11 min read

The Company That Young Professionals Dream Of Retiring From

Aug 15, 2014 6:30:00 AM

Today we’re sharing insight from guest blogger Blake Cavignac, President of Intellectual Innovations and Founder of YoungPro Elite. Tim Leman is taking the summer off from writing his weekly blog to spend time on an exciting project focused on culture and leadership. We hope you enjoy Blake’s wisdom and perspective.

Blake_blog_-_millennialsDo you know of any young professionals today that dream of retiring from the same company where they began their career?

With young professionals changing jobs faster than the generations that came before them, it’s rare to find companies capable of accomplishing this.

However, they do exist.

These companies are breaking through barriers and redefining the new standards of leadership. They’re trailblazing thus gaining well-deserved recognition for creating cultures that are highly attractive to young professionals.

While there are a number of factors that ultimately determine how this type of culture is created, the one factor that has a significant amount of influence is the qualities of leadership within the company.

In a keynote by John C. Maxwell, he mentions that when meeting with leaders about the topic of recruitment, one of the first questions he asks them is: “What kind of people are you looking to attract?"

The leaders go onto give him a list detailing qualities like self-discipline, service oriented, strong work ethic etc.

The next question that comes from Maxwell is a simple one: “Do you possess these qualities?”

Although a basic question, it’s a significant one. The reason being that: “Who you are as a leader is who you attract on your team.”

The Story Of Gibson

With offices located throughout the state of Indiana, Gibson is one of those companies who has developed a culture where young professionals have a desire to work there for the rest of their careers. 

What’s fascinating about this story is that Gibson is not some new and exciting startup in an industry that would immediately gain the interest and attraction of today’s young professionals.

Gibson was founded in 1933 and is an independent insurance agency.

Now having grown to over 100 employees, 34 of them being millennials, they're in the top one percent of the largest independent agencies in the United States.

Other notable achievements and rewards include:

  • Their company's valuation increasing by more than 50% over the past three years.
  • For the second year in a row they’ve been named one of the "Best Places to Work" in Indiana.
  • Every year Sitkins International does an Annual Assessment that rates 100+ of the top agencies throughout the world and in 2013 Gibson topped that list by receiving the highest rating.

So how does a company like Gibson produce these extraordinary results while attracting the best young talent? More importantly, how are they able to keep this young talent engaged and excited about their future within the company?

For us to get a thorough and accurate understanding of this we’re going to go straight to the source, the young professionals at Gibson.

  • David Walters is a Client Executive in the Property and Casualty Practice. He started working at Gibson in 2011 after graduating from Indiana State University.
  • Ray Korson started working for Gibson in June of 2014 after completing graduate school at Notre Dame. He is a Client Executive in the Employee Benefits Practice.
  • Ashley Young has been working at Gibson for over six years and was recently promoted to Client Executive in the Employee Benefits Practice.

Throughout this post you will hear stories from David, Ray, and Ashley about their experiences at Gibson detailing the qualities they most admire from those that are leading them.

THE LEADERSHIP QUALITIES

Transparency & Accountability

David Walters provides us with the first two stories.

Story #1

In 2013, Gibson was named one of the Best Places to Work in Indiana, based upon an anonymous all-employee survey conducted just a few months prior.

It was during our “State of the Agency” meeting where these results were delivered and this message of improvement was communicated.

With everyone in attendance, the leaders addressed the categories that we scored high in along with the categories that showed opportunity for improvement.

What impressed me the most about this meeting was not only the transparency of information that was being shared but the accountability displayed by our leaders.

Each one of them stood up, addressed the employees, and accepted full responsibility for the areas with the lowest scores. They then shared their thoughts, offered insights, and provided strategies on how they were going to turn these areas of opportunity into future strengths of the agency.

The actions displayed by the leaders throughout the next year made it clear that they were staying true to their word and we were rewarded because of it.

In 2014 our company was recognized as being one of the best places to work in Indiana for a second year in a row and our ranking improved from 22 to 10.

 

Story #2

At Gibson, we have “State of the Agency” meetings 2-3 times per year.

It was during one of these meetings where the leaders laid out the vision detailing what our company would look like in 2022 and the role that we would all play in turning this vision into a reality. This vision included revenue projections, potential expansion locations, operating profit goals, recruiting demands, etc.

Then throughout the year we were provided with updates on the progress that was being made towards achieving our vision. 

The sharing of this vision was critical, as I firmly believe it created universal buy-in across the entire employee group.

Why Transparency & Accountability Matter

While transparency will likely be uncomfortable and vulnerable at first, it’s a critical quality that leaders must possess if they want to make a genuine connection with their young professionals.

The reason being that many young professionals want to feel one thing, significant. They want to feel like they matter. They want to feel like they play an important role in their company’s growth, right now and in the future.

We are drawn to leaders and organizations that are good at communicating what they believe. Their ability to make us feel like we belong, to make us feel special, safe and not alone is part of what gives them the ability to inspire us. - Simon Sinek

What’s also important to recognize in the first story was the level of accountability that the leaders at Gibson held themselves to.

One of the most effective ways for leaders to earn the respect and loyalty of their young professionals is by being accountable for their actions.

When the leaders at Gibson took full responsibility for the areas with the lowest scores and then made a commitment to turn these weaknesses into strengths, they were making a statement.

It’s this statement that reinforced the fact that they would always stay true to the company’s core values.

They made it clear they were holding themselves to the highest standard possible because they held the same expectation for those that they had the privilege of leading.

Communication & Connection

The following story was shared by Ray Korson:

The very first conversation I had with Tim Leman confirmed that he was a leader I’d like to work for. 

I approached Tim with the encouragement of my career coach at Notre Dame to discuss the possibility of pursuing an externship or a job-shadowing opportunity at Gibson. 

