Once upon a time, State Farm was a company I was proud to work for. I can tell you I was drinking the kool aid, and the kool aid was good.
I worked customer service, sales, training, and claims over a period of roughly 15 years. I started when State Farm was the "Good Neighbor" and it really felt that way. I started working there when they opened what once was known as the "CRCs" in Bloomington, Jacksonville, Woodberry, and El Paso. It was when we were "State Farm Nice" to each other, we learned all about the company history in training, and training actually felt like a right of passage to become part of this big State Farm Family. It seemed like the perfect company to work hard for, advance, and retire from. Employees seemed happy, therefore, customers seemed happy. Our sales pitch included the fact that we were #1 in various JD Power ratings, etc... etc... et...
Founder's day was a day of celebration, with good food, fun, and games. Working was fun! One would work hard, but one would also have fun. I can understand how some of these things may not have been sustainable (because we live in a post employee appreciation world).
I clearly remember an employee who had been with the company longer, and worked out of Bloomington, ILL, that he told me "my fear is that Michael Tipsord will become the CEO, and everything will change." I asked him what he meant, and he said "He is all about the Bottom line."
Booooy, was he on to something!! Even before Tips became CEO, you can pretty much tell he was already running the show, and I don't know for a fact, but I'm sure EOM was his baby.
EOM, is what turned the State Farm Family into practically a factory. Some people have even described the Hubs as "jail." I remember the early days, some members of leadership literally saying "we were told the days of State Farm Nice" are over."
And they were right. It all became about the "metrics".
Now this is my personal opinion, but metrics and "Good neighbor service" don't mix. Metrics, at least in the way in which they are handled/managed, are meant for a factory/production environment in which a certain amount if "items" need to be created in a certain amount of time to meet demand. But in a world in which you are providing a service, customers are not static materials going through a conveyor belt while employees drop, insert, apply, or assemble parts, to have a final product at the end. Each customer is different, each demographic group within SF is different, each story is different, and each claim related situation is different, therefore, each final product, whether it is a closed claim, a sold policy, a review, etc.. is meant to be different. But SF has decided to become just another insurance company, and the customers are feeling it, just as employees and agents (and their staff) are.
One would be blind not to realize that change was/is needed, but change for the sake of change is not necessarily good. The right kind of change is what's needed, and you don't get that from hiring a group of consultants that may have never done the jobs they are making decisions over. Now I know the process is deeper than that, but in the end, that's exactly what it was... a group of consultants teaching the company that certain areas of the job can be "standardized" to produce a specific desired result in terms of time and numbers, certain steps are not necessary, and certain people not needed... and the winds of change blew, and continue to blow.
Do I have the perfect solution? of course not.. I don't think anybody does, but one can now see the consequences of the solutions currently being implemented. I remember hearing from an agent who has been with the company many years say "State Farm Lost its way"... and I agree. The agency force, and employees in general now stand between the customer, and a company that once sold a relationship. Agents and employees are standing trying to keep that 'relationship' alive, while the company is worried about numbers only.
Do we blame State Farm? I don't know. But one can blame State Farm for their lack of leadership in being innovative, and seeking to continue to meet and exceed the customer's expectations. These moves are meant to save State Farm Millions, but in the process, State Farm might just loose billions. Only time will tell, while some of us can always look back, and remember the good ole' days, when family was family.
My best wishes to all who are still there, and those who have left. In the end, it is all a journey, a journey that will take some of you elsewhere, and a journey that others will survive and overcome.