I’ll cover many of the same things others have mentioned, and that I agree with.
Compensation – I’d say salaries are not entirely out of line, but they tend to be somewhat on the low side. But what do you expect? Allstate isn’t a charity. That said, the real shortcoming in comp is the bonus system. Only senior levels are bonus-eligible. If you are somewhat advanced in your career and care about getting a bonus, only work for Allstate if you are hired at a bonus-eligible position – particularly because advancement is as difficult as others say it is. If you are fresh out of college, maybe you won’t notice not getting a bonus and you can get some experience here. But it’s a long road to bonus-eligibility.
Management – As I write this, the CEO’s approval rating on glassdoor.com is 38%. That’s not only fair, it’s probably high.
Benefits – Some talk about the 401(k) as a plus, but the reality is that the company matching is very weak compared to many other companies. It’s also tied to how well we do with customer loyalty, which is nice, but how we measure it is opaque and, in case you didn’t know, we’re not very good with our customers.
Focus – One of Allstate’s greatest problems is its lack of focus. It wants to be everything to everyone. It wants to beat State Farm in agency sales. It wants to beat GEICO at direct sales. It wants to beat Progressive in the IA channel. It wants to beat all the little regional players regionally. What happens is that Allstate is not the best at anything. And can’t afford to be the best at price. And that’s not a fun place to be.
Growth, or lack thereof – Simply, Allstate is shrinking. GEICO and Progressive will likely pass it as the 2nd largest auto insurer within the next few years. Because policy count is shrinking, fewer people are needed to service them, meaning reductions, then further shrinking and fewer people are needed, then reductions, etc. The vicious cycle continues. I don’t think you’ll find many people who think this will be reversed anytime soon, so long-term it makes Allstate a less safe place to work.
