Leadership Perspectives

How the West Is Being Won

John Hohman, Western Regional Managing Director and
Paul Saich, Western Regional President

Some people are meant to be together. Think Batman and Robin, Han Solo and Chewbacca, Holmes and Watson, John Hohman and Paul Saich. Those last two are a match made in integrated selling heaven, and they’re leading the growth of our Western region — John for corporate benefits and Paul in commercial property and casualty (P&C).

John, why do you cringe when you’re called a “benefits guy”?

John: Because our NFP team does everything a corporate customer needs to run its business. Yes, our focus is benefits, but every producer at NFP should talk about the company in its totality. Our goal is to be a business owner’s trusted advisor, whether that means employee benefits, retirement, wealth planning or P&C. Why wouldn’t I mention workers’ compensation, professional liability and all of the things Paul and his folks focus on?

Paul: Yes, John and I have worked hard to bring P&C and benefits together. Many times we go see clients together. But our main role is to make sure our producers and employees are successful. Before, that would mostly be about driving sales. Today, because of our region’s size, it’s more about coordination of people and resources. We need to make sure everyone knows how to share the same message about NFP.

Yeah, your region has grown quite a bit recently.

Paul: There’s a solid platform built out, with NFP offices in almost every metropolitan-type area of the region. With the acquisitions done primarily over the last four years, the strategy is rolling books of business and small agencies into what already exists. It’s no longer about establishing the presence but strengthening it, especially on the P&C side.

What’s a big win that came from the benefits and P&C teams working together?

John: The P&C team was working with the CFO of a 300-person technology company. The company wanted to leave what’s called a “professional employer organization,” or PEO, which manages HR and employee benefits. Paul brought in the benefits side of the house to handle those areas, and the rest is history. A commercial insurance account of roughly $75,000 in revenue turned into $350,000. The client uses seven of our products and services instead of three — a good success story that demonstrates exactly what’s supposed to happen.

Paul: John and I work hard to break down walls, because we realize that the success rate is a lot higher when we work together. As we coordinate with each other, we also coordinate with the Corporate Development team. While we focus on selling and driving revenue, that team focuses on refining the overall direction of NFP’s integrated sales initiative across every region. Working together, we’ve been able to gain a tremendous amount of knowledge about what works and what doesn’t. The Corporate Development team also makes sure that each region knows what the other regions are learning and doing. We don’t have to waste valuable time tracking down best practices; they’re put right in front of us so we can quickly turn them into those big wins.

Not an easy task, for sure. So how do you work through integrated-selling challenges?

John: The reality is that it’s sometimes a painful process to have offices think in one business product or service instead of multiple ones. It’s taken time to build the excitement and trust we have with our producers. You have to show the wins. Once you show revenue coming in the door, whether it’s P&C or benefits, people notice and don’t want to be left out. We’ve got to keep the momentum going as we focus on recruiting, developing our sales teams and growing the existing platform.

Paul: We’re also developing resources for staff. The Western region has held three annual conferences that bring together producers, senior account managers and claims teams to give them clarity around all the different resources NFP has. Last year it got so large we did one in northern California and one in Southern California. We also developed the California Integrated Selling Guide, which lays out a game plan for integrated selling and standards for engagement across offices, and we drafted an ACA reporting guide for the region.

Sounds like a pretty exciting time to be in your region.

John: Not just our region — every region. It’s exciting to see how far integrated selling has come in general and to see the growing collaboration between regions. We’ve got cases where the guys out of New York are supported by service teams in the West. Being able to think locally, regionally, nationally and even internationally is just amazing.

Paul: Agreed. We’ve had such great results sharing resources, and we’re not even full-steam ahead yet. We’re just going to keep getting better.

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PeopleFirst

RECOGNITION

Unsung Hero, Janae Taylor

Janae Taylor is a major asset to her Orange County, CA, office and to all of NFP. As an account manager, she’s always more than willing to help anyone in any business line, whether it’s employee benefits, personal lines or P&C. Janae does a fantastic job coming up with exciting theme event ideas for her office and then bringing them to life — even if that means working after hours to make sure all the details are taken care of. Janae exudes enthusiasm all of us should aspire to. She’s pleasant and positive, and she always makes an extra effort to ensure a comfortable environment for her colleagues. It's wonderful having Janae on the team!

