Midmorning on Monday, April 8th, over sixty OneBeacon employees gathered in our New York City office to welcome the Operations (“Ops”) Committee for a full day’s visit. These ten executives meet weekly – and typically during a working lunch session. However, to more closely engage with all of us, they have committed to meeting in our offices throughout North America at least once each quarter. Besides New York, earlier this year they met in Saint- Hyacinthe, a Montreal suburb.
From 10-11:30AM, our senior leaders spoke informally with the local team, who joined them in two groups to ensure ample networking opportunity. Mike Miller, President U.S. and Specialty Solutions, noted “New York City was the ideal destination for our first U.S. ‘Ops on the Road’ visit, as several of our specialty businesses are represented there, along with some of our service groups.”
The weekly Ops meeting took place midday and included dedicated time for New York City-based Specialty SVP, Chad Anderson and North American Specialty leaders Mike Seff (Surety) and Bob Gallagher (Ocean Marine) to share insights.
The balance of the afternoon featured four smaller group meetings, each hosted by several Ops Committee members. With ten to 15 employee participants, these forums were fashioned as informal Q&As. Noted Enterprise Underwriting’s Ryan Sardelli, “There were a number of different topics discussed. One of my biggest takeaways was the direction of our culture and the aspirations to create a community of people, rather than just a group of individuals that happen to work together.”
And according to Taylor Watson from Management Liability, “Interacting with members of the Ops Committee helped make us feel part of the big picture, with our input heard. It seemed like everyone’s questions and thoughts were taken seriously, which is exactly what you want from the company you work for.”
Some topics for these smaller breakouts were identified during a pre-visit employee survey, and others surfaced during the live Q&A. From addressing how Specialty is being integrated and supported within IFC to North American branding, along with employee engagement, culture and work-from-home programs, the discussion was insightful and candid. According to Surety’s Chloe Rousseau, “The Ops Committee visit was a great opportunity to get to know senior management in an intimate setting, while discussing key issues that matter to us in individual business units. Their care and genuine interest in our happiness as part of the Intact family was obvious and appreciated.” Added Technology’s Christine Leung, “The opportunity to meet and network with the senior leaders, who were interested in our feedback and ideas, speaks to the level of employee engagement the organization truly practices.”
All in all, it was a day enjoyed by all, with Monika Federau, SVP & Chief Strategy Officer, perhaps summing it up best: “Our goal is to get closer to our front-line teams in order to better appreciate what it takes to be successful in today’s markets, while enhancing the employee experience. And that’s exactly what happened in New York. On behalf of my Ops Committee colleagues, thank you to everyone for the warm welcome and most productive day!”
