Thread regarding State Farm Insurance layoffs

Do you mean training or mentoring. Big difference. Training yes you're correct. Mentoring. No. This is in your job description "other duties".and yes if you're effective you do see it in your merit. Do your jobs. To everyone reading this posts too many of you noobies are making this harder for the rest of us. Ask questions. Learn. Do your job. Go home. Repeat. Stop worrying about what's in your description and just do it. There ARE people successful here and have made long term careers. SF has its issues but I promise you're contributing to it.

"Other duties as assigned" is usually in the job description

My training role has been the most rewarding of all the positions I have had over the years. If you can’t get excited about setting up the next generation for success, it probably time for you to hang it up.

Bottom Line - Not everyone is qualified to be a trainer. Not everyone who has knowledge knows how to train. Not everyone who is qualified to train, has a desire to do so. Also, trainers have to be qualified to do that role, before they do so; to be qualified. Yes, trainers that are qualified, do have a much higher salary; and should.

@9knc

Because those of you “who made it like it was” are also the people who made it like it is today (I.e., screwed up).

Generation Z aren’t the people in the driver’s seat making decisions.

Your comment pretty much summarizes why the old condensing guard gets no respect.

P.S. last time I checked, I’m a member of Gen X (the OP).

Back in the day, we had an education and training department. But….get this GenZ, it was for very specific tasks. There was even a class called “Training the trainers.” But get this GenZ. MOST real training came from sitting with experienced people and seeing how that did the job. And later, it was your turn to do the same.
What is it with GenZ….who envy what we used to be, but somehow villainizes everyone who made it what it was? That’s a whole new level of messed up.

I'm ...agreeing with you?

Bridge/mentorship would be fine. That training is woefully inadequate means that it's no longer mentorship to learn the in-person skills, but actual training. That they won't hire actual trainers is a huge issue.

I don't think it's just that it costs money, but also because they are rapidly running out of people capable of being good trainers, because that's a role that needs soft skills, in-depth segment knowledge, and good awareness of SF as whole, all of which SF doesn't care about anymore. The pool of good candidates is vanishingly small, particularly for travel positions)

I did this same sort of sh-t in underwriting. It is a burden, but at least I was in a comfy chair, and liked training people.

@7ihz

Umm…no. Bridge may have been intended as some sort of forced mentorship in the beginning, but it is now full blown forced training. TMs and new hires have even resorted to calling me a “trainer.”

Additionally, an emphasis needs to put on the people being hired. We are hiring the bottom of the barrel. These people cannot do basic math. They cannot understand basic measurements. They do not grasp basic concepts of the job. Many simply do not have the IQ to do the job.

They stick around long enough to collect all the bonuses SF has promised them then they quit.

The other thing that’s not talked about is actual trainers have told me management doesn’t want them in the field training because they make too much money! Seriously!

So instead of trainers training they have put this burden (and that’s exactly what it is) on me.

The bottom line for me (the OP) I don’t want to train anyone. SF needs to stop hiring trash employees. SF needs to hire more trainers to train. If new hires don’t show they grasp the basics within a certain period of time they need to be shown the door.

Ahh OP, that's largely what I was thinking. That "bridge" role is one they are utilizing everywhere, not just the field. They consider it mentoring a new hire after classroom portion, and to a certain extent, that's what should happen.

After all, classroom is one thing, fieldwork is a lot of trial and error, and learning on the job. A certain amount of mentorship should be expected, and I actually think it's a good idea to have some sort of bridge period with peers (and I think it should be brought up when it's time for consensus/merit).

But the big problem is that the classroom portion is so woefully truncated, and people are just pushed through without consequences, that it just pushes the actual learning down the line onto people in lower pay scales. The pace of training is insane, and it's just wave after wave of new hires.

@6tdt

OP here. I’ll answer your question because many of just seem to be willfully ignorant.

I am a field adjuster. I’m not sitting at home in front of a computer all day or glued to a phone in an air conditioned or heated environment. I’m out here handling the heavy lifting all day.

I’m out handling large losses that involve coverage A, B, and C. I also do what is called “customer recovery” where I’m expected to show up and do clean up after our stupid new hires sc--w up.

At any given time I have 40+ large losses on my plate.

Management decided people like me should facilitate “bridges” for new to role which involves them riding with us, learning/training under us, etc.

So inbetween my 40 plus large losses I’m having to teach id--ts who don’t even know how to read/use a tape measure how to sketch, estimate, get on a roof, handle contractors etc.

Most of these people were hired after answering 3-4 questions on a virtual interview. They sit in the front seat of my work vehicle pretending to listen while browsing social media etc on their phones.

When I’m not doing this babysitting I’m usually dealing with distraught customers, stupid agents and their staff, new to role TMs who have never written an estimate in their life who came from auto or in-office, contractors who feel entitled to as much money as they see fit, and other cr-p.

Whatever you think you know about what has been “forced” on me and people like me…just know you don’t know the half. It’s at the point now where I’m trying to go to Progressive like everyone else.

