Great people, lack of business strategy - Manager Symetra Employee Review

2.0
Aug 26, 2014
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Great friendly people to work with, reasonable work-life balance and flexibility. Downtown Bellevue location and casual dress code are plusses. Competitive benefits package. Salaries are at the low end of market competitive.

Cons

Upper management is very out of touch with business reality, trying to make a small to medium size company into an industry giant. Some huge misfires on product development that cost the company millions of dollars. Antiquated IT infrastructure makes doing your job exceedingly difficult, and lack of commitment to invest in improvements. Many examples of favoritism by senior management, hiring their cronies from East Coast companies who also do not contribute to a unified growth strategy for the company. Culture varies greatly by department, some are managed well, others create a blame based environment which is not conducive to teamwork or productivity. There is lip service given to employee development but during my tenure the employee development group was downsized at a critical growth period in the company's history.

Explore other reviews about Symetra

5.0
May 8, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Great culture, people, pay and benefits. Remote work is awesome.

Cons

Can't think of anything right now

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Symetra Response
2w
From Dena Ashlock, Actuarial: Thank you for the kind words and for your years with Symetra! We're glad the culture, benefits, and flexibility have made it a great place to work. We hope to keep earning that review for years to come!
5.0
Apr 8, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Great opportunities here to become a true student of the business. Flexibility in work location, because it's really and truly a fully remote first workplace. Opportunity to develop and nurture an effective sales system, bring value and partner for a lifetime with financial professionals to help grow businesses, and protect clients' and families' futures. Guidance and employee engagement in future-proofing the business, leadership opportunities, and opportunities for community impact that you can measure both with hard data and with emotional impact on the team. I'm genuinely glad to get up and go to work every morning. I'm grateful for the opportunity, and the confidence given to us to be driven and self-sufficient professionals.

Cons

Training is getting exponentially better, and structure is fomenting, but still isn't where it should be, by far. Sales teams bolster each other, but there's a perception of "performance punishment" that affects morale. The company wants to be a top ten carrier, but feels like it's lacking direction in other divisions, and our operational growing pains are evident to advisors.

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Symetra Response
2mo
From Erin Woltz, VP Talent Management and Change Leadership: Thank you for this thoughtful feedback and for the genuine enthusiasm you bring to your work here! It's meaningful to hear that you find purpose in partnering with financial professionals and contributing to something larger. Appreciate you highlighting your concerns; these are the kinds of observations that help us identify where our growth is creating friction. We encourage you to continue sharing that perspective with your manager and through our internal feedback channels. Voices like yours are part of how we get to where we want to be.
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