When she’s not at work, Janae enjoys spending time doing yoga and karaoke.

Unsung Hero, Kerry Ahrens

Kerry, a senior product specialist in our New York Alterity office, embodies what it means to be an unsung hero. Her key role in stop-loss claims requires a level of sophistication, passion and energy that isn’t easy to find. Kerry monitors the office’s client claims, processes stop-loss reimbursement claims on their behalf with insurance carriers and ensures that reimbursements are paid correctly so that our clients receive every dollar they’re owed. Our clients join our programs because they get good rates and terms — but they stay because of Kerry. She’s incredibly skilled at fostering relationships, and her patience and dedication make her the ultimate client advocate. We’re a better organization because of the work she does every day.

Kerry enjoys spending time with her family, friends and her dog Chloe.

Know an Unsung Hero? Submit a nomination form to humanresources@nfp.com.

Marykay Mentzer Speaks on Business Ethics

Our Director for Global Client Solutions in our Atlanta office, Marykay Mentzer, does it all! Not only does she work with on-shore and off-shore trusts; she also facilitates client retention of top talent. Because of her knowledge on diverse global solutions and her experience working with people in intense situations, Marykay was invited to give a speech on business ethics at Georgia Tech’s Scheller College of Business on Oct. 12. A true Georgia peach, Marykay studied physics at Georgia Institute of Technology and computer science at Georgia State University. We’re so proud of her speaking recognition, and we hope it was a warm welcome home.

NFP’s Own 20 Under 40

On Sept. 14, Benefits Consultant Shawn Norris of our Clippinger Financial Group office was honored as one of Evansville Business Journal’s “20 Under 40” notable business professionals. For the past seven years, Shawn has been a rising star, driving new business under the mentorship of Bill and Scott Clippinger. Shawn’s good business sense, passion for employee health and wellness, and entrepreneurial spirit have helped deepen the NFP brand ties in southern Indiana and throughout the Midwest. “My priority with our clients is employee education and engagement,” Norris said. “If employees understand what’s being offered, they’re more likely to stay.” By providing employee benefits solutions, Norris is helping both the clients and their employees. “We believe in empowering employers, putting people first and focusing on the employee,” Norris said. Congratulations to Shawn and his team on this well-deserved distinction!

Daniel Rodliff Joins Vermont Insurance Board of Directors

Vice President of P&C in our South Burlington, VT, office Daniel Rodliff was recently recognized by his peers when he was elected to the board of the Vermont Insurance Agents Association as a director. This isn’t his first honor; Dan has won numerous awards during his distinguished career. He currently manages three offices in northern Vermont, helps to develop marketing strategies and assists with NFP integration in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. Congratulations on the new board position!

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COMMUNITY

Feed My Starving Children

On Oct. 1, 39 employees from our Warrington, Jamison, Fort Washington and Blue Bell, PA, offices participated in the Feed My Starving Children Mobile Pack Event in Doylestown, PA. They packed 30,240 meals in a single day. All teams together packed 544,291 meals, which will feed 1,491 children around the world for a full year!

Race for the Cure

Employees and their families from our Charlotte, NC, and Greenville, SC, offices formed Team NFP, “The Carolinas’ Most Interesting Team.” The tagline on their T-shirts read, “We Don’t Usually Race, But When We Do … We Race for the Cure!” Both offices sponsored and participated in this Susan G. Komen event. Way to show team spirit and make a difference!

Charlotte, NC, Office


Greenville, SC, Office

Habitat for Humanity

Fifty Lenox Advisors employees shared their time, talent and treasure with Habitat for Humanity. Employees in New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles raised money and worked together as a team to build affordable housing for families in need. Thank you for your commitment to your communities.

NY Office


Los Angeles Office


San Francisco Office

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WELL-BEING

Wellness Expos

The Woodbury, NJ, Austin, TX, and New York offices all hosted well-attended Wellness Expos for their local employees and contractors. Employees were educated on preventive measures to improve their health, and they made the most of multiple vendors who were on site. Staff members in both offices got flu shots and biometric screenings and enjoyed complimentary chair massages. We hope this opportunity helped promote a healthy work-life balance.