To the agent in these comments, I don’t give a damn what you did years ago…I guarantee you didn’t do half of what is expected of people like me today.

I sort of want to know what sort of training role is OP being expected to do? Like, day 1 style training or answered the newbies questions sort of thing?

I can see both happening, but the latter seems more likely because training is very "just in time" these days and no one comes out of training ANYWHERE near prepared for the role.

"I did your job. Probably longer than you have. Also did Underwriting and a lot of CAT Duty. My experience and knowledge of the products runs circles around you, Skippy. A lot of agents have this background. "

you see the problem is your staff has no adequate training in the policy they sell, you would think the super awesome Agents would train them right? wrong! here is what they do, a customer shows up and wants more rental than the limits of policy allow instead of reminding and educating the customer on the policy they sell they actually call claims and pester them to extend rental , why? because that sweet sweet commission is getting ready to cancel so they do anything they can to please an angry customer even if it means bypassing policy , either that or the staff is just clueless thus reflects the super awesome experience that the Agents have alack of regarding policy, oh and then they have the cojones to to complain about being on hold for long times to speak with claims and become abusive to the poor claim handler who has sit there and take it because they are under pressure, gee i wonder why the call volume is so high?

are all Agents bad , no.. oddly enough the ones that work small towns end up being the best ones because they handle customers themselves(or have maybe 1 staff that is trained) so when they do call they are very professional however the big city Agents they have a dozen staff that know nothing of their job, in their head if there is trouble they call claims.

so spare me the better than thou attitude that Agents have, they treat claims like they own them and honestly claims doesn't work for you.

No, you bitter narcissist. Claims is claims. I did it for a long time. It’s always been a thankless job with unworkable inventory and crazy stress. I had to “sell” CAPA certified aftermarket parts long before Class Action suits forced OEM. And I’ve explained to countless customers that when states started mandating that we write OEM on estimates—the use of after market parts INCREASED because nobody mandated that body shops actually use them. If anything, I’ve made your job easier by talking angry customers down. I also take field underwriting seriously because I did that job too. So when I talk about how it used to be, I’m not making it up. And when talk about how it is now, I’m not making it up. And I’m not telling people to STFU about things they actually did, but I didn’t. Because I’ve actually been there for about 4 decades of it. And I’m still doing it through a huge amount of change that you clearly could never cope with.

@4zoa
Wrong. You know how it USED to be. You know nothing of how the company operates today.
Stop telling customers that they can have OEM parts then crying to the VP when the claim rep tells you to fu-k off.
The VP will always send you right back down to a team manager who’s also going to tell you to fu-k off.

No, but being the guy they go to for that means you must know what you are doing. They can absolutely force you into a new role you dont want to be in, with minimal, if any, training for it. They do that all the time. Plenty of su-k ups orbiting your manager who would gladly step into that "trainer without pay" role for you.

I did your job. Probably longer than you have. Also did Underwriting and a lot of CAT Duty. My experience and knowledge of the products runs circles around you, Skippy. A lot of agents have this background.

@4mzj

No one gives a damn. You guys are worthless on a good day. He-l, not only am I expected to do my job, handhold new to role, deal with incompetent in-office reps, and money hungry contractors but I’m also forced to “train” you id--tic agents on the products you’re supposed to know to sell.

Maybe if you spent half your time learning the products you’re expected to sell we, here in claims, wouldn’t find ourselves having to deal with a third of the problems we do.

The company would run so much better if you and your kind were shown the door. You’re nothing but a money su-king liability.

You literally have one important job to do and most of you can’t even do that correctly.

So please go cry me a river about “changes to your job.” As far as I’m concerned we would be better off without you.

I’m an AA97 agent. My job and the way I get paid aren’t even remotely similar to what I signed up for. I have a 4” binder stuffed to the max with changes to my contract because the world changes, and so does the job.
So, WTF are you whining about?

@3fev

Training is not my job. It is not the job I was hired to do. Did you miss that part?

That’s the main area of contention for me. I’m being told to do something I wasn’t hired to do and I’m not getting paid anything extra to do it.

You can’t be forced to do any part of your job. But you can be terminated.

A way to get out of being USED, and yes; it is Not the path to so called "Leadership" if that is your ambition. Tell them, that you would be a really bad trainer; and since you would not be fully committed to doing that role; that you should not be selected. It would be the Honest Truth, and both yourself and so called "Leadership" would benefit in the long run. Just some really good advice to consider.

@2bkr+1pakAyvg

I too was used to train dozens of people then discarded when they got going on the floor, Management pretended that i did nothing and was even chastised for my yearly productivity being lower because for 3 months i was out of production teaching new hires the basics, i was told it was not my job to train new hires, this is a circus Management tells you to do something and they forget about it when time for reviews/bonus comes up, it is not worth it , it will not help you dont do this it only helps your boss look good, if given a choice refuse, if forced to do this document everything and prepare to be disappointed.

Most job descriptions have a duties as assigned attached. Just saying.

