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Corporate culture is more than shiny foosball tables and Friday fireside chats. It’s more than a weekly happy hour in the office or an office getaway. While those things all seem pretty great, what is corporate culture anyway? Corporate culture is built upon a value system; a company’s beliefs, values, ethics and method of working. Embedded within that system is the way employees are treated by their employer, from inside the workplace, to outside. This ties directly to health and wellness–in other words: employee benefits.

The foosball table? That comes next.

What is Corporate Culture

Culture is best described as the overall lifestyle of a company. Down to the heart and soul of that lifestyle.

A healthy culture is a comfortable environment in which employees are happy and can do their best work. Moreover, a healthy culture will attract more talent, because naturally, good employees want to be a part of good companies. On the flip side, an unhealthy culture breeds negativity, and can ultimately lead to complete failure for a business.

Red Flags in Corporate Culture

When was the last time you took a step back to look at your company’s culture? Here are some red flags to look out for:

Relaxed Office Culture

The office is a little too ‘lax. While many new startups are started by young millennials today, a lack of business and life experience can lead those workplaces to prioritize fun before work. Relaxed attitudes and days that start late aren’t the secrets to business success. An immature culture needs to grow up if it’s going to evolve.

Defined Company Culture

Your company perks are in-office only. Good company culture means caring for your employees even after they’ve left the office. This shows that you care for your employees as people, not only staff. Health benefits help staff to be their best selves, in and out of the office.

An old boys club mentality. On the flip side, some businesses refuse to change or accept new ideas or new people. Dated thinking and an unwillingness to keep up with the times through culture and technology are going to leave a business in the dark ages.

Foster Open Communication

The office community is lacking. If coworkers are unwilling to share information with them, your workplace may be breeding an environment of mistrust and poor communication. Furthermore, when communication spreads, so do company values. At the end of the day, you want your employees to all be working towards the same purpose, together.

Focusing Too Much on Results

The culture is based only on results. Organizations that see employee-employer relationships as only transactional – “you get a paycheque for doing your job and that should be enough” – lose talented employees who don’t feel appreciated or invested. Most people want employment that has meaning, not just money. 

Does anything sound familiar? While few company cultures are absolutely perfect, most aren’t completely horrendous either. Besides, a 360-degree culture turnaround is unlikely and not necessary (or achievable – or even advisable!).

How to Improve Workplace Culture

Here are some ways to help you improve the health of your workplace environment:

Get Employees Involved in Workplace Culture

Involve your employees. Your staff plays the largest part in shaping workplace culture. In addition to letting them know about a shift in culture, ask them to help build it. Reflect on the vision of your ultimate corporate culture regularly, and ask your staff for their input on such. Many will probably have ideas about the steps necessary to achieve it. Regular open-dialogue office chats will help move those ideas forward.

Invest in Your Employees

Show your employees you care about them–long-term. It’s important to invest in your people the same way you invest in your overhead. As a result, your employees will invest in your company by working for you productively and sticking around. Caring for the health of your employees is the most effective way to do this. When they’re happy and healthy–so is your business.

Remember your vision. Has your company’s path veered away from its original destination? Maybe you’re in the midst of creating a new vision and mission and value statement. 

The best way to do this is to be open and foster a good work-life balance for your employees. 

Check-in With Your Employees

Re-authentication is important, and often the way a business evolves for the better. Nurture accountability and build buy-in by pulling out those statements regularly, sharing them with your employees and measuring whether your actions are aligning with your vision. In other words, check back in with the heart of your business regularly.

Show Workplace Culture Don’t Just Tell

Show, don’t tell the way. As a leader, your role is to lead the charge–whether that means a slight tweak or a major overhaul. Don’t mistake that for taking a strictly top-down approach – positive change doesn’t happen because the boss orders it. Tell your staff where you’re going, ask for their input, and make it a habit to exemplify the values that you’re striving for every single day.

If you would like to know if we can help you attract and retain top talent by adding Group Insurance Benefits to your business and strengthening the security your employees feel while at work and away – I’d love to chat.

So a new employee joins the team. Their job is ultimately to help you, but what about the other way around?

Healthcare is the number one benefit employees look for in a potential employer. In fact, 77% of respondents say they wouldn’t move to a job that didn’t include health benefits. When you provide an employee with quality healthcare, they in turn feel valued and are healthier. This improves workplace happiness. In other words help your employees and in the long run they will help you.

Here are all of the ways in which a group benefits plan will help your employees:

Working for a small company can often feel like working as a contractor. Without security and corporate perks, what is the point? A benefits package can seriously up the culture game for any small startup. With the right benefits, employees can feel like they’re a part of something bigger–even in a company of say, two. Day-to-day, benefits improve the physical and mental health of employees. Research shows that people who are uninsured actually have poorer health and shortened lives. So, what is needed: 

Peace of mind: Not only does a group benefits plan cover medical expenses an employee might otherwise struggle to pay out of pocket, but it provides a sense of security–mentally. If you know your health is taken care of should a worst-case scenario unfold, it’s easier to focus on the stuff that truly matters in your life-day-to-day. Moreover, there’s no financial planning for that dreaded medical emergency. Employees can simply pay their premiums through payroll deductions and know they’re taken care of.

A plan B in the case that a critical illness should prohibit their ability to work: If one of your employees were to suddenly fall ill and no longer be able to work, critical illness insurance in a group benefits plan would help meet the financial burden accompanying that illness. With this insurance, employees can choose to use the funds to pay for medical costs, basic living expenses, or anything else for which they should see fit.

Life insurance to support employees and their families: Group life insurance provides financial support to families of employees in the event of their death. Furthermore, employees are able to simply pay their premiums through payroll deductions. In addition to covering spouses and dependent children in the case of death, most life insurance plans include living benefit provisions–in other words, money-back guarantees or guaranteed returns.

