-17
eNPS Score
Q&A With State Farm Insurance Employees
Working at State Farm® takes heart. We help customers protect the things that matter most to them. We help them get back on their feet after an accident or disaster. And, we help people plan ahead for the future they want. Our employees are challenged, guided, and empowered. As a community, we help one another grow professionally and personally.
How employees describe working at State Farm Insurance
I absolutely love working for State Farm! I have had the best experience working here and I am grateful for the opportunity
Review from Customer Support Dept
I'm very happy with the commision.
Review from Sales Dept
Better upfront steps and expectations
It is upbeat positive and very at-ease
Review from Sales Dept
I enjoy my working with my coworkers and I enjoy helping the people I interact with
Review from Sales Dept
What it's like to work at State Farm Insurance
- State Farm Insurance employees generally work 8.7 hrs a day
- Employees at State Farm Insurance report the work pace is extremely fast
- On a typical day, employees at State Farm Insurance have 1 meeting
- 75% of State Farm Insurance employees look forward to interacting with their team every day
- State Farm Insurance employees most often take 20-30 paid vacation and sick days each year
- 63% of State Farm Insurance employees report they are happy with their work life balance
- State Farm Insurance employees typically get valuable feedback on how to improve at work Every Week
- 59% of State Farm Insurance employees call their work environment positive
Q&A With State Farm Insurance Employees
IDX: 0 TOT: 127
What do people at State Farm think about the CEO? What do they do well and what can they improve?
Top Employee Response
He's overpaid and has run the company to the ground. He should be fired.
Since this former accountant was named CEO in 2015, he has tried to instill a numbers and metrics-heavy work environment designed to reward results. He has failed miserably. State Farm’s results since he became CEO have been utterly miserable. He has no people skills, no pulse of the organization and his personal ethics are highly questionable. His senior leadership team are like-minded bean counters whose efforts to reorganize have been a monumental disaster. The behemoth of State Farm in the US insurance industry has fallen and may be going the way of other large corporations such as Sears due to the lack of vision, creativity and an over-dependence on employee metrics. State Farm thrived when it stuck to the culture of being a relationship company. Today, the accountants in charge have the culture only they appreciate, but is not conducive to a growing and energetic work environment that knows that happy employees make for happy customers. The CEO needs to be fired.
Seems like CEO has no clue what he is doing to achieve results. Metrics aren’t working, that has been proven. Losing experienced employees left and right, replacing with people who have no clue what they are doing.
If you could make changes, how would you improve the culture at State Farm?
Top Employee Response
Get rid of the CEO and hire one that understands the value of its employees and the value of actually providing great customer service and allow the employees the proper time to do so. Quantity vs quality is not working, especially with being understaffed more than ever. Get rid of the metrics, constant policing of employees, and ridiculous attendance and point system along with other mentioned changes and morale would change and shift the culture back to one in which people want to come to work (vs dreading it as they do now), enjoyable, employee, agent AND customer friendly instead of the high stress, unhealthy, and hostile work environment that has been created.
Change out the entire management team by bringing in proven talent from the outside. Reduce the number of so-called management layers from about 16 to 8. Focus on writing quality households that hold true opportunity for multi lining across insurance and financial services instead of writing quantity (rather than quality). Eliminate the defined benefit retirement plan by substituting it with a defined contribution plan that's tied-in to the Mutual Company's profitability.
Fire the entire executive team and replace them with new in & outside people that have a customer focused track record, not a bureaucratic compliance mentality.
How's the work life balance at State Farm?
Top Employee Response
Absolutely terrible. Can't get a whole week off. Have to fight to get an entire day off.
Garbage. We have to put in PTO requests in October for the entire next year, they use a green/yellow/red system and have lockdown weeks, if we fall behind in status there will be mandatory OT and they will tell you what days you’re allowed to work it.
State Farm is currently restructuring resulting in less tenured employees and a need for more para professionals in urban areas. There are tough attendance policies and seats can not be filled. Staffing is too lean making work very stressful
What benefits does State Farm provide?
Top Employee Response
Basic and nothing more than others offer. They've lost plenty of customers and are balancing costs by removing benefits from employees. Cost of living and geographical location differential is all being removed. But executive bonuses have remained the same and are still in place. Employee benefits are only being targeted.
Health insurance, Pension 401k match is very low.Bonuses are expected to reduce.
Life Insurance
How's the morale at State Farm?
Top Employee Response
Lots of mandatory overtime, non competitive pay, to many metrics. Morale is horrible for claims employees
Depends on the department. I worked in system support where the morale was average to above average. In claims the morale is low.
What morale? It's a horrible company to work for, not a good neighbor, State Farm does not care.
What does the leadership team at State Farm need to get better at?
Top Employee Response
Understanding that life happens and everybody doesn't fit into a square box. The metrics don't always provide the real picture!
The company over all has neglected their agents & it's less attractive to become an agent. Big % of agents open second businesses to secure
Listen to the people in the field (Agency Force). Bloomington has no clue what goes on in the marketplace.
What's going wrong and how can it be improved at State Farm?
Top Employee Response
Lack of competitiveness. Lack of customer focus. Too many layers of "Management": about 13 to be precise, which is 7 too many.
This job is stressful in and of itself, time limits, demands, phone monitoring, adherances is just too much. Not pleasant to work here.
Treat the professional level employees as professionals and not call center employees.
