I just started working for an insurance agency in CO that was recently acquired by a larger outfit headquartered in Texas that starts with an “H” – if you're in insurance you might know of them. I was hired as an account executive, since I have worked in insurance since 2007.
As part of the onboarding process, I had SEVERAL training modules assigned to me to complete, which I was told all had to be completed at 100% before I could start working for them. The estimated completion time was over 80 hours. I was loathe to complete these, and asked if there was any way I could test out, since I already have insurance experience, and was told no.
I attacked them with a vengeance, working through them as quickly as I could. Many had interactive elements, so you could not just put them in the background while you did something else. Some had videos, and if possible I played at 1.5 or 2x speed, but not all had this function. There were many mind numbing exercises too. Just an example of some of the courses I had to take:
Basic & Intermediate Excel
Basic & Intermediate Word
Basic & Intermediate Outlook
How to Dress in the Workplace
Email Etiquette
Intro to Insurance (really?? I need to review what a deductible is??)
…and many other basic insurance concepts that I already know
I can't describe how anxious and stressed it made me to review things I have been studying all my adult life. It's like if a math professor was asked to study multiplication tables. I felt insulted and demoralized. Every night I drank some wine to deal with the stress of feeling devalued. One night I went into a binge eating frenzy, I was so upset. I just kept telling myself if I can get through it, I can start my job, and forget about these people. I like my agency, and I won't have to deal with “H” much after the onboarding is over. I worked really hard to finish the modules, and completed them in less than a week.
The next step involved starting a week long zoom training for their agency management system, which had to start on a Monday (which was another reason I worked hard to get those modules done in a week). While I was in the AMS training yesterday, the trainer kept referencing CSR roles & duties, and how she wouldn't go over something because “that was for an account executive.” I stopped her after a few times of hearing that, and told her I was hired as an account executive (a higher role). She informed me this class was for CSRs, and if I was an account executive I was in the wrong class, and that class didn't start until next week.
Come to find out, they have been treating me like a CSR all this time. Which is why I had to do Intro & Basic classes in my onboarding. I should have been given the advanced courses to take – I never had to do that basic stuff to begin with.
I was furious. I burst into tears.
My local office manager was out yesterday, and I couldn't get in touch with him. I went home and drank some vodka and played some video games. I waited for an email or a phone call from someone at H, at least acknowledging I had been put on the wrong onboarding program, but none came. No one bothered to take ownership. No one apologized. No one contacted me. I only found out through the trainer yesterday, because she was instant messaging someone else – but no one told me directly. I guess 80 hours of wasted training doesn't mean much to anyone.
This morning I talked to my local office manager, and he acknowledged there was a mixup and an error, part of which was his responsibility – he had initially filled out my new hire paperwork as a CSR, but I caught it before I signed anything with them, and we had them update my employee contract. Apparently, even though hiring team got my correct title, the training team never did.
In the long run, I hope I don't have to deal with H too much. My local team is nice, and I think I'll enjoy the work. But this really put a bad taste in my mouth, and when it comes time to provide feedback on the my onboarding and training, you can be sure I will be giving them 0 stars and some strongly worded feedback.