Pros
Imagine360 management and staff genuinely care about one another, our clients and our health plan members. A lot of Americans have only worked at a handful of businesses over the years; I've worked at over a dozen, including the nation's leading financial, healthcare and telecommunications services companies, as well some small businesses (< 500 employees) where personal touch is prioritized over scale and efficiency, and my SWOT analysis of i360 puts it in an exceptional position for the coming several years. Let's start with corporate culture and management culture. Employee survey results reflect my own observation that management and staff are well engaged and aligned on corporate goals and priorities. Employees are generally very satisfied with their engagement and the culture of the organization, which is very ethical, empathetic toward our members, clients and coworkers, and seeks to be trail blazers with service and innovation. The company has invested considerably in the past three years in technology and process improvement, so that our members, client employers, brokers and employees have the tools, information and sensible business processes to accomplish tasks as quickly and effectively as possible. And where there are well understood gaps, plans are underway to resolve those issues in a prioritized manner that I think makes great sense as a business analyst and former business architect. We are definitely not slow to identify the need for and adapt to change, and we want employees who welcome and adapt to change well. Don't worry, it's not chaotic like some places; it's well thought through and methodically executed from what I've seen. Most employees work remotely from home. I wasn't sure an extrovert like myself who loves to chat with colleagues at lunch, hallway or cube would feel about year after year working remotely. I can tell you the benefits far outweigh the cons. Not all meetings use webcam, but the weekly ones that do are sufficient to keep my human interactions seeming normal, and mental health science confirms that community and facial interactions are very important to staying happy and healthy. We balance that well here. Then there's the work/life balance that we all seek which i360 assures. I have time to exercise from home (with a yoga mat) before or after the work day instead of commuting, and often sets of pushups or leg exercises intraday, as well as short walks after some meals, which is proven to reduce blood sugar and insulin levels--a huge problem in USA due to lack of walking and sedentary lifestyles in our auto dependent communities--and a necessary condition to reduce chronic low grade inflammation that leads to dementia, diabetes, cancer, CVD and many other chronic illnesses, even mental health. So ability to work from home is huge health and life satisfaction benefit, so long as you commit to a routine of physical activity and wholesome diet, but that's true whether you commute to work or not. The difference is available time to do so. Our benefits are exceptional. While the 401(k) retirement plan is pretty average, with a 50% corporate match up to 6% (had been a 3% corp. contribution no matter employee contribution), the mutual fund options are pretty diverse for an employer of this size, and in the coming economic situation, having a wide mix of bond funds on top of equity funds, international as well as domestic, could prove a better capital preservation option. More importantly and distinctively, Imagine360's comprehensive benefits package is generous, starting with healthcare, life and disability. The deductible for high deductible health plan (HDHP) and out of pocket max are at the low end of the scale allowed by IRS, health savings account (HSA) generous employer contribution and free biometrics screenings protect me financially, and helped me identify some metabolic health issues that lead to chronic illness, which I am now reversing while my pre i360 PCP never explained. The copay plan is also generous. The way Imagine360 health plans cover out of network claims ends up saving members a lot of money compared to the typical American healthcare plan. Telemedicine urgent care is free, and other healthcare providers and genetic tests are optionally available and priced according to the healthplan and vendor rates, but I've appreciated the productivity gains and time savings of not leaving my home office to meet with these providers. Dental and vision premiums are low, but of course, so is the annual max benefit of $1K to $2K, which is typical of US dental plans. Disability, short and long term, and a decent life insurance policy are pretty standard in coverage, and employer paid, but I'm appreciative because a lot of small to mid size employers are less generous on these benefits. There's an optional supplemental long term disability coverage to increase the monthly payment for highly compensated employees; it's expensive for the payout difference, but I think it's because it's a new benefit and new policy, and the insurance carrier needs some years of employee participation to better actualize the risk and probably lower the amount, assuming sufficient employee participation for the volume to justify that. There are other optional benefits like legal services, cash benefits due to a hospital stay, critical illness, accidents, spousal life insurance and other healthcare benefits, all of which I appreciate and consider to be affordable. Beyond these insurance benefits are more wellness benefits than you care to read about. There are life coach and mental health counselors we can call 24x7 for a wide range of challenges we face in life, interactive and recorded webinars and tool kits on topics to help us reduce stress and anxiety, deal with difficult situations, understand all the benefits available to us, and so much more. I've worked with executive management on down across the organization, which has numerous business units, and people consistently treat one another with respect, trust and kindness. People don't guard their knowledge and information that could help others address a business objective. The career experience of others is impressive and key reason for our business success. Our net promoter scores above average in the business world and exceptional in the healthcare sector. That and other measures demonstrate our white glove treatment of our members, and that first rate service combined with real financial savings and wide healthcare provider options create a customer satisfaction reality that makes me and others here feel very satisfied with where we work and what we do each day to help our fellow Americans improve their health and financial situations the longer they're with us.
Cons
I mentioned in the Pros section the cons of work from home, as well as why overall the pros far outweigh the cons, as the cons can and are mitigated where there's a will. The only real con I've experienced is trying to find an in network primary care physician who lives within 20 minute drive from home/office. Despite living in an urban setting a half mile from one of the best hospitals in a 6.5 million person 3-county metro, in a 3-mile corridor where there are probably more physicians than anywhere else in the county except maybe near the main county hospital a few miles away, not a single PCP exists in network. Having to go out of network for PCP isn't just more costly; the billing experience can be a headache for everyone. But I'm using telemedicine virtual PCP, labs and my own health science research to mitigate this issue, and while it's not ideal, I've actually learned a lot more in past year than I did the prior thirty years how to live a healthier lifestyle, in part thanks to a more comprehensive set of lab tests that i360 includes in the optional annual biometrics screening, and the explanations of how various biomarkers should be looked at together to identify suboptimal health issues that appear to be "normal" (green) on a lab if you don't connect the dots and understand what's causing the trendline to worsen. The good thing about this problem is my total out of pocket max is only about $2,100 a year, with a low insurance premium paid, thanks to my employer paying most of our costs because they care about well being. When you look at the big picture, my local PCP issue is a minor annoyance compared to everything that my employer offers me and my colleagues.