What part of State Farm's business is growing fastest? What part is having difficulties?
Top Employee Response
No business is growing "fastest". Bureaucrats are bogging down the organization
Cancellations is the biggest growth. New business and retaining employees are the biggest problems since the company now treats employees and customers like garbage.
Customers are not receiving the service they deserve. Once they have a claim they leave. The company is not making sales goals.
What is the best part about your compensation package at State Farm?
Top Employee Response
Having a pension and 401k
Incentive pay for results.
I'm paid comparably to what my job entails.
What are your coworkers at State Farm like?
Fine, but little time for personal interaction if I go into an office.
Good co workers! Bosses are awful!
Tenured people great, resources, full of knowledge and talent. All new people selfish, incompetent, can hold a conversation with a person.
What needs to change to make the company culture better at State Farm?
Top Employee Response
The new model is inward for use and is going to bring the company down. It does not consider the customers or the agents.
There's too many rules, metrics, absence points. I just want to do my job in peace. Too many challenges to overcome!
Customer focus instead of inward focus.
What's the company culture like at State Farm?
Top Employee Response
The culture is one of a way over-bloated, navel gazing, self-centered bureaucracy where few make customer-focused decisions for fear of being called on the mat by a higher-up. Decisions are made by diktats coming from the top of the house with little regard for market/geography specific competitive dynamics. The chain of command is more interested in protecting their pension (still a defined benefit plan) which offers retirement at 62 with full benefits, instead of taking the painful steps to slash expenses by reducing layer upon layer of middle management and empower truly customer driven decision making. As a Mutual company the management is protected from outside accountability. The old "customer and policyholder centric" culture has been washed down the drain.
Self-centered sycophancy that is very much out-of-touch with the marketplace. Stifled by a “compliance bureaucracy “ and managed (not lead) by too many layers of inbred lifers that aspire only to retire at 62 with full pension.
Depressing. Unless you're a brand new employee and have no historical context, you'll never realize what incentives and perks have been diminished or taken away and you'll never realize what the company was like before. If you're looking for a family-oriented culture, don't look here. We've move from "family" to metrics and the stress is palatable and visible each and every day. Certainly not the company I started with.
How much diversity is there among employees at State Farm?
Top Employee Response
They claim to have diversity but it's not really there, they want everyone to act and work all the same
Minimal
A ton
What's the interview process like at State Farm?
If you are in one of the cities they are hiring and can pass a test you are hired. This seems to be the same for IT or technical type jobs. There are many jobs that can not be filled. People who used to do the work are being let go unless they are in the new areas selected.
State Farm is the worst company to work for. Don’t interview there. It is like prison! I worked there for 18 years and I was miserable! So thankful to be free!
Phone interview
What are general traits of top performers in you team?
Detailed handling, quickly getting through tasks and taking lots of phone calls
They try to go out of their way to help customers.
Out for themselves
What's a typical work outing?
No such thing.
We don’t have work outings
Depends on what region you are in and the time of day. I can’t go into details, but the work outings can be generous with food and is usually lively with discussion. You get the opportunity to learn more about your co-workers.
How passive-aggressive are the people you work with?
Moderate
Very
Being passive is almost a job requirement.
What's the work from home policy like at State Farm Insurance?
Top Employee Response
Each agent makes the decision if a team member can work from home. A headset is available that you use with your laptop. It connects to the phone systems at the office. You are able to log on from home & connect directly to office.
The main question that I have is would it be possible to work for SF and live outside the country example maybe Canada. 3 weeks at home and 1 week in office. Do state farm even cares where you work as long as the job gets done?
This matter has changed as a result of the pandemic
What's the office vibe like at State Farm?
Everyone’s working and not having fun
The offices that are closing are hurting
Everyone is timed in their job so there's no time for office interactions. We're in fear of not hitting numbers and if we don't there's no raise.
What kind of people succeed at State Farm?
Top Employee Response
Follow the trail of the status quo and keep your mouth shut.
I’m not sure
People with no scruples, or people who are internet savvy.
How much and how often do raises happen at State Farm?
Yearly
Yearly
Once a year
What unique perks and benefits does State Farm provide?
None
Pension
Discounts on everything but insurance
How common is it to switch departments or teams at State Farm?
Common
Common to switch teams
Yes
What interview questions does State Farm ask?
Top Employee Response
All behavioral. Rarely do any skill-based questions get asked. Management switches so frequently that they have no knowledge of the area they lead and they cannot ask any relevant skill questions.
Dumb behavioral questions. She didn't ask about my qualifications. Didn't really have a conversation with the person.
Typical behavior based questions
do you feel like your boss acknowledges the work you do? what can they do better?
They try to. They understand you can't get it done if you don't have enough people. I think they are always in fear they will be laid off as they get tenured too.
They show our team everything you do wrong and keep telling you to do more and do t perfect.
Yes. However management doesn’t care about your well being. There are top performers who have no issues with attendance leaving in ambulances almost on a daily basis.
Curious about what work's like at State Farm Insurance?
Anonymously Ask State Farm Insurance Employees Any Question
Should I work at State Farm Insurance?
34% of State Farm Insurance employees would encourage their friends to become coworkers, whereas 15% are neutral and 51% would not recommend working at State Farm Insurance to their friends.
| 34% | Promoters |
|---|---|
| 15% | Passive |
| 51% | Detractors |
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Recently Asked Questions about working at State Farm Insurance
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