Benefitfocus Reviews

I really have higher hopes for this company, unfortunately they continue to disappoint on multiple fronts: -Benefitfocus is currently undergoing its second re-org in two years (not to mention my understanding there were re-orgs that happened before my time here). My impression thus far has been that management really likes the idea of re-orgs and they really like to get in conference rooms and talk about their great ideas, but then the nitty gritty details of actual processes seems to overwhelm them so you end up with really fantastic high-level ideas with no plan for execution which leads to... -You're set up for failure. While all the high-level grandiose ideas have been articulated, those of us on the front lines still don't know exactly what our jobs are, what is being expected of us or what we're being measured on. We have regular meetings with various members of management and each one continues to tell us "there are discussions everyday" and "won't it be great when you know this?" and "the highest levels of management are involved", etc, etc...unfortunately these meetings never contain any information of substance. They're just management trying to appease us and give us the illusion of "transparency". We still all go back to our client facing jobs trudging through the same day to day "processes" that everyone seems to agree don't work. -Outsourcing. This company, in it's never-ending quest to appease shareholders, is outsourcing the hell out of most any work they can. And our global associates, bless their hearts, are by and large pretty great people. Unfortunately, they're utterly incompetent. So, you'll utilize your global counterparts for what you're supposed to and then you'll just have to re-do all the work to have it actually be correct. Our global partners are truly incapable of doing anything more than clicking a button and moving a file. And the kicker is that the Benefitfocus "Quality Center of Excellence" is based in Hyderabad...oxymoron of the year. -This company is run by engineering. If what you need isn't part of a mobile app, or whatever other pet project engineering is working on at the moment it probably isn't going to happen in any sort of a timely manner. -Pay and benefits - WAY subpar. not just subpar by technology company standards, but subpar by any sort of professional standards. it is generally accepted that to be paid what you're worth you have to go elsewhere.

Where to begin? A company that has so much potential is slowly crumbling from the inside out. Poor process and documentation has always been a setback, but the "sell sell sell" mentality has caused frustration for all customers promised more than the software can deliver. Praise those who bring in money, regardless of customer health or happiness from the sales experience. Setup for failure from day 1. The company refuses to invest in those workers who are knowledgeable and worthy of being part of leadership. Instead, they are leaving to join other companies to be compensated for the value they provide. Benefitfocus pays based on position/role and current salary - not experience, talent, or education. Negotiate as a new hire or you will be lucky to increase 5k in 5 years. Promotions may get you there in 2-3 years. The only thing that matters right now is profitability, so sell sell sell anything you can and cut cut cut the spending. OE 2017 is going to be profitable, but the fallout will bring to light the poor business decisions made to sacrifice quality work for globalized cheap labor. Which brings me to the #1 reason Benefitfocus is destined for failure: Valuelabs. Globalization is a strategy to outsource regular jobs for lower cost. It makes sense, but you may not realize Benefitfocus has partnered with the most incompetent, incapable Indian company on the market. If I had to guess, they are cheaper or discounted in some way. The poor souls forced to babysit them (US workers) are responsible for cleaning up their awful work and held accountable if customers complain. I can't wait for the same Indian company that was chosen by BF to lead the "QCoE" or Quality Center of Excellence initiative responsible for improving software quality. To this day, their work has improved our quality of work in no way, shape, or form - similar to their colleagues taking jobs as regular associates and proving incapable to provide value. These workers are fired and recycled to another department to keep business for the India team and hope the new team can find some use or value from the "internal experienced" GR. Honestly, I am surprised they are able to get to work daily given their ability to follow instructions or use common sense. This false hope is being drilled into the minds of our customers, so BF will make sure it's a success - right? Let me inform you that this QCoE team yet to make a flow chart that correctly illustrates our current process workflow and have not been involved in the actual work or know how the work is done. Most intelligent Americans need a few months to a year to be proficient on the platform, yet the Indian workers can do it in less time, less training, less work experience, and no understanding of how healthcare or benefits work. These people are the experts to advise tenured workers on how we can do our jobs better? Anyone believing this idea is realistic is either an absolute moron or a member of the Benefitfocus Leadership committee. The BF marketing is positioned for providing a false identity to tell customers and suspects that we have a quality improvement initiative. As usual, this will prove to be no more than false hope for customers promised a better experience and more commonly delivered more issues than before. Anything that the Indian team is involved with will be an epic failure, and my hopes are they QCoE will finally bring this to light and show executives their true abilities - or lack thereof. My fear is that their work will be blamed on current employees to shift accountability and let more hard workers be let go to ensure the leadership and execs keep their inflated salaries and undeserving bonuses for being profitable - at the expense of destroying everything the company once represented.