Austin, TX, Wellness Expo


Ruth Weaver and Mary Bowser working the Woodbury, NJ, Wellness Expo

Goals Challenge

It’s time for our next PeopleFirst Well-Being Challenge! At the 2016 Strategy Summit, CEO Doug Hammond shared his own goal to lose 20 pounds before the 2017 Strategy Summit. We challenge you to join Doug and your colleagues in setting your own health goal and tracking your progress over the next few months. Stay tuned for updates from Doug on his progress in the coming months.

Your goal doesn’t have to be weight loss — what you choose is up to you! You could commit to improved nutrition, getting more physical activity, reducing stress, sleeping better or something else. Not sure what to do? One of our leaders in Arizona is proud to share his story:

Ed Is Stepping Up
Ed Kurowski, a regional P&C president, believes that goals and accountability are important. “Setting achievable, measurable goals is what we strive to do with our employees. I’d like to put myself out there to set a goal and be held accountable for it,” he says. Ed uses his Fitbit to track his steps and mileage, averaging 26 miles each week. Starting Aug. 29, his goal was to increase his weekly mileage by 20 percent for that week and 3 percent each subsequent week. By the end of February, his weekly mileage should be about 67 miles! What a great example of setting a measurable goal! Way to go, Ed, and best of luck!

Join the Challenge
The challenge is open to all employees and runs now through March 17, 2017. Here’s how to join:

1. Log on to powerofvitality.com.
2. Hover over “Health Profile” and click on “Goals.”
3. Set the “Goal Setting” option to “All” to browse all available goals and pick your favorite.
4. Describe your goal, set a reward for yourself, and pick the length of time for your goal.
5. Check in to your goal on the Vitality website at least once per week to receive 30 Vitality points each time.

Share Your Story
Get extra Vitality points when you share your goal and provide progress updates along the way. You get 150 points for sharing your goal and 30 points for every progress update (limited to one update per month). We’ve already had so many great submissions from NFP employees on their goals and how they plan to achieve them! We’ll highlight some of those stories in the next edition of NFP News. You can choose to remain anonymous for the newsletter updates or share your story proudly with your NFP family.

UPDATE: Step Out: Walk to Stop Diabetes

Great things are happening as employees across the country are coming together to raise awareness and funds for the American Diabetes Association through Step Out: Walk to Stop Diabetes events.

Sixteen NFP teams are signed up so far, and we’ve raised over $10,000 for the ADA to support research and treatment for diabetes. Check out our multisite team page to see the latest participation and fundraising efforts — and to register. Even if you can’t attend your Step Out event in person, you can register as a virtual walker and show your support. Please send in pictures from your local walk so we can share them in the next newsletter. The donations are already marching in:

• One of our offices in Minnesota raised almost $400 with a hot dog and hamburger stand for donations.
• Employees in Aliso Viejo, CA, raised $401 with a yoga class and a smoothie bar at lunch.
  
• Our Cleveland office raised $726 accepting donations at a cookout and healthy dip exchange.
  

Have You Completed Your Vitality Check?

A Vitality Check is a biometric assessment that helps identify which areas of your health are strongest and which may need some work, as well as your risk for potential health problems like diabetes and heart disease. It includes physical measurements and a blood draw to determine your fasting blood glucose levels, blood pressure, total cholesterol and body mass index (BMI).

Earn 125 Vitality points for each of the four core biometric screening measures — and get extra points if your results fall within a health range. You’ll earn 1,000 points for a healthy BMI and 600 points each for healthy blood pressure, fasting glucose/HbA1c and total/LDL cholesterol results. That’s a potential 3,300 points!

Submitting your results is easy! Learn more by going to the Vitality website, hovering over the “Learning Center” tab and clicking on “Guide to Vitality.” On the left side of your screen, click on “Vitality Check” or “Health Results” to find more information and instructions on how to submit.

