Hamilton
Hamilton’s employee
engagement
Hamilton’s internal company culture was perceived as outdated and stale. If Hamilton was to truly write the future of risk, then it needed to adopt the workplace culture of future insurance companies.
Engaging Hamilton Insurance Group's employees
Hamilton Insurance Group, a specialty insurance company headquartered in Bermuda, is a small fish in a big ocean—one teeming with well-established, centuries-old competitors. Stiff helped the nimble global underwriter discover its mission to “write the future of risk.” Although this message resonated strongly in the market, it didn’t translate to Hamilton’s internal company culture, or its recruitment strategies.
Put another way, a divide existed between what Hamilton was saying and what it was doing—and this gap was sensed by employees who didn’t yet see themselves as writing the future of risk. Instead, they felt as though they were doing insurance business as usual.
“I appreciate the care that Stiff took to understand the issue and the stakeholders. They leveraged what they learned to bring a fresh and dynamic approach to employer engagement in our community.”
Shannon Bruce
Manager of Business Development,
United Way East Ontario's EARN
Ashley Heline
Argo Group employee
“I enjoy being a part of the social ambassador program because it gives me the opportunity to share company news with my peers and industry contacts in a quick and seamless way. As a marketing program manager, I appreciate the way the program is increasing awareness of the Argo brand and its value.”
Differentiated at every level market
A newcomer to a market teeming with competition, Trellis couldn’t settle for fitting in. It had tomake a bold entrance. The company’s messaging needed to hold equal weight toits visual identity. We developed a name that emphasizes the company’s goal to help businesses grow. The narrative positions Trellis as a vital e-commerce productdesigned for the current moment of online retail. To avoid complicatedtech-speak and build credibility, we opted for tone, style and language that arepositive, slightly formal and jargon-free. Finally, we designed a logo and a lookand feel that deploys a purple, pink and white colour palette that truly differentiate Trellis from the competition.
Assessing
the problem
Company culture problems are far too complicated to solve by simply whipping up some fancy internal communiqués about how important a workforce’s contributions are. Systemic change needs to be seen and adopted company-wide.
Hamilton’s internal company culture was perceived as outdated and stale. There were issues surrounding work policies, such as the acceptance of flexible work arrangements between departments. And its outward-facing communications about equity, diversity and inclusion did little to convince anyone of an actual commitment to change.
If you’re going to write an employee value proposition, you need the goods to back it up. If you’re going to promote your commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion, make damn sure you’re already diversifying your teams and bringing marginalized voices to the decision table. If you’re going to tell new employees that they can expect flexible work environments, you need to deliver flexible work environments.
If Hamilton was to truly write the future of risk, then it needed to adopt the workplace culture of future insurance companies.
We can change that.
We are #AbleTo.
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Developing new foundations
We helped Hamilton introduce an Employee Value Proposition (EVP) to enable current employees to see themselves reflected in the company’s culture, and to assist in recruitment efforts. An EVP is a promise to future employees. It shares how a company’s distinct vision and strategy affects workplace and people—and how employees can contribute to ongoing success.
Interviews, focus groups and a company-wide employee engagement survey were the foundations of our work to develop Hamilton’s EVP—illuminating the need for a more progressive company culture. Additionally, desk research highlighted how other companies managed their corporate culture. Then we took our findings and wrote a strategic EVP—themed around “in good company”—that would help carry Hamilton for years to come.
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Attracting and exciting talent
Our research also said that Hamilton needed a compelling reason for young people to join the company. We developed an equity, diversity and inclusion statement—“open minds open doors”—which integrates into Hamilton’s communications and recruitment. It ensures that equity is considered across all business operations, communications, and the broader Hamilton company framework.
Further, we developed and established a flexible work program at Hamilton. We knew this would be an appreciable addition for employees that reflected the new EVP, as well as Hamilton’s commitment to EDI and lived experiences. We dubbed the program Workstyle, playing off the concept of lifestyle, and wrote the guidelines for both managers and employees to be able to implement it.
We designed an accessible webpage with easy navigation, compelling graphics and a comprehensive review of DCOI’s two-year run. The page featured all of the existing materials planned for presentation at the in-person event as screen-reader accessible PDFs. We also coded a special functionality for a poster showcase on the page.
Making it count
We developed a rollout plan that would help organize the execution. The plan identified two goals: engaging current employees, and helping to attract and recruit new talent—an important objective given the talent crisis facing the insurance industry.
Through successful internal and external communications, employees were finally able to see themselves reflected in all that Hamilton does. They felt heard through the EVP, seen by the EDI statement, and cared for through the new flexible working culture.
In 2019, Hamilton acquired five legal entities, which added an additional 260 employees. It was a live-fire test of the newly cemented foundations on cultural integration. The new teams were able to seamlessly merge into the broader Hamilton community in part because a clear, relevant and meaningful EVP was in place. We helped Hamilton not only write the future of risk, but the future of its workforce, too.
