This is a petition on behalf of all the Aetna MAC Advocates who either don't feel comfortable speaking out, fear retaliation, or feel that their voices won't be heard. 

We seek to create an open dialog where legitimate concerns and quality of life change requests can be made for the benefit of all the Advocate's mental/emotional wellbeing.

One of the greatest sources of stress for all the advocates is the metrics system. The calls per hour may be a struggle, or the engagement rates may be lower or higher depending on a campaign you are assigned to with no feedback from the advocate. Having things like quarterly bonuses tied to a system where one’s metrics can tank simply due to a campaign you were assigned on should be unacceptable. Furthermore, the CPH metric increased during the period of time that work became remote. A consideration to moving the metrics back to what they were when the advocates were in a dedicated call center setting would ease some of the anxiety the advocates have in meeting their daily goals.

Allowing advocates some discretion in what campaigns they work on would be a positive change moving forward to promote Advocate satisfaction. Some advocates have worked on 6 or more campaigns already this year alone. This does not promote a sense of stability for the advocates, and certainly does not allow the advocates to have any sense of mastery in the campaigns. 

It is important that if Aetna/CVS is going to promote a set of ideals or standards, they should be able to be applied to both the members AND the advocates! Put people first, creating simplicity, inspiring trust, and joining forces. Put these ideals into action. Unfortunately many advocates feel that their concerns/requests/feelings are immediately disregarded. Which creates an environment where advocates don't feel that it's worth the time to even bother speaking up about the issues that we struggle with on a daily basis.  

Our parent company CVS states that it is aware of employee burnout and is actively trying to combat it, along with employee dissatisfaction. Unfortunately on our team, I have not seen many efforts to actively support mental or emotional wellbeing. Allow more brain breaks, or simply time where advocates can have a moment off of making calls throughout each  day.

Training is often inadequate, and many advocates feel that they are basically left to figure things out on their own. Being told to simply review the FAQs for a campaign and get on the phone is a highly inappropriate request from supervisors. System access is sporadic among the advocates, yet we are all supposed to know how to navigate these systems with, again, little or no training. GPS, SCP, MP, HRP, Medcompass, Smart Front End, MHK, Marx, different systems under Quickbases, etc. New projects like the NICE Dialer only further complicate things. 

Adjust the job description, and recruitment pitch to align with the reality of the position. Advocates were told that we would not have to sell anything, yet we are told we have to try and sell the call to members who do not want to take the calls. We were told we could take our time, actually engage and educate the members, but it is not practical in that metrics do not allow this. Our trainers said that there would not be micromanaging, yet how many aspects of our day are assessed and put into numbers and critiqued? Allowing advocates to be permitted a lateral transfer after six months in the department would also be a positive step forward aligning with the CVS employee handbook. 

Increase the employee salary for this position, including yearly cost of living increases. In terms we should be able to relate to the Social Security cost of living adjustment for 2022 was 5.9%. Yet many advocates received  less than a 0.01% raise. This is not going to retain talent, and there is a general sense from many advocates that they are only staying with the company as long as it takes to not have to repay the retention bonus. 

Retrain the supervisors in compassion and understanding. Many advocates feel like they are just a number. Supervisors seem out of touch with what the advocates go through day to day in their job duties, and are expected to simply do as they are told without feedback from the advocates. When questions are raised, being told that something is policy, and there is nothing to be done, is not going to retain talent, especially in the current job market.  

How many Advocates past and present need to sign this before there is discussion about serious changes? 10%? 20%? 50%? Should even a few advocates unnecessarily dread their work environment when simple changes could lead to such positive outcomes?