many challenges). Overall, I enjoy working at KP and would recommend it to others, but understand that you are entering a big bureaucracy. A friendly, mission-driven bureaucracy, but still.

Cons

Cons: having lots of "lifers" means that innovative ideas and workflows are not always adopted without a fight. People have their roles deeply embedded here, and any threat to the status quo is seen as negative, even though we need to make some pretty radical changes given the new health care environment post-ACA. There's a lot of "not my job" attitudes here. It's hard to navigate the layers of bureaucracy, both in terms of personnel/HR/benefits, and in getting work done (there are often 4-5 departments at the regional and national KP levels working on similar areas, and no guidance on who does what.) Be aware that KP is not immune to reorganizations and layoffs -- they do make a good attempt to ensure workers are hired elsewhere in the organization, but there are no guarantees, and there can be a lot of turnover in certain departments. Benefits are currently generous but are always subject to downgrades in the future, so just be aware of that. Some changes to the pension and retiree medical benefits are about to hit, and with them a wave of Baby Boomers will be taking retirement, which should hopefully open up many new management opportunities for Millennials. Oh, and the biggest con of all: we still - STILL - use Lotus Notes for email. Shocking, I know, but true.

302
See reviews by: Helpful|Rating|Date|All