WHY DOES COMPANY CULTURE MATTER?  Culture can be the difference between an employee wanting to stay at their current company or deciding to seek employment elsewhere. It is the difference between being a good company and a great company. Employees want to feel that their job has purpose and meaning, not just a job that they collect a paycheck from.

THE CULTURE WALL EXERCISE:  Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, our company had its annual meeting. We were excited to learn that we would be developing a “Culture Wall” in our home office. During this meeting, we were asked to view animated artwork with phrases and vote on which ones resonated with us.  The phrases with the most votes would be placed on tiles, and those tiles would be showcased on our Culture Wall. While each phrase had a unique meaning to our employees, it was apparent from the voting that each phrase selected had the common theme of being engaged in what we do.

OUR CULTURE PROMOTES THE BELIEF THAT WE HAVE TO FAIL IN ORDER TO SUCCEED:  Every time something goes wrong, it brings a new opportunity to learn and grow. While it can be daunting to fail, it is the key ingredient to success. Making mistakes allows us to learn what went wrong and how to correct them for the future. The key is to have resilience and come back stronger.  

IT IS INGRAINED IN US TO TAKE INITIATIVE: We are given a lot of autonomy to do our job. While there are rules and state guidelines that must be adhered to, we are encouraged to think of ways to get things done. A great example of this is when a new underwriter who was hired in Pennsylvania reached out to agents and brokers to let them know he was there. He created signs stating “Open for Business” and sent them to the agencies.  This was a great start to building relationships with them. The underwriter is a remote employee who was modeling the example that we can invent our universe. If he had not taken the initiative, they would not have known that they had a local underwriter in their state. 

WE ARE ALWAYS THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX AND ASKING IF THERE IS A BETTER WAY TO DO SOMETHING: When we challenge the status quo, we are finding better ways to serve our customers. Instead of doing something a certain way, “because that is the way it’s always been done,” we instead are asking, “how can we make this process easier and more efficient?” Customers appreciate solutions that save them time and make their jobs easier.

EVERYONE COUNTS AND EVERYONE MATTERS: Everyone here has a voice and is encouraged to share their opinions.  A great example of this is the name of our podcast. When it was announced that we were going to have a company podcast, we were all asked to think of what to name it. We all gave ideas, and the name that was chosen was from a recently hired intern. While we may not always be able to take someone’s idea and put it into motion, they are always heard.

IT’S A MARATHON, NOT A RACE:  There is so much more we want to accomplish; this is just the start of our journey. We have many things we want to achieve, and we understand it takes time. We know that if we work hard as a team, stay positive, think differently, and treat everyone with respect, we will get to where we need to be!