Health & Wellness Webinars

UnitedHealthcare offers free interactive online seminars and events focused on keeping you and your family healthy. The next webinar, “Preventing, Living and Coping with Diabetes” on Nov. 8 at 12:30 p.m. ET, will focus on the diet and lifestyle changes and tips that may help you prevent the onset of diabetes or manage the condition with greater success. Visit the UHC website to register.

Vitality offers a wellness webinar on the third Thursday of each month at 3:00 p.m. ET. Earn 50 Vitality points when you attend a live webinar or watch a recorded one you haven’t seen. Log on to powerofvitality.com, hover over the “Learning Center” tab and click on “Health Resources.” Click on “Health FYI Webcasts” to access recorded webinars and find out when the next webcast will be.

Five Ways to Treat Your Teeth This Halloween

October is National Dental Hygiene Month! So, before you or your children fill up on candy, review these great ways to give your oral hygiene (and potentially your wallet!) a boost:

1. Toss that toothbrush. How long have you been using the same toothbrush? If it’s been at least three months or you’ve been sick, it’s time to say goodbye. And while you’re looking for a replacement, don’t forget this handy shopping guide.
2. Step up your flossing game. Flossing once a day helps prevent gum disease, but we don’t always keep up with that regimen. Luckily, flossing even two or three times a week has benefits. Do you know the difference between floss and dental tape or how many inches of floss should you really be using? Find out all the facts to take your flossing to the next level.
3. Locate a Delta Dental PPO or Premier dentist near you. Using an in-network dentist for your oral health maintenance can start a positive chain reaction! By going in-network you’ll be covered 100 percent for your diagnostic and preventive services. Delta will also spend less of your annual benefit maximum dollars on your claim than if you were to go out of network, so your maximum will last much longer each year. For all other covered services, you’ll get the most from your benefits by using PPO providers; your next best bet is a Premier provider. Locate your nearest Delta Dental PPO and Premier providers.
4. Book an appointment for your next cleaning. Preventive care is essential to maintaining your oral health. Still not convinced? Check out six more reasons to make your appointment today.
5. Have a healthier Halloween. Did you know that dentists would rather you have more chocolate than other types of candy. And some dentists will buy your candy back from you! Here are some more quick tips for a healthy 2016 Halloween:
   • Limit chewy and sticky sweets. Sticky candies, like caramel and taffy, cling to teeth, giving cavity-causing bacteria time to set up shop.
   • Chocolate is a better option. Compared to other candy, chocolate dissolves and washes away quickly, so it’s less likely to cause decay.
   • Moderate the candy haul. Instead of letting your kids have free rein of their haul, dole out a few pieces after meals.
   • Sell your sweets. Have way too much candy? See if your dental office offers a buy-back program! You can look up by your zip code at halloweencandybuyback.com.

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DEVELOPMENT

NFP Supports Your Leadership Development

Grow your leadership skills through our Emerging Leaders series. This virtual educational series consists of seven courses designed to provide a solid leadership foundation. Each class is offered four times per year to eligible leaders. Those who complete the series receive a framed certificate signed by our CEO, Doug Hammond. Jackie Kociszewski in our Burtonsville, MD, office recently completed the series and earned her certificate. Contact Chris Magott for more information about the program.

L to R: Andrew Dixon, Mary Jane Donaldson, Jackie Kociszewski, Donna Beck, Wayne Shropshire

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Regional Office & Platform News

NFP Leadership Represents at CIAB

Eight of our top executives attended the Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers’ (CIAB’s) annual Insurance Leaders Forum at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, CO. The forum is CIAB’s premier meeting for the commercial P&C industry's top-tier broker executives and their carrier partners. Our leaders enjoyed meeting and strategizing with executives from our insurance company partners, wholesalers and key vendors, as well as a few competitors to discuss their future plans. It was also a great opportunity to improve our brand recognition and showcase NFP’s experience, strategies, relationship-building and thought leadership.

Beware of Data Breach

What’s scarier than no treats on Halloween? Data breach — client data being released into the public domain. It’s the biggest threat companies face right now, and NFP is no exception. In fact, in 2014, 81 percent of large companies and 60 percent of small companies suffered a breach (Lloyd’s of London April 2015 report). That’s pretty frightening!

