Making it into Insurance Business Canada’s Top Insurance Workplaces report is no easy feat. It means that a company has had to excel above all others when it comes to metrics like benefits, incentives, employee development, and culture.
This year, Ontario-based Rozon Insurance Brokers is one of the companies that has been bestowed with the honour. With offices in Lancaster and Cornwall, Rozon has been in business since 1968 after the late Lloyd Rozon bought MacCallum Insurance Brokers of Martintown, and has grown over time from a one-man operation to a brokerage that employs more than 40 people.
With 51 years of business under its belt, Rozon has developed into a workplace where employees feel valued.
“Living in a small community lends itself to a close working relationship. Our staff are certainly not numbers, but valued individuals,” said Fran Robbers (pictured), Rozon’s VP of operations. “We strive to provide a healthy and attractive environment to work in where we encourage transparency with employees.”
Some of the key components of the brokerage’s workplace that help its employees feel satisfied include a supportive team atmosphere where employees can interact and problem solve together, compensation to employees for developing and continuing education, as well as group life and health benefits, technology tools that assist in job performance, an attractive bonus structure, team-building events, and recognition of important milestones.
Rozon has also implemented strategies and initiatives that have been effective in creating a welcoming workplace – and one of these will be particularly welcome come the holidays.
“Rozon Insurance provides competitive salaries, flexible working hours for early daily departures and extra holiday time-off (with a skeleton staff), while always providing our clients with access to assistance,” explained Robbers. “We try to be as empathetic and supportive as possible for employees during difficult times.”
Maintaining a strong workplace culture is especially important now in the broking industry, with competition for talent being top of mind.
“It is extremely difficult to recruit experienced candidates in this field, especially in our neck of the woods. Insurance does not seem to be an attractive source of employment these days,” explained Robbers. “However, [we’re] very glad to see that some educational institutions are now offering insurance programs, which will hopefully attract some great young minds into the industry. It is a very challenging and rewarding career [and] we hope to take advantage of these upcoming bright stars all the way in Eastern Ontario.”
The brokerage hasn’t been standing idly by as talent recruitment challenges and other developments in the broking world, such as technology’s growing influence, take hold.
“Rozon is constantly looking at and trying to keep up with the most innovative technology to keep up with the competition, while trying to assist in the complexities of workflows for our staff to better service our clients,” said Robbers. “And, oh by the way, we have awesome coffee machines, an 80” TV screen in our boardroom, and gyms at both our Lancaster and Cornwall offices.”
Other points of pride include Rozon’s commitment to its communities, with employees and leaders sponsoring and donating to many organizations, including but not limited to Cornwall Hospice, United Way, Williamstown Fair (the oldest fair in Ontario), as well as several hospitals and cancer fundraising events. These involvements go hand in hand with Rozon’s focus on building resilient teams – inside and outside its offices.
“It is very important to maintain a strong workforce culture and we try to maintain this with consistency in our workflows and procedures to the best of our ability, and by providing a team atmosphere,” explained Robbers.
