I remember when I was proud to work at GEICO. - Supervisor GEICO Employee Review

When I started at GEICO in 1999, the company was very people-oriented. By 2003, the number-crunchers reigned and everything was about metrics and little was about customer satisfaction or representing the company in a positive way. Middle management has a mixture of people, but overall the talent pool is a large drop-off from upper management. With middle management it seems to be more about personal gain and recognition than teamwork. Middle management expects to receive loyalty from supervisors and associates but does not know how to give it back. Most importantly there is a disconnect between upper management and middle management. When upper management speaks to lower management and associates the themes that are stressed are different than what middle management passes down. Job stress is huge for people in the phone units because of metrics. The people who care about GEICO's customers want to help them, but metrics (telephone statistics such as Average Handling Time, Hold Time, etc.) forces them to get the customer off of the line too soon. Consequently, the people whom you really want helping the customer and who complete the tasks properly are punished because their metrics are poor. This leaves goal-obsessed, non-caring individuals on the phone giving customer experiences that leave a lot to be desired. The "A" Call is a never-ending change of requirements as controlling number crunchers try to convert what will always be an subjective task into a measurable "objective" rating. Based on Six Sigma, GEICO's adaptation of the "A" Call tries to put customer service in a manufacturing framework. This may work for cookie cutter phone calls, but for exceptions and unusual circumstances it does not work well. That may sound acceptable, but how many auto accidents are alike? For that matter how many customers are alike? Having been in planning challenge sessions many times, I have a lot of respect for Tony Nicely and his management team. My respect for middle management is very low, with a few very positive exceptions. I can only speak for Macon, but too many people are related, and nepotism - plus who you attend church with - plays a real role in promotions and opportunities. GEICO is also politically correct to an extreme. Don't say anything that could be interpreted as improper or could be misunderstood in a negative way or you will find yourself explaining what you "really meant" was different than what someone else reported to management. I've seen it happen too often. GEICO needs to do the following: 1 - Admit when you mistakenly promote people above their competence levels and place them in a lesser position . It's OK to be wrong sometimes. Just admit it and fix the problem so their subordinates can succeed. 2 - Understand that the "A" Call is subjective because not every customer is the same and a checklist is not the way to deliver quality. Spend some cash and install a survey system to contact customers immediately after the call and do follow-up. If the customer is completely happy, the information given to the insured is 100% accurate and timely; and, all documentation is accurate and complete, then give the agent an "A" Call. Does it really matter if the agent mentions geico.com? 3 - Reward good customer service. 4 - Understand your business plans and execute them! If Tony Nicely knew how many mid-level managers faked at least part of their business plan and never had intentions of completing some action plans he would have a cow. 5 - Add eyecare to your healthcare plans. Come on, your people spend 7.75 hours per day looking at computer screens. 6 - Use metrics as a training tool instead of a club to beat your employees. 7 - Find a way to fix the nepotism problem in Macon, and . . . guess what? If someone's spouse or aunt or brother or mother or grandfather is a director or a VP, then it really doesn't matter if they are in another department or profit center because in Macon everyone knows who is who. 8 - Numbers may be a perfect way of measuring a thing, but make sure you are measuring the things that are important. Too often you measure an imperfect proxy and get imperfect results through faulty interpretation. In other words, number crunchers are useful but keep your focus on your customers satisfaction. I left GEICO to pursue better and less stressful work, but many friends are still there and no one says, "I love it!" When I think of how it was in the beginning, I miss it. I do not miss it for how it is now.