With increasing incidents of ransomware, confidential data leaks and destruction of critical business systems throughout the country and around the world, the truth is that cyberattacks won’t ease in the future. They’ll escalate and get worse. But there are actions we can take to protect all parties and mitigate the damage. In addition to implementing best IT practices within NFP, we should keep our clients informed about the dangers of data breach. We offer not just good data management practices, but we can also offer proper insurance options for their situation. Start the conversation by asking your clients:

• What’s your game plan to address cyber risk?
• Do you know about/have you implemented IT best practices?
• Have you insured this risk?

If your clients aren’t protected or aren’t confident in their protection, you can help them to secure the proper insurance. Together, we can help keep our clients safe from the horrors of data breach.

Questions about what cyber risk solutions to offer your clients? Reach out to Harris Tsangaris.

Expertise Matters — an International Success Story

We're at our best at NFP when we do what we do best — employ each individual's expertise to provide the right solutions for our clients. Matt Pawley, international employee benefits consultant from our U.K. office, and Brian Wilkins, SVP of Business Development from our Plainview, NY, office, met in February 2015 and have developed a fantastic professional relationship.

Brian recently contacted Matt about a large hotel client that we have in the U.S. He explained that the client is expanding into the U.K. but isn’t sure how to go about it. The client had a local financial partner with other P&C and benefits relationships, so it was fortuitous that Matt was already there to offer the client a meeting to discuss benefits and see if we could craft a program to meet their needs. Matt’s expertise in the differences between the U.K. and the U.S. empowered him to educate the client, and they were able to make an informed decision about what kinds of benefits were important for their employees on both sides of the Atlantic. In the end, the company decided to go with us. Thanks to the collaboration between our offices and within our diverse and expanding company, we were able to give the client what they needed.

This is just another example of how working together benefits everyone, especially our clients. It’s not a one-man show — everyone’s individual expertise is important. And blended together, we’re unstoppable.

Introduce New Business to Benefits Clients for New Year’s Growth

It’s that time of year! Benefits teams are swamped with renewal work, as most of our benefits clients renew each Jan. 1. With this increase in client contact, what better time than now to discuss some of our other business lines with your clients?

How and when to start the conversation is important. Some clients are so busy getting through their benefits renewal that bringing new business up can seem like a bad idea. However, simply introducing the idea to them can be the perfect way to plant the seed for a more formal meeting with one of our other business teams after the “busy season.” Here are some easy ways to introduce some of our other business lines to benefits clients, without straying too far from the benefits conversations you’re already having:

Executive Benefits Talking Points

• You know, we’ve done work with other clients where we’ve brought in our executive benefits specialists and introduced some supplemental benefits that allowed us to right-size or reduce some of the group benefits designs. This could help you achieve savings and may also be a better solution for some of your top performers.
• I know lots of employers are looking for creative and progressive ways to expand their benefits offerings. Let’s set up a quick conversation with our executive benefits teams. They specialize in finding unique offerings that you can provide to employees at little cost but that can have a huge impact when it comes to delivering additional value. They’re sure to come up with some smart suggestions for you to consider.

Retirement Talking Points

• I’m sure you’ve heard of this student loan debt bubble. It’s really causing issues for employees early in their careers when it comes to adequately saving for retirement. Have you looked at the average balance for your younger employees in their 401(k) accounts recently? We could introduce a student loan refinancing program to try and help solve that issue. It might also be a good idea to set up a brief conversation with our retirement team. They often have great ideas on how we can help you better prepare all of your employees for retirement.
• You know, some of the best benefits platforms are ones that look at all non-cash benefits in an integrated way. Have we introduced you to our retirement team in the past? It might be worth involving them in some of our conversations. Thinking about where to invest benefits dollars to deliver the bigger value to employees is important, and they have some smart ideas on where we could reallocate some of the health and wellness dollars into a stronger retirement platform.

