Insurance Luminaries 2023 Workplace Culture Honorees
These honorees promote insurance careers, bolster current professionals, engage with rising stars, and further DEI and ESG work. (Part 3 of 5)
This marks the third year that PropertyCasualty360 has highlighted P&C insurance professionals and organizations that are pushing for fresh thinking around some of the most pressing issues of our time. This year, Insurance Luminaries are recognized in five categories that reflect the state of the industry: Claims Innovation, Coverage Innovation, Risk Management Innovation, Technology Innovation, and Innovation in Workplace Culture.
Honorees below in the Workplace Culture category promote the insurance industry as a great place to build a career. They actively support current insurance professionals and are engaged in finding and training new insurance stars. They are vested in fostering satisfied employees through diversity and inclusion initiatives, health and wellness programming, Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) initiatives, community service and more.
Acuity Insurance
Company
Acuity’s cultural innovation has affected and involved every one of its nearly 1,600 employees. Due to a poor work environment in the mid-1990s, the company’s voluntary turnover rate was more than 22%. The recruitment process required excessive time and effort to overcome negative impressions of the company in the marketplace. Acuity also had poor relationships with independent agents and had a reputation as an unstable company.
Following a change to a new upper management team in 1999, Acuity committed to a complete cultural innovation. Along with other benefits and enhancements, the company modernized the work environment, improved communications with staff, increased investment in staff education, created a market-based compensation system, offered unlimited sick leave, and contributed 8% of employees’ salaries to their 401(k)s, even if the employee did not contribute. As a result, Acuity’s turnover is consistently around 2%, and it has received numerous recognitions over the years as a great place to work. Acuity is rated 4.8 out of 5 on Glassdoor with 95% of reviewers recommending the workplace to friends. https://www.acuity.com/
Applied Systems
Company
For 40 years, Applied systems has not only been the leading global provider of cloud-based software powering the business of insurance, it’s also been an innovator in workplace culture.
Applied celebrates diversity with an organization-wide diversity program that’s included more than 80 events and activities since 2020, and nearly 50% of employees engage in these events. In addition, it sponsors Communities of Interest (COIs) formed by employees with commonalities as well as their allies. Currently there are five COIs focused on women, LGBTQ+, seen and unseen disabilities, African Americans, and veterans. COIs are supportive, inclusive networks of employees that build meaningful relationships across the company.
The company also provides numerous educational opportunities for employees, with a variety of self-paced and guided learning programs.
In addition to its own initiatives, Applied partners with multiple organizations to expand the reach of its positive environment beyond the workplace to the wider communities it serves. https://www1.appliedsystems.com/en-us/
H.W. Kaufman Group Human Resources
Team
The H.W. Kaufman Group’s human resources team has become a trailblazer in the industry, consistently raising the bar and setting new standards.
The team has revolutionized the talent experience by implementing initiatives that prioritize well-being, growth, and engagement of its workforce. The team implemented flexible work hours and other arrangements to support a healthy work-life balance, which has increased productivity and engagement levels. The team personalized development plans, mentorship opportunities, and access to learning programs to create a culture of learning and growth. The team also prioritizes diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in all aspects of its HR practices. This includes unbiased recruitment processes, inclusive policies and benefits, and the establishment of employee resource groups (ERGs) to foster a sense of belonging. And the team harnesses the power of data analytics to drive strategic initiatives. Data-driven decision making enables the team to identify areas for improvement, forecast future needs, and deliver impactful outcomes.
Finally, the team collaborates with other departments, industry experts and HR networks to learn and share best practices to encourage the advancement of the insurance industry. https://www.hwkaufman.com/
Mary Steed
Individual
Mary Steed is more than just NFP’s Chief People Officer. She is a people person, and her care for people shines through in everything she does. People — employees, clients and community members — are the heart and soul of our business, and Steed uses her expertise and insight to develop, execute, and refine our strategy for supporting people. She was part of the select team that launched NFP’s PeopleFirst Experience to attract, engage, and retain talented individuals. This is a robust platform of resources and support across well-being finance, recognition, inclusions, community and development.
Steed’s impact is felt in the community as the leader of NFP Cares, which raises money and recruits volunteers for causes that are meaningful to our employees. Steed helped steer the company through the COVID pandemic by taking a leadership role in transitioning the workforce to remote settings, then creating a Blended Workplace Program to help bring them back in a hybrid structure. https://www.nfp.com/about-nfp/leadership/mary-steed
Nikki-Ann Thomson-Parkinson
Individual
Nikki-Ann Thomson is the CRO for Priderock Capital Partners as well as the CEO of All Lines Adjusters. She single-handedly created an Insurance and Risk Management Department in August 2021, and has since collected in excess of $30 million of proceeds. She has implemented risk avoidance, risk aversion, and risk assessment tools in order to avert the potential of catastrophic failures. This has helped Priderock to increase revenues each and every quarter. She has been invited to teach at WIND 2023 and 2024.
Outside of insurance, she serves on the Civil Service Board in Coconut Creek, Fla. She aids in resolving disputes with city employees. She also participates in Champion for the Poor, helping to donate food, books and school supplies to children in Florida and the Caribbean. https://www.priderockcapitalpartnersllc.com/
Pennsylvania Lumbermens Mutual Insurance
Company
Pennsylvania Lumbermens Mutual Insurance Company (PLM) has found that its talent retention strategies have served it well through the recent talent shortage. PLM has long tried to help new talent feel valued from day one, with every new employee receiving a young tree on their first day, as both evidence of the company’s investment in them and a symbol of how their career can grow.
PLM also is committed to continuing education programs. These include both internal programs such as cyber training, regular webinars, meetings, and more programs to help the team stay current on the latest industry trends. In addition, PLM provides funding for team members who want to earn additional degrees in business or insurance. In 2022, 99% of employees participated in professional development. https://www.plmins.com/
USI Gives Back
Program
Through USI Gives Back, each year thousands of USI employees give their time, talent, and treasure back to the local communities the company serves. Since the program’s inception in August 2014, USI employees have helped to improve over 2.5 million lives.
The Gives Back campaigns run at a certain time (in 2022, it was throughout August and September), but local office teams have the flexibility to plan and complete their volunteer events. Employees are encouraged to incorporate the values of USI’s “I’m with U” diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) program into their community volunteer events, reinforcing USI’s continued support for underrepresented groups and the organizations dedicated to uplifting them.
The 2022 campaign consisted of more than 307 volunteer events — a 29% increase from the previous year. The events impacted over 250,000 lives and supported more than 5,400 animals with more than 13,200 volunteer hours. In addition, 79% of volunteer events supported at least one or more diverse or underrepresented groups. groups. www.usi.com/community
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