Being used, and not compensated for the role. Yes, "Might" but "Not Guaranteed" to be a feather in the cap. But again, it depends on your so called "Leadership". Been there, done that; I trained as many as 28 new hires in a classroom environment. After, 6 months of that; I found out that I was being USED due to my good heart; and trying to be a good team player. NEVER AGAIN. Honest as I can be.

It used to be that Claim Reps went to a three week Claim School to learn what the policy said. They sat with experienced Claim Reps for a short time to see the "how" of the job. And throughout their careers, they were helped by more experienced people, and in turn they helped those with less experience. There was a lot of collaboration over the cubicle walls, and a lot of discussion about how to do things on breaktime. And many lessons were learned through supervisors red ink log notes. But that was a different world, where we were all in it together and benefitted from it.

I agree that someone should be designated as assigned as a more experienced person to train these new people if that's how we want to be now. Old school people know that nobody "trained" anybody though. Not a trainer in sight, just 1-2 weeks of just policy training. then just get to work. Old school TMs shut their door (when they had an office and door) and expected everyone to "just do your job", they didn't micromanage anything and weren't expected to. There wasn't an assigned peer trainer either. The TMs used to defer a lot to their RB3s though, and RB3s in claims were considered a special spot that had to demonstrate that they were more than just working their own sh-t to get that job level. They were recognized and paid more expected to help those less experienced. Eyes were always on them to make sure they were worth the incumbency. Not really expected to "train" anyone formally though, so I get you there. The hand holding is a lot worse now for sure, but so is the micromanagement too. Now TMs are more involved than they ever were in day to day stuff, and they aren't good at it at all. We used to know who all the RB3s (RA3s now) were, and we'd ask them for help with things that were harder and rarer in claims. If they're not and new people ask some questions sometimes, then no big deal, just answer them. But I'd never want to be assigned to do it especially when it the goal always seems like it's to replace me with someone like these newbies.

Imagine calling an already overworked employee a “jerk” for NOT wanting to do something that isn’t in their job description or duties.

Claim reps don’t owe you, me, or State Farm sh-t. They don’t owe their time, energy, work life balance etc.

Most people want to earn a paycheck and go home. They do not want added duties for which they don’t get any additional compensation.

Already there isn’t enough hours in the day to handle one’s own claim load. Now the company expects these people to train the id--ts they are hiring through a 3rd party. I don’t blame anyone for protesting the nonsense.

State Farm needs to hire more trainers and train their own new hires instead of saddling this responsibility on employees who were not hired to train. I’ve heard they aren’t even hiring new trainers to replace the ones who either retired, quit, or got promoted.

How is it right to expect non-trainers to do the job of trainers without being compensated as trainers?

You should pull up the job level descriptors. There will probably be something in there. That said. I do understand where you are coming from. You should get paid more for this. Those who are “volun-told” to go and work for another segment or department, should also be paid more.

However, don’t be such a jerk. These new people need support. We need them to stick around and be good at their job.

Your leadership are making a bad decision by pairing “new to role” employees with someone that doesn’t want to work with them. I assume they have no other choice.

If you think that job posting will protect you then go for it.

If you don’t want to be a lead, you should not be an RA3.

What they dont tell you is they have you train someone for lower pay so they can continie their turn and burn to pay less.

@bfo

Good luck with that mindset. Haha. Your post reveals a lot about what type of worker and person you are.

Being a defacto trainer/handholder for new hires and getting good results absolutely impacted my merit and raises. That's how I started getting either 3/3's or 4 or 5 ratings, depending on the scale.

And that experience got me my current, non-management role, because leadership skills isn't just for management.

I certainly hope I never have to work with you. Not as an associate, and not as a customer.

@tls

No to your entire comment. Anyone who started in this role when I did will tell you we didn’t get half of the hand holding we are expected to give new hires. I was told to sink or swim. The end.

No it does not boost the merit rating. No one being told to train these folks has received any monetary compensation for it….through raises or otherwise.

No I don’t want to go into management and no this is not the ticket to it.

And no, it’s not my responsibility to train new hires.

Your role duties include team collaboration and other duties as seen fit.

Furthermore, this will help your merit raise as it will show you are a valuable resource to your peers.

But no - they can't force you. If you legitimately have a concern and don't want to (for whatever reason), talk to your TM about it. Some have high social anxiety, others just 'don't want to'.

But if you just don't want to, then you may want to dig deeper as to why you're so mad and unhappy in your role as to not help new hires. Did no one in your role assist you when you were new? What's holding you back?

Also, this could help build leadership skills and put you onto a path of becoming a manager, if you're interested in that particular role.

Management doesn't care. The best option would be to find a new company to work for.

You are obviously more concerned with feeling picked upon than doing your job. More concerned about having a lawsuit than doing your job. You’re actually incapable of training anybody, so stop worrying about it. Your incompetence and petulance would quickly relieve you of any training duties.

Quit being a baby. Sounds more like you don’t want to be held accountable for the hours you goof around at home. Training forces you to be at your desk and takes away from your personal time.