Property & Casualty Talking Points

• I know we’ve discussed your short-term disability, leave policies and protecting your employees, but how about the company and its risks? Our P&C team would be happy to do a review of your commercial insurance policies and details to make sure they're set up correctly. We’ll check to be sure there aren’t any gaps in coverage that can financially hurt your company. We might even find more efficiencies for your program.
• Obviously, a lot of what we’re talking about with regards to your benefits program is centered on controlling costs over the long term and the short term — which is just basic risk mitigation strategy. I’m wondering if you’d like to speak to our P&C team about taking a look at some of your liability policies, so they can make similar recommendations on that side. They’ll do an initial program review pro bono, so it couldn’t hurt to have a conversation with them, if you’re interested.

Introducing new business suggestions now may increase your sales and deepen client relationships in the near future. Try some of these out and ring in the new year with new business!

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Procurement

SHIP SMARTER WITH FEDEX OVERNIGHT OPTIONS

You’ve got important documents and business materials flying everywhere day and night, but did you know that there are more ways to get your FedEx shipments where they’re going quickly and cost-effectively than just FedEx First Overnight?

If your shipment can wait until tomorrow afternoon, you can save substantially with some of FedEx’s other overnight options:

• FedEx Standard Overnight, the lowest cost overnight option, gets there by 3 p.m. the following business day.
• FedEx Priority Overnight jumps in cost from Standard but is in-hand by 10:30 a.m. the next business day.
• FedEx First Overnight, for when it just can’t wait, arrives between 8 and 10 a.m. the next business day.

If your shipment isn’t incredibly urgent, FedEx Ground has you covered with the lowest cost option available — it might even get there overnight, depending on where you are and how far it has to go.

EXPANDING GROUP PURCHASING TO SAVE EVEN MORE WITH PITNEY BOWES

Our participation in CoreTrust’s group purchasing program already saves us 5 – 15 percent on shredding, shipping and card services, and we’re not done yet. We now save 25 percent off Pitney Bowes supply orders and an additional 25 percent off equipment leases when they’re renewed under our national program. Forty NFP offices are already Pitney Bowes customers, and we’re working hard to make sure your accounts are aligned with our contract so everyone is getting the best discounts.

Talk to Silver Chaudry about your office’s current Pitney Bowes discount status or about transitioning from your current postage meter provider to the CoreTrust program. Send your questions with your Pitney Bowes account numbers – or your current contract with another provider – to figure out the next steps to get your discount.

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Marketing

Wish Your Clients “Season’s Greetings” with NFP Holiday Cards

The 2016 NFP holiday card is ready for you to order and send to your clients. As we shared in September’s newsletter, our first holiday card art contest was overflowing with talent! You’ll find the winning artwork showcased on the front of this year’s NFP holiday card for you and your clients to enjoy this season. Ordering is easy using these simple steps:

Go to NFP Brand Central. Log in with your credentials. Click on the “Collateral” tab at the top. Review information and pricing. When ready, click on the link to submit your order via email.

Then sit back, enjoy some cider and relax, knowing that this part of your holiday madness is now done.

Please place your order by Dec. 2 and allow up to 10 business days for shipping.

Send an E-Card
Want to send well wishes electronically to your clients? You’ll find instructions and a downloadable card you can send on your own through Outlook at NFP Brand Central.

And Now for Your NFP.com Traffic Update …

Traffic to NFP.com is increasing, with more than 20,000 visitors checking us out per month. Almost 60 percent of those that stop by stay a while through content engagement. And there’s more good news …

People don’t just “like” us, they want to join us. Of the 10 most visited pages at NFP.com, “Careers” is number six! That means more people want to be part of our unique culture and start or grow their careers with us. In fact, our “Find Your NFP Career” button is clicked on more than any other NFP.com button. We’d say that’s proof that our NFP brand and messaging are getting out there and hitting the mark.

Want to learn more? Peruse our News & Perspectives page and share the news with others.

Social Media

Get the word out on your office events and charitable efforts!

1. Fill out the brief NFP Social Media Post Submission Form. The form is located on NFP Brand Central, where you’ll find tools and support you need for NFP-related branding, compliance, marketing and public relations.
2. Email the completed form and any related photos to communications@nfp.com.

Make sure you’re fully connected to NFP. Follow, friend and connect with us on social media!

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