Culture

Employee burnout takes a toll on health, productivity and ultimately an agency’s bottom line.

Coming from a family of insurance people, Dallas Ross always knew that she wanted to be in insurance.

In April, the Big “I” Diversity Council hosted the Inclusive Agency Roundtable, which brought together independent agents, company partners and industry leaders to discuss actionable strategies for creating more inclusive agencies.

Everyone gets jazzed about customer branding. But it really begins with the brand inside your four walls: your culture.

Angela Ripley, president of VW Brown Insurance in Columbia, Maryland, brings two decades of agency leadership, eight acquisitions and a passion for mentorship and inclusion to the role of Big “I” chair.

Does your agency staff feel safe to admit mistakes before they become an errors & omissions claim? One of the worst E&O nightmares is someone hiding agency mail to avoid facing their mistakes.

“Spanish is my first language,” says young agent Deuel Romero. “I got into the industry when I saw a huge opportunity with the underserved demographic of the Hispanic business owner community.”

“It takes a lot of work to do this job,” says young agent Yuliya Karpov. “This profession provides an opportunity to find harmony, to learn about yourself and what you need, then reflect and adjust accordingly.”

“The core value of lending a helping hand and never being too busy to help a producer … is everything I want in a mentor, especially as a guy that didn’t go to school for insurance,” says young agent Jackson Doyle.

Workplace mental health and wellness impacts all aspects of a business: performance, culture, retention and the bottom line.