One of Nova Scotia's Top Employers 2010
Admiral Insurance values its employees
Since 2007, Admiral Insurance has grown from an office of one to over 400 employees. In that time, they’ve also won Nova Scotia’s Top Employer award for four years running. It’s a pretty significant achievement and one that vice president Alex MacDonald says makes him very proud.
“To so quickly create an award-winning culture here, that’s acknowledged by others, is incredible. It really comes down to the work of everyone in our office pulling together,” says MacDonald. “Our rapid growth has not always been easy, but we’re proud, excited and a little bit humbled.”
The company made it to the top of the list through offering employees a share in the company’s financial success. Admiral pays yearend bonuses to everyone and keeps their profit-sharing plan including £3000 annually in free shares and dividends open to all. They provide health coverage from day one, parental leave top up benefits to employees, and start all employees at three weeks vacation, increased by one extra day for each year of employment.
The UK-based company’s focus on work-life balance for their employees is what led to the opening of Admiral Insurance in Halifax.
Communications officer Dee McLean says, “The office in the UK is open until 11 p.m. and the staff there can go home to their families at a reasonable hour because we service their customers in the evenings. They chose Halifax specifically because of the four hour time difference and our reputation in the Maritimes for great customer service. In turn, our staff enjoy a greater work-life balance, with no late nights.”
The hours were a perfect fit for Andrew Monaghan, who joined the company 2 years ago.
“I was looking for a change from the hospitality industry,” says Monaghan, “and the hours are really something that attracted me. But it’s the opportunities that have been made available to me that have been amazing.”
Monaghan was recently promoted to sales trainer and spent five weeks in training in Swansea, Wales.
“The overseas training really helps because that’s the market we’re dealing with,” says Monaghan. “Having the opportunity to see how they operate in the U.K. will really help us in moving forward.”
Melinda Kelly, a renewals agent, says she feels Canadian companies could learn a lot from Admiral and their corporate culture.
“I’ve been in the industry for many years and I’ve never felt the level of respect that I felt when I came to Admiral,” says Kelly. “In return you want to do the best possible job that you can do for the company. They really encourage your strengths, but they also support your weaknesses, too. It’s a balance.”
Kristi Thompson, senior agent, says she likes the culture at Admiral.
“It’s like a family,” says Thompson. “We work hard, but we have fun too!”
McLean says, “I’m really proud to work for an organization that truly cares about and values its employees. At Admiral we believe each individual has an equally important role to play in the company’s success. Our employees are our greatest asset. And happy employees make for happy customers so we make it a priority to both recognize and reward our employee’s contributions. As an example, each of us is a stakeholder through the company’s free share scheme and last month in the Halifax office we awarded close to $500,000 in shares to all our staff.”
Atlantic Canada’s Top Employers 2012
Admiral Insurance
Vice President Alex MacDonald attributes the company’s award-winning culture to
“the work of everyone pulling together.”“The company made it to the top of the
list through offering employees a share in the U.K.-based organization’s financial success,”
said Dee McLean, Communications Officer for Admiral Insurance.
“As part of Admiral’s profit-sharing plan, each employee is an owner being awarded
£3,000 annually in free shares.”McLean said Admiral Insurance provides
health coverage from day one, employee development through tuition subsidies, in house
training, compensation for professional accreditation, and a mentoring program.
They also start all employees at three weeks vacation, increased by one extra day
for each year of employment.
Admiral Insurance
— Ashley A. Clarke
http://canadastop100.com/atlantic/abm_feature_2012.pdf
TORONTO, Oct. 22 /CNW/ - Editors of the annual Canada's Top 100 Employers project have announced the winners of the 2010 Atlantic Canada's Top Employers competition. The new editorial project recognizes 25 companies and public-sector organizations across the four Atlantic provinces that lead their fields in creating progressive workplaces and providing forward-thinking HR policies. The new competition is managed by Mediacorp Canada Inc., which organizes the annual Canada's Top 100 Employers project, now in its 10th year.
"For several years, we've noticed employers in the four Atlantic provinces that provide exceptional benefits and working conditions that are a cut above others in their field," says Richard Yerema, Managing Editor of the Canada's Top 100 Employers project. "With today's award, we now can recognize these efforts and let other employers - and job-seekers - discover what leading employers in Atlantic Canada are doing."
The Atlantic Canada's Top Employers list was selected from applicants to the national Canada's Top 100 Employers competition. To develop this year's list, Mediacorp editors examined the recruitment histories of over 75,000 employers across Canada that they track for their popular job search site, Eluta.ca. From this group, Mediacorp editors invited 16,000 of the fastest-growing employers to apply, plus another 8,000 companies and organizations in industries they wanted to examine more closely. Employers completed an extensive application process that included a detailed review of their operations and HR practices. Over 2,600 employers started this year's application process nationally and the final applicant pool was up 3.7% over last year's total, also a record.
Mediacorp editors graded each of the applicants on eight key areas: (1) Physical Workplace; (2) Work Atmosphere & Social; (3) Health, Financial & Family Benefits; (4) Vacation & Time Off; (5) Employee Communications; (6) Performance Management; (7) Training & Skills Development; and (8) Community Involvement. These criteria have remained consistent since the inception of the national competition, now in its 10th year. Mediacorp editors publish detailed reasons explaining why each of the winning employers was selected on their job search site, Eluta.ca, where they can be read free of charge.
The full list of the 2010 winners of Atlantic Canada's Top Employers, including the editors' reasons for selection, is available free of charge at: http://www.CanadasTop100.com/atlantic