full stack developer

programmer analyst

member services representative

data engineer

claims processor

Ohio Public Employees Retirement System

OPERS could be a great employer but unfortunately, there are many issues that are deeply rooted.
They put more value on computer automation than in the people who do the daily work. And they keep working to make processes more computerized and gradually eliminate the human element. Eventually, they may only need IT staff and call center employees.
Even though OPERS operates like a state agency they are not one, and therefore the stability you'd expect is not there.
As far as management, you have two possibilities - either you get no guidance and leadership or you will be micromanaged to a ridiculous extent.
Departments lack communication and therefore often cause issues for one another. This is a known issue but no changes have been made.
There isn't uniform enforcement of rules throughout the organization. Some areas are lenient with rules and employee guidelines; while other areas are run like a dictatorship. Call center employees must not be a second late from a break. Restroom breaks cannot be taken as needed, so we must hold it and work, regardless of the discomfort.
And considering that this is a publicly funded organization, using Ohio worker's contributions to fund its operations, there is a surprising amount of waste and misuse of their money. 
For a staff of over 400 employees, to cater holiday meals for everyone at Christmas and to have an employee picnic with free food and drinks, caricature artists, karaoke, etc... I'm sure retirees who get minimal healthcare coverage or low monthly benefits would prefer that money be put toward providing retirement benefits instead.
Not be entirely negative, I will say that there are many good people working there that truly have good intentions and want to help provide retirement benefits to the members. 
Parking is free if space is available when you get hired. Otherwise, you will have to secure parking on an offsite nearby lot and walk to work until a spot frees up when someone retires or is terminated.
There is an onsite cafeteria that is adequate. There is a gym there but you have to pay $10 out of your pay to use it. $2 more if you want to actually want to use a locker.
The one benefit is employees also contribute to OPERS so you will at least have a retirement benefit that may be more stable than social security.

Management/supervisor are not held accountable for their mistakes, but when you make a mistake you get belittled and degraded. Management/survivors are unprofessional when in emails and with one on one interactions. Management/directors/Human Resources force crucial conversations on lower level staff but cant apply it to themselves when dealing with other members of the organization. Management/supervisors came and go as they please while the rest of lower end staff have to abide by rules management has set; management does not follow their own rules. There is no equality, everyone is treated different based on what department you are in and who you work for-favoritism. Extreme micromanaging. Hard to apply outside your department because management/supervisor already have someone in place for a position. Its their way or leave, we have been told this by director-no loyalty. Process change area/IT wont listen to the people who do the daily work when implementing new ideas and process flows. They go with what they think and then they act surprised when the system or workflows don't work properly.

• A typical day at work involved using the external data warehouse or internal operational data store to mine data for reporting on clinical quality, cost of care, cost trends, analyzing regional differences, troubleshooting eligibility file transfers, rate setting, etc.
• I learned about public pensions and public employment and why a reliable pension makes public employment attractive while the public sector typically pays more.
• Management could be a bit more progressive and be more willing to embrace flexible schedules and working from home.
• Workplace culture is casual but not laid back. The workforce is diverse, employing a variety of people from all over the globe.
• The hardest part of the job was dealing with homegrown applications that did not adhere to the same data integrity rules. The efforts to upgrade and modernize didn't always go smoothly and I was often left out of the loop.
• The most enjoyable part of the job was when I had the opportunity to be part of a team and collaborate on a project. It was especially satisfying when I was the subject matter expert.

As a member services representative a typical day was from 8:00 to 4:30 with 2 breaks and 30 minute lunch advising members of the system on the retirement benefits entitled to after qualifying based on their years of service. I learned how to communicate effectively with a wide variety of people regardless of their skills and educational background. That means I had to be adaptable, knowledgeable and patient.  Management and co-workers were for the most part supportive and provided feedback in order to foster an environment where success and productivity was valued. The hardest part of the job was addressing the concerns of members when there was uncertainty as to the direction the system was taking in efforts to preserve benefits that so many of them had built their lives and futures around.  The most enjoyable part of the job was being successful in overcoming the hardest part of the job.

It wasn't a bad job. The call center managers (majority) are okay. It's hard to get a supervisor to take an escalated call when you need it. This was frustrating because most escalations were valid. Pretty much other departments make the call center stressful. The retirement and death benefit departments were always behind bringing in a influx of calls regarding "where's my payment". It just gets annoying when you can't do anything for a person who has a right to be upset. More worse those departments don't care because they don't have to answer their own calls. Also no opportunity for growth. Very rarely do jobs come open. They try to entertain you & feed you to make you complacent in the fact you will never have any other opportunities. Other departments seem flexible and better.

This company gave me a learning experience and I greatly enjoyed helping the members. However the management team of member services will lie, cheat, and steal if you don't "play their games" and especially if you highly exceed their own job knowledge. This experience did provide me with the understanding of this job (which I was amazing at) so I am very grateful for that.  I plan to take it to a more professional environment that can appreciate my tenacity and dedication to job excellence. Wish I would have never had to experience the underhanded tactics of their management team, though.

What is the best part of working at the company?
People are nice. Benefits are really good.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Upper management does not really know what is going on with the rest of the organization. People are promoted based on seniority rather than accomplishment and it is really easy for people to do the bare minimum and not only keep their jobs but get rewarded. Others who try to make improvements and go the extra mile are ignored or discouraged because the overall culture does not care.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Upper management rules regardless of what is needed. People are nice but many are discouraged and frustrated because experience and knowledge are often ignored in favor of seniority and favoritism.

Analyze daily staffing levels, generate call off reports. Conduct morning huddles to discuss the days activities and address priorities. Monitor calls using Callcopy monitoring software and provide feedback. Coordinate with IT to quickly develop solutions to system issues and/or concerns. Meet with front line staff to review performance and provide feedback to maintain a motivated staff. Public employment is rewarding because is gives you the feeling of giving back, however the politics and reactive approaches to crisis is quite frustrating. Developing staff is what I enjoyed most.

Uneducated leaders are to blame for what could be a rewarding place to work. There are numerous managers and supervisors without a degree, so the value of motivation and how to lead people are completely foreign throughout the organization. I'm truly not giving how bad the lack of leadership is there. OPERS has a ton of managers of processes, but honestly only a couple true leaders of people within the organization. Promotions are based on who's most liked and its not really even hidden or done discreetly. HR is a lot to blame for that, but with good leaders it still would not be so prominent. If it wasn't for the pay and benefits it would be one of the worst employers I've ever worked for.

OPERS introduced me to a whole new world that included retirement benefits.  And with those benefits being for State employees, I learned about the Ohio Administrative Codes and Laws that govern those benefits.  Answering phone calls within the Member Services Department was from start to end each day.  I enjoyed it, once I learned and became more familiar with the benefits, as I feel I assisted members/callers with every phone call that I answered.

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