Thread regarding Elevance Health (Anthem) layoffs

Always input a 10 in response to each survey question. Never leave comments. Enjoy not having to squeeze resulting team improvement projects into your workload. Leaders can then carry on with self congratulatory circlej--ks.

The surveys are “confidential” not “anonymous.” I think they’ve been pretty transparent about this and what it means. The only time the team running the surveys can get access to personal info (not your manager, director, VP…) is if you leave comments indicating a plan for violence - to harm yourself or others.

If you leave comments with specific details, there’s a chance your manager can tell it’s you. The team running the surveys have suggested using Spark or ChatGPT to rephrase your feedback so it’s not written in your exact way of speaking/writing.

One other detail, if there is less than 5 responses and/or people on the team, there’s manager doesn’t get the results. They will be blended into their leader’s results.

I’m a people leader and have access to the system and training to see what’s possible and what’s not.

If you really want to see, or prove, that these surveys are not truly anonymous, do this.

Towards the bottom they usually have an empty comment box and ask you to enter any optional additional comments.

After having entered all low scores to the company, in that comment box enter something like, “I, [enter your Director’s first and last name here], do hereby answer all of the above questions honestly as I feel this corporation is really failing across the board in many facets and I am ashamed to be a leader here.”

@re sadly you realize no one will believe you - and they should not. I also was one of those people who got countless emails to complete it and I finally did but did not answer every question - I got an email my survey was INCOMPLETE please go back and resubmit. So sorry can't believe you

@re I would hardly call them having those three specifics, GEO location, tenure, and job title as anonymous.

I mean, for example, if I was a leader and saw that the person on my team that took this survey was in Pittsburgh PA, been with the company 6 years, and was a Behavioral Clinician, it would not be too difficult for me to figure out who they are. Probably could figure it out before a rodeo bull rider could stay in a bull.

I was honest one time in ten years and I was demoted....that was the only change and noone can convince me that my honesty about the leadership, or lack thereof, was a direct contributor to said demotion.

HI. Wont disclose who I am but am a leader with the org. The surveys ARE anonymous. Any indication in the comments to geo location, personal experiences that can be tied directly to you, tenure with the org, or job title may allow management to tie it back to you. The reminder emails you receive may be from the company but are triggered by the vendor who manages the collection of the data. I also was extremely skeptical when I was an individual contributor, and I see why you all are, but I wholeheartedly promise they are anonymous. But I also agree they are ridiculous and ask questions they already know the answers to. They know the collective is not happy.

@ff Exactly! How would they know that you did not fill it out if it is totally anonymous as they keep saying. They cannot have it both ways!

Either it is truly anonymous, in which case, how do you know I did not fill it out and still have not? Or if you know I did not fill it out, THEN it is NOT anonymous after all.

I answered honestly for the first time, because I just couldn't lie on the great place to work question, and I appreciate my boss enough to ensure they don't end up on some kind of list for my noncompliance. So it was either - ignore, or be honest. To my great detriment, I chose the latter.

I'm sure this will speedrun me into a RIF, but how can you seriously ask that question when you're firing large swaths of people every month, giving 1% merit increases to those who survive the hunger games, promoting new hires to senior positions while terming institutional knowledge holders, pushing offshoring and AI to the detriment of everyone, actively and obviously trying to push people out, giving some departments unlimited travel budgets while others aren't allowed to even attend conferences, and even, as icing on the sh-t cake, going so far as to make pulse worse than it already was? This company has embraced enshittification and is becoming an industry leader in it.

So no, Gail, I would NOT recommend this company as a great place to work, at least for anyone not in or connected to your inner circle. It could be, and once was, and I probably foolishly hope it might one day be again, but if a friend of mine wanted to apply in 2026, I'd direct them elsewhere.

@f1 interesting for the past few years I have not completed the survey. I have also gotten an email from both of my "bosses" as they changed from one year to the next - asking me to complete it - my response is - "Thank you I did and submitted it x days ago" - after the second email with the same answer each one stopped asking - not my problem they can't find it - and how do you know it was me? GTFO

When I was at the end of my time at Anthem/ELV, they used to have a “unique ID” tied with each survey with instructions NOT to forward the survey link to anyone else. That alone tells you they can track responses by associate. The clincher was when a leader in our department would send emails to certain people (me included) requesting they complete the survey. There is no such thing as an anonymous survey unless it’s on paper.

I filled out the survey totally honestly. VERY low scores on everything and submitted it. In a team meeting with the VP of the department, the team was told that someone gave very low scores and the VP went to HR to find out who the person was. HR told the VP that they did not have access to that information because the survey was anonymous. I remained in that role for 2 years, promoted, posted out to another group and stayed in that role. I can't say if it really is anonymous or anonymous still but it certainly seemed to be at one time.

@dz same here - rated everything agree or neutral never made comments.
Fun times when you have to come up with an action plan on things you cannot change - here's my favorite - "Do you feel you have a voice in the changes made" - NO I DO NOT AND YOU DAM WELL KNOW IT.

@bp I was there for several decades and not once did I ever fill out a survey. It has never been anonymous and it never will be. Only bad things can come from answering these questions...especially if your answers are honest. They don't want honesty or integrity, they want fluff and a solid a$$kissing.

@bp Yeah, I stopped filling out the employee surveys the last year I was with the company. Love it when they send out surveys saying you have been randomly selected.

Another thin I love, if you read posts on Elevance, Humana, Cigna, Centene layoff pages, over time you will observe that they do everything the same, whether it be annual reviews, annual bonuses, RTO, layoffs, audits, PIPs, etc., etc.

It is as though none of these CEOs have a single original thought in their heads. And yet they all get paid around 20 million dollars a year!

I never fill them out anymore…..just delete the reminders to addressed to me….. hmmm how anonymous is that? Nothing is transparent or honest here…. Just putting in time until I don’t have to

About 10 years ago, I worked at Capital One. i had for years and was always in meets or exceeds expectations. Then one “anonymous” survey, I answered honestly. I was managed out within 6 months.

Honestly only works if you already have a plan out of there.

@a4 So true. I did the very same thing, in giving them all 10’s to every question on those surveys.

Problem is, because on team calls I was outspoken on things I felt, or rather knew, were not being handled correctly, I always wondered if when leaders reviewed those surveys, if possibly they made assumptions that negatively answered questions might have been from me, even though they couldn’t have because as I have already said I always gave all 10’s.

Point is, that is the problem with “anonymous” surveys that are reviewed by leaders of small teams. Because we are all imperfect human beings, it is very possible that a leader might wrongly punish or seek to remove someone that was totally innocent in answering those surveys, simply because of assumptions.

I just lie and give them high numbers as I don’t want to be put on the riff list. I almost did answer the first question on this survey and thought twice and gave them a 10 on the “ great place to work” question. They don’t realize their surveys are t being answered truthfully because people know their answers will count against them.