Pros
Location, I maybe one of the few that love not being in a big city. There are so many different ways to get to the office, traffic is rarely an issue for me. The campus is impressive. A few examples are; medical clinic, workout facility with a staffed trainer, bank, amazing café’, walking trails and beautiful artwork. Compensation plans, benefits and bonus programs are generous. We also have a casual dress code except for days the Board of Directors is in the office. Senior Leadership is accessible and very approachable. The CIO even stopped to introduce herself to my parents when they were in the office for lunch. Mid-Level Leadership cares about their teams. They make every effort for work / life balance within reason. There is a program offered called ‘Work From Anywhere’. This allows for associates to work from home, the Middleton office or the Pewaukee office one or two days a week, depending on the specific tasks for positions. Leadership is very flexible with family appointments, start times and associate needs to ‘be away’. Training offered to the associates is abundant. It is up to the associate to expand their knowledge and expand their skill sets, you just need to ask. West Bend is a very collaborative environment, leadership wants input from all involved. Understand that there are times recommendations get by-passed, but all options are listened too.
Cons
IT is in a transformation stage, but for the better – which adds to the pressure to be successful. Many legacy systems are in a state of ‘end-of-life’. The need to support and manage the legacy apps along with the new Policy Administration System has put many associates into regular extended hour situations. Change is never ending and demanding. Once we complete the larger system changes, and configurations settle down it will get back to normal.