Good overall coverage, at an affordable cost: The group structure of a group benefits plan, renders the cost of such cheaper than an individual plan. It also provides more comprehensive coverage than an individual plan, is more affordable, and has minimal risk. The reason? Mitigating the risk of cost over a large group leads to lower premiums for everyone, meaning less money out of your pocket.

Freedom to control their health care: With a group benefits plan like the Chamber’s Group Plan, employees are actually able to control the back-end of their benefits package as they wish through My-benefits®. This practical self-serve option offers employees personal contact with insurance agents should they have questions about their benefits, claims and much more. They can even submit claims and see when they’re eligible for their next medical check-up!

Interested in learning more about a group benefits plan for your business? Call me or fill out our free quote form.

“Employees don’t leave companies; they leave managers.” This statement circulates frequently in HR circles and because of that, it’s hard not to take it personally when an employee leaves your company. And oftentimes, it comes down to more than just a salary.

You could be the best manager on the planet, but the truth is that this fact still doesn’t have the power to stop an employee from eventually leaving their role should they outgrow your company and their position in that company. In any business, turnover is simply the name of the game. Regardless of all of this, employees want to feel valued by their employers. As someone in a management position, how do you demonstrate that you value your employees? One way is by offering the right benefits.

As an employer, it’s in your best interest to attract the right candidates, and it’s in your power to create the best environment so that they will not only stick around as employees but also want to do so. So, what are your prospective employees truly looking for in a new job?

1. Flexible schedules: Your employees work to live, they don’t live to work. A flexible schedule shows them that you support them in maintaining a healthy work-life balance. Tip: Flexible schedules, including having work-from-home days, are known for increasing at-work productivity! With this kind of schedule, you’ll also attract powerful candidates who happen to be working parents.
2. A management team who cares about their well-being: This can tie into flexible schedules, but this point largely relates to workplace wellness initiatives. One survey found that fifty percent of employees would like to see a greater focus on well-being at their company–something to take note of. How can you demonstrate the same? A) Access to a fitness facility or an allowance towards one for their physical health. B) Access to psychological wellness services or an allowance towards such services for their mental health.
3. Opportunities for professional development: A good employee will leave if they feel they are no longer growing in their role, and as an individual. When they’re looking for a new job? They’ll seek out supplemental learning options. This can be in the form of workshops, retreats, conferences, or lunch and learn sessions.
4. Caregiver leave: If the unthinkable happens to an employee’s family member, such as a critical illness, the family will inevitably move into first place in that employee’s life. Knowing that a leave is not only accepted but encouraged by management goes a long way to demonstrate a company’s empathy.
5. Supplementary income: Are your best-performing employees rewarded for taking the initiatives that grew your annual profits through bonuses? This can be a tangible method to demonstrate that you truly appreciate the value in existing employees’ work for your business as well as a deciding factor for many goal-oriented viable candidates.

What kind of employer do you strive to be? Are you interested in providing a competitive benefits package as part of your brand? Contact me or fill out our free quote form for a customized benefits solution.

As an owner of a small business, your world is constantly challenged with risk. Competitors and regulators. Supply and demand. Your business’s success depends on your ability to react to forces beyond your control. This isn’t news to any small business owner who’s managed to stay solvent.

But how do you protect yourself against events that you’d rather not consider? How do you negate the risks that exist within your own team?

After the death of Steve Jobs, Apple was forced to face this personal and professional devastation to their business.  Their stock immediately suffered. Investors doubted the tech giant’s ability to remain an industry leader without its mastermind. With billions of dollars in capital, reserves and hundreds of employees, Apple managed to persevere through the Jobbs-loss fallout.

Unpredictable tragedies are a part of life and can quickly mark the death of a small business. Most business owners lack the funds to get through these trials alone. Luckily, a number of insurers have emerged with coverage options tailored exactly to that–for small businesses like yours. Here are some liabilities to consider when deciding on insurance coverage for your business:

Overhead Expense Insurance

As a small business owner, you live your job. Your passion and leadership are essential to the evolution of your brand. The last thing you want to consider is an injury or illness that renders you unable to work. But the question is worth asking: How well would your business truly survive without you?

Overhead expense insurance is a cost-effective and readily available investment to provide peace of mind when you need it most. Business Overhead Expense insurance covers the bills that still need to be paid in your absence. Rent, property taxes, and office cleaning are just a few of the covered expenses, leaving you to focus on a healthy return.

Key Person Insurance

No business owners achieve success without a strong team around them. As your brand grows, the importance of your key employees will deepen. These individuals will quickly become your brand’s most valuable assets. Their value to your continued growth must be acknowledged and protected. Key Person Insurance insulates your brand from the injury or death of an essential team member. The coverage provides a hefty lump-sum payment to cover the financial hit that is sure to follow the accident.

Partnership Insurance

A business partner is someone who remained by your side through thick and thin. Together, you’ve managed the booms and busts of the market and built an enterprise. Partnership Insurance is a prudent measure to ensure the continuity of your brand after you are gone.

This type of insurance is often carried out through life insurance coverage for each partner. In the event of a partner’s death, the policy will payout to the remaining owners who will use the funds to purchase the shares owned by the Deceased.

How Much is Small Business Insurance

Small business insurance can be customized to meet the needs of each individual business. It is hard to quote a general price as the amount of coverage, size of the business, and needs will change premiums. I offer many different options of insurance giving you a specialist who can cover small business insurance, employee benefits, and life insurance. 

Call me or fill out our free quote form. I’d love to help you design a plan that suits your unique business needs.