W.W. Smith Insurance Ltd., located in Swift Current, Saskatchewan, credits a longstanding tradition of community service as a major reason for its 100th anniversary this year.
The milestone birthday comes at a time when there is a great deal of discussion within the brokerage community about succession planning and recruitment and retention. In this context, Insurance Business asked W.W. Smith partner Chuck Gaudet for any secrets to sustaining the brokerage’s longevity.
Staying visible through community involvement, Gaudet replied.
“I think community involvement is key – being visible, being supportive of groups and organizations, and whatever is happening in the city,” Gaudet said. “Not just giving a $100 cheque, but also getting involved with organizations.”
This is particularly important in smaller communities, he added. For his part, Gaudet has served on the area’s tourism board, the Chamber of Commerce, the downtown business association, and as a minor hockey association coach and board member. Other partners serve on a number of service clubs, coach on local sports teams, and one partner serves as a board member at the local hospital foundation.
Gaudet said the brokerage encourages its partners and employees to become involved in the community, and will allow time away from work to support volunteer and/or community endeavours.
“If they are involved in something and they take time off during the working day for that activity or that involvement, we’re good with that,” Gaudet said. “So, for example, if someone is involved with the tourism board and there happens to be an annual meeting going on for the day, you do that. We want you to do that. They are encouraged to get involved, even to that extent.”
Gaudet said this spirit of involvement traces its roots back to the founder of the brokerage, W.W. Smith, who started the brokerage in 1913. “It probably all started with the founder, W.W. Smith, who was obviously a good business man,” he said. “Fair and just, or you don’t last long, especially in a small centre.”
Gaudet is partner to the third-generation partner Gord Smith, the grandson of the founder W.W. Smith.
As for retaining employees, Gaudet offers a few tips:
• offering competitive salaries;
• flexible work hours (sick days and personal appointments are not regulated];
• office perks (the brokerage offers tickets to employees to see the Broncos, the local Junior A hockey team, for example, or office events such as ‘Hawaiian Day’); and
• support for staff education [taking staff to seminars and conferences].
