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      Premera Blue Cross

      Engaged Employer

      Premera Blue Cross reviews

      3.0

      38% would recommend to a friend

      (245 total reviews)
      avatar

      Jeff Roe

      42% approve of CEO

      31% positive business outlook

      Ratings by category

      3.6

      Diversity & inclusion

      3.2

      Compensation and benefits

      3.0

      Work/Life balance

      2.7

      Career opportunities

      2.6

      Culture & values

      2.5

      Senior management

      Ratings by demographic groups

      Reviews by job title

      245 reviews

      Reviews about "Compensation"

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      1.0
      Jul 3, 2017

      Why oh why?

      Principal developer
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      I have to agree with most reviews that work life balance is in general good, the campus is awesome and people are nice.

      Cons

      Now the sour notes. Actually, let me focus on one recent change just announced internally by HR. This has to do with how the annual incentive plan (MPIP) is awarded. In the past your bonus was awarded as such: 80% based on company goals being met. 20% discretionary based on your manager. That meant that on a good year you'd be guaranteed at least 80% of your bonus regardless of what your manager thought of you. Starting next year 100% will be discretionary based on your manager. HR hasn't really communicated well what is driving the change (other than "because we want managers to have more control"... dah). I heard rumors this was driven by the desire of being more "like Amazon and Microsoft". Well, guess what? Premera is NOT Amazon or Microsoft. If you read through Glassdoors reviews the one theme that comes up over and over again is Premera's problem with weak/incompetent middle management. And now you're empowering these folks to have full control over your technical staff. Let me break this out: Amazon and Microsoft might be giving more power to management, however they have talented, solid people in those roles. And they have well established practices to measure performance, idetify weak links, and replace weak performers. They also have very well established interviewing processes (ever heard about Amazon's "bar raiser"?) that constantly push the company to hire better and better people, especially in key management roles. Premera has nothing like that in place. Let's look at this from a risk-benefit perspective. You might end up with managers with more power, but if they cannot use it well, it's going to backfire big times. In a company already at odds with hiring talent, you'll also start loosing people whose performance is not evaluated fairly by managers. I'm not implying anyone is in bad faith. But when you're a manager of a technical team with no technical background, performances can be difficult to evaluate fairly. This is far too complex of an approach to management for a company with weak middle management. Hopefully time will prove me wrong but for now I'm holding my breath.

      avatar
      Premera Blue Cross Response
      8y
      You are right, hiring, cultivating, and rewarding good leadership is vital to the health and success of Premera employees and the organization. We would like to provide clarification on a couple points. The incentive plan was modified in 2017, not to give managers "more power", but to allow the opportunity to recognize employees appropriately for doing fantastic work. The discretionary element that existed previously did not give enough leverage to reward those individuals appropriately. Leaders are not always subject matter experts in every area they lead, and that's okay! Performance and goal setting is a team sport, requiring both the employee and the manager to partner on what success looks like for that year. Regular communication surrounding goals and performance will ensure there are no surprises come the end of the year. You are welcome and encouraged to reach out to your HR Business Partner if you would like to discuss in more detail.
      2.0
      Jun 20, 2017

      Slow pace, low pay, outdated technology

      Senior it analyst
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      Many people that are fun to work with. Parking got better after the layoffs. Nice walkable campus as long as you stay on campus (there have been muggings and lots of used needles on the walking trails).

      Cons

      Lots of weird, stodgy policies. Can't have a fan on your desk (or anything else that you plug in) without risking a talking to by the facilities team. There's a dress code (at least you can wear jeans now). And a cup of coffee costs $1. Ineffectual managers who can talk a good game but add no value or stomp on people get promoted quickly. In IT, if you're not a former Safeco manager, you're not going anywhere. Lots of good talent lost to layoffs and frustration. If you want career growth, forget about it. You can make lateral moves but you'll get passed over for new jobs that will stretch you and let you grow. Way too many weird manual processes and hacks because the project owner or business didn't want to spend the time to do the project right. And to top it off, pay is pretty low for IT associates. Moving to a real tech company can yield better benefits and lots more base pay. But I suppose the pension is kind of neat.

      avatar
      Premera Blue Cross Response
      8y
      Thank you for your feedback and for the years of service you spent with Premera. It is challenging to hear you did not feel as though you had the appropriate level of support and growth opportunities. We recognize that participating in meaningful work is important and having the right management support is essential. We strive to incorporate Premera's purpose, making healthcare work better for our customers, in all that we do - and will continue to push this forward. Premera does have a business casual dress guideline. This guideline asks employees to "use common sense and good judgment in selecting their attire." We appreciate that each persons role and level of comfort is unique and what is appropriate may change from day to day based on the events of that day.
      1.0
      Jun 11, 2017

      Not all management is crated equal

      Senior customer care representative
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      Great coworkers, decent benefits, telecommuting, fair wages and great initial training.

      Cons

      If you are lucky enough to get a supervisor that knows what they are doing and knows how to be a supervisor you will do well. However, if you get one of the many supervisors that should not be in the role...good luck. I watched one team get fired one by one because that supervisor didn't lime those people. She made things up with out offering proof or following co.pany policy. People used to have opportunities to correct mistakes but those pros were nor afforded that opportunity. They say are culture is changing, and I agree, but for the worse.

      avatar
      Premera Blue Cross Response
      9y
      We appreciate you sharing that you find Premera's compensation, benefits, and training valuable. Coaching and development of Premera employees is vital to both the employee and the organizations success. We would like to clarify that if an employee is terminated from Premera, it is not a decision made lightly. However, we recognize that seeing someone released from the company can feel unsettling to those team members who remain. We'd like to encourage you to reach out to your Leader if you have questions. Please keep in mind that Leaders and Human Resources don't share the specific information regarding employee terminations out of respect and privacy for the employee. Reports made to Premera's ethics line are listened to and taken seriously. Should you have concerns or if you would like to discuss the ethics process further, you're welcome to seek resources available on our intranet or speak with Human Resources for more information.
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      ReviewsPremera Blue Cross reviews

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