Tim brought my resume to that initial conversation and drilled down through my experiences, asking me deep, open-ended questions about my work experience, education, and extracurricular pursuits. He dug even further on a personal level, engaging me in conversations regarding faith, family, and relationships, subjects that were never broached by other employers. 

Unlike other interview processes, I left that meeting feeling fully confident that, regardless of the outcome, Tim had the information he needed to make a decision because he took the time to get to know me as a person, not just as an business asset or expense. 

I trusted Tim and his leadership immediately from that point forward. 

Following Ray’s meeting he received a job offer from Gibson, which he accepted.

Once this happened he got this text from Tim: Congratulations again on your offer! Congrats to me, too! We're excited to have you join us here at Gibson.

Why Communication & Connection Matter

The second way that Gibson is able to keep their young professionals excited and engaged about their future in the company is because their leaders understand how to communicate and make a personal connection with the millennial generation.

Today’s young professionals have a desire to work for leaders who show a sincere interest in helping them achieve success in their career. They want to work for leaders who have their back.

This can be achieved in many ways:

  • Take the time to get to know them outside of work.
  • Show them that you care by learning about their families, what their lives were like before they came to work for you, what their goals and dreams are for the future, and so on.
  • Be there for them when they’re struggling in their career and help them overcome the challenges they're facing.
  • Stand up for them when someone tries to tear them down.
  • Push them beyond their perceived limits and helping them accomplish what they did not know was possible.

Unfortunately many leaders don’t think they have time to do this. They might not even want to do this. But it’s something they need to commit to and make time for.

After all how can they expect their young professionals to have an interest in their life and look out for their best interests if they’re not willing to do the same?

The story described by Ray, along with the final story of this post below, are just two of the many examples of how the leaders at Gibson effectively communicate and connect with their young professionals.

While some of the leaders reading this right now may be thinking, “I just don’t have the time to do this.” you’ll never hear the leaders at Gibson say this.

The reason? They understand the value their young professionals bring and the important role they play in the success of their company.

It’s for these reasons they commit to making the time each week to directly communicate and connect with their young professionals and they’re reaping the rewards because of it. 

Professional Development & Growth

Ashley Young provides us with the final story:

Each week a member of our executive leadership team meets with a group of our young professionals (roughly an hour or so) who are new to the consulting division of our business.

During these meetings we will review a case study and discuss the various components. Then we are given a homework assignment where we use one of our current clients and gather the necessary information to put together a final product of the concept we just discussed.

The next meeting begins with a review of the model we created for our assignment, breaking down each line item and discussing the “why.” Feedback is provided, letting us know what we did well and what needs to be tweaked.

When they take their time to teach us, not only does this help ensure that we are learning things the “Gibson Way” but it also creates rapport and helps break down the leader / employee barrier by working side by side.

Why Professional Development & Growth Matter

As millennials graduate from college and enter the work place they begin to realize that their formal education did very little to prepare them to have a successful career.

Since many in this generation have a strong desire for advancement early on in their career, while also recognizing they lack the necessary skills and knowledge, they're hungry for opportunities to develop professionally.

Providing millennials with professional development opportunities is one of the smartest investments a leader will make for their company. It helps young professionals develop certainty in their abilities and in their future.

This is important because many young professionals today are getting caught up in this idea of “finding your passion”. You know the lofty ideal that when you find what you love, you never have to “work" another day in your life…

Well as you might have experienced, “finding your passion” can be tough.

When in pursuit of it most are not able to find it and they have to experience the feelings of uncertainty throughout their career.

That’s why I believe in utilizing the process of creating passion:

  • When you work hard at something you become good at it.
  • When you become good at doing something, you will enjoy it more.
  • When you enjoy doing something, there is a very good chance you will become passionate about it.
  • When you are good at something, passionate, and work even harder to excel and be the best at it, good things happen.

When the leaders provide the opportunities for professional development, they initiate and then let the process of creating passion work for them dramatically improving the chances of retaining their young professionals.

While Gibson provides and supports their young professionals with top-tier professional development opportunities outside of the company, it’s the time that their leaders make each week to personally develop and mentor their young professionals that’s making the biggest impression of all.

What’s The Risk

One of the greatest risks leaders and their organizations face is not developing and retaining their young professionals. While many are quick to blame the millennial generation for how challenging this can be, the leaders at Gibson are focused on finding ways to utilize their strengths.

They continue to lead by example setting the standard high by displaying the qualities they expect out of their young professionals. 

For those of you reading this who are struggling to attract, develop, and retain young professionals, the quickest way to turn around the culture of your company is to model an organization that is achieving extraordinary success in this area. Gibson is one of a few companies that I would highly recommend modeling.

Being a millennial, the thought that any of my peers would want to retire from the same company where they began their career seemed crazy. However after speaking with David, Ray, and Ashley along with a few others at Gibson, it became clear that I was the one who was crazy for not having applied to work there in the first place.

 

This content was written and shared by guest blogger, Blake Cavignac.

BlakeBlake Cavignac is the President of Intellectual Innovations and Founder of YoungPro Elite. He has many roles but those that remain consistent throughout are serving and creating opportunities for others. If you want to get a better understanding of what he's about check out what others are saying about him here.

 Connect with Blake on LinkedIn and Twitter.

 

Topics: Executive
Gibson

Written by Gibson

Gibson is a team of risk management and employee benefits professionals with a passion for helping leaders look beyond what others see and get to the proactive side of insurance. As an employee-owned company, Gibson is driven by close relationships with their clients, employees, and the communities they serve. The first Gibson office opened in 1933 in Northern Indiana, and as the company’s reach grew, so did their team. Today, Gibson serves clients across the country from offices in Arizona, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Utah.