Creating a positive company culture is critical to the success of a company. In fact, according to a recent survey from Robert Half, more than one-third of workers would pass on the perfect job if the company did not offer a positive culture.
According to research by Deloitte, “94% of executives and 88% of employees believe a distinct corporate culture is important to a business’s success.” Positive company culture will result in better recruitment and retention, increased employee loyalty and job satisfaction, better work performance, and improved employee morale, which are all the ingredients required for a Top Place to Work award.
Are you doing enough to help your organization – or your clients’ organizations – create a positive company culture? You (and they) may be able to implement one or more of the concepts embraced by The Word & Brown Companies.
The following ideas may help you move toward a more positive company culture in your organization – or aid clients in their efforts to attract and retain employees and increase employee fulfillment.
Word & Brown Insurance Administrators (Word & Brown) was founded on the belief in creating a “Culture of Excellence.” The founders, John Word and Rusty Brown, wanted to create a company that was employee focused. They take pride in fostering a culture that attracts, retains, inspires, and invests in people and their contributions.
They established core values that would result in the culture of excellence that they aimed for when founding their company in 1985. Service, innovation, passion, accountability, integrity, and respect are the core values that all employees who work at The Word & Brown Companies exemplify. Each core value is embodied from the top-down. John and Rusty lead by example and they expect their Executive Leadership and Management Teams to live the core values aloud. The leaders establish trust by representing the company’s core values, which helps promote a positive company culture.
Another way that Word & Brown creates a positive company culture is by treating their employees with respect, valuing their contributions, and offering them opportunities for career growth and advancement. Word & Brown offers employees great pay and benefits, which is how the company demonstrates its appreciation for employees’ contributions.
The companies have many employee-recognition programs like Raving Fans, where clients and employees recognize team members for going above and beyond. Their Service of Unequalled Excellence awards, given quarterly, provide the foundation for the “Employee of the Year” award, and are given to employees who exemplify the core values of the company. This employee recognition program provides monetary awards to recognize employees’ day-to-day contributions, which directly and positively impact the company’s success.
Additionally, Word & Brown invests in its employees by establishing a company-wide training goal tied to annual performance and merit increases. The internal corporate training department offers a variety of training opportunities to enhance employees’ skills and abilities.
The company continues to invest in employees by partnering with University of Arizona Global Campus, offering a full-tuition grant program, assisting in completion of an undergraduate or graduate degree, for employees whose education is in line with business objectives. This is a generous offering that Word & Brown provides, increasing education levels amongst its team to create a positive company culture and a pathway to promote from within. According to the Word & Brown new hire video, “Our employees make the vision become a reality and we are very pleased for them; and our employees – they’re our greatest asset – we’ll never forget that. Our employees want to be number one in our industry, and that’s what makes us so successful. There is not a person in our company who doesn’t understand Service of Unequalled Excellence.”
The positivity and company culture come from the passion of co-founders John Word and Rusty Brown. Their dedication and integrity have created a positive culture, which starts by respecting one another and treating each other equally. Both executives participate in the day-to-day business and are always available to each member of our diverse workforce. The open-door policy starts with them.
Word & Brown is dedicated to employee satisfaction and all levels of management have an open-door policy for employees to voice concerns or share ideas. The organization established a “Bright Idea” program, which gives employees the opportunity to communicate ideas to improve business processes and/or company culture.
Word & Brown places high importance on family and has a family-first approach within its business operations. Thus, employees are offered a flexible schedule that is demonstrated by allowing more than 96% of the workforce to work remotely or on a hybrid schedule.
The ways that Word & Brown creates a positive work culture only scratches the surface of what a wonderful place it is to work for Word & Brown. I encourage you to talk with your Word & Brown representative about how embracing similar programs and values at your workplace – or at your clients’ business locations – is bound to yield similar dividends.
About the Author: Flor Real is Vice President of Human Resources at The Word & Brown Companies. She joined the organization in 2019 with more than 25 years of experience in all aspects of human resources management, including a strong emphasis on employee relations, recruitment, and benefits administration. She is a credentialed expert in human resources with a Senior Certified Professional certification from the Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM). She is also a proud graduate of the University of California Los Angeles, where she completed a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science and Business Administration.
