Keynote Speech - Aflac
Georgia Employers Association
Spring Leadership Conference
Speech by (Redacted)
Speech written by: Brent Dey
The Westin at Savannah
Why Aflac is consistently ranked as one of Georgia’s best employers
AND HOW WE RETAIN OUR KEY EMPLOYEES.
I. INTRODUCTION
Good morning. It’s a pleasure to be here.
I’d like to thank the Georgia Employers Association for inviting me to speak with you. It’s good to see so many kindred spirits this morning. It’s nice to be in a room where so many people speak the same language, if you know what I mean. I don’t know about you, but I spend a considerable amount of time explaining what I do to friends, family and co-workers.
So many people have no idea what H.R. and talent management really mean…but you do. Today, and over the past few days, I’ve talked with many of you, and what I’ve seen is a group of people who understand the ‘human’ side of that seemingly clinical term, ‘human resources.’
Now, like many of you, I work with a whole host of consultants. And, like many of you, I like to keep things simple. I like consultants—well, most of them—but these folks use so much technical jargon that their ‘human’ side can sometimes get buried under an avalanche of complex phrases and lingo. It’s almost as if their mission is to complicate what, in reality, is very simple.
My recent favorite is a term I heard when a project we were developing was delayed by a third-party vendor. Our consultant said that, because of the problem, we were experiencing an “A.S.A.S.S.P.” or a “Severe Avian Segmentation Stratification Problem.”
As it turns out, that means not having your ducks in a row.
Now… you’re looking at someone who understands ducks. We’re kind of known for that.
We’re also known for keeping things simple. So that’s exactly what I’m going to do. Keep things simple. No complex consultant lingo. No long-winded theories that have little or no bearing in the real world. I’m just going to tell a straightforward story about a simple approach we take to treating employees. And I’m going to tell how this approach grew out of a simple belief stated by three brothers more than 50 years ago.
I hope that, by the end of my talk, you’ll walk away with some ideas of how you can keep your ducks in a row.
II. Corporate History
FIRST, A LITTLE HISTORY.
The Aflac story began more than fifty years ago in a small, single-room office in Columbus Georgia. Our founders—John, Paul and Bill Amos—began the company with a rather simple thought; “if we take care of our employees, our employees will take care of Aflac.”
Simple, isn’t it?
It may not be the most groundbreaking or original thought, but it’s a thought we’ve held on to through 50 years of phenomenal growth. Even as we’ve become one of the most recognizable brands in the world, we’ve never lost sight of the fact that it is the employees that define Aflac.
WHAT WE DO
As you may know, Aflac provides guaranteed-renewable supplemental insurance policies. In other words, we can’t refuse to renew a policy because a covered person’s health or physical condition changes.
Our products pay for out-of-pocket expenses arising from illness or accidents, so we don’t compete with major medical coverage; rather we help make it more complete. We’re one of the few companies that focus exclusively on this type of insurance, so let me say that again. We don’t compete with major medical coverage. We make it more complete.
Our mission is simple: to fill gaps that exist in major medical insurance programs and to reduce financial burdens that can occur during times of medical stress. In short, we provide peace of mind so policy holders can focus on recovery rather than worrying about covering their medical costs.
OUR CREDO IN ACTION
So, you could say our entire business model revolves around service to people. Now I’m not one to quote Barbara Streisand, but let me paraphrase one of her songs and say - we’re people serving people. That’s why the way we treat our people is central to our business plan. After 50 years of explosive domestic and international growth, the belief that, if we take good care of our employees they’ll take good care of Aflac, persists.
But I don’t want to spend all of our time today “telling” you about this. I’d like you to hear it for yourself. I’d like you to see how the environment we’ve created has strengthened the Aflac brand by helping us reduce turnover, operate more efficiently and increase productivity on the job.
Now, before I get started, I’d like you to remember that Aflac is based in Columbus, Georgia. We’re not in a major city like Atlanta. We’re not near the ocean, like Savannah. We’re landlocked. We’re two hours from Atlanta and three to four hours away from the nearest beach, yet our position in the market helps bring folks to us—from the people who staff our call centers to our executive team.
It’s our culture that keeps talent with us.
III. Benefits we offer employees
LET’S START WITH THE BENEFITS.
Aflac is a family-owned business with family-focused benefits. Take childcare, for example. If you have children but don’t have childcare, it can be extremely difficult to have a career. That’s why we make childcare easy for our employees.
IMAGINATION STATION
Our Imagination Station is the largest on-site childcare center in the state of Georgia. Aflac contributes to the overhead of the centers, making them less expensive for employees to use than outside care. And since children are nearby, parents spend less time in traffic and more quality time with their kids. Aflac is one of the few work places where parents can enjoy lunch with their kids, and having parents nearby makes it easy for them to respond to emergency situations—like retrieving a favorite teddy bear from the car.
LIFE ENRICHMENT
Older children can be enrolled in life-enrichment programs, such as ballet, jazz, dance and Spanish. Programs to be launched this year include digital photography, sewing, cooking, beginning and advanced computer instruction and canvas painting. We further enhance child development through partnerships with local education programs and we offer college scholarships for the children and grandchildren of employees.
LUNCH AND LEARN
Employees can work to reach their fullest potential through our award-winning lunch and learn program, which fits into the employee work day rather than taking precious time away from their children. Our instructors are some of the most sought-after in the country and have traveled from as far away as California, Colorado and Tennessee to teach at our training center in Columbus, Georgia.
Lunch and learn sessions cover everything from effective parenting to personal finance—classes that help our employees lead more stable, productive personal lives. And, as we all know, stable personal lives lead to stable professional lives.
One story I always like to share is Eric Holt’s. Eric used to feel that home ownership was beyond his reach. But after attending a lunch and learn on home buying, he was able to create a plan for saving and is now living out his dream of home ownership. Lunch and Learn is a “perk” that we at Aflac are able to offer at very little expense to the company, yet it’s had a transformative effect on the lives of people like Eric Holt, who see Lunch and Learn as just one of many benefits of having a career at Aflac.
PROFESSIONAL GROWTH
We also encourage professional growth by offering classes in leadership development and courses specific to the insurance industry. And our investment in our employees has had a return for the company.
Let’s take the story of Brenda Mullins as an example. Brenda started at Aflac as a License Specialist in 1986. Despite unexpectedly becoming a single parent in 1991, she returned to school in 1992 with the help of Aflac’s Paul S. Amos scholarship. Balancing her commitments to work, family and school, she received her Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources Management in 2000 and is now the Director of Aflac Employee Relations and Vice President of Diversity. You heard me right. She’s a director.
Eric and Brenda’s are just a couple of very personal stories—the “human” side of what we do as human resources professionals. But as I said earlier, I don’t want to stand here and tell you about these programs, I want you to see them, and hear directly from our employees to see how these programs have been of benefit.
Last year, we gathered a handful of stories like these as we were putting together our submission for Fortune magazine’s ‘100 Best Places to Work’ issue. The ‘Best Places to Work’ is one of the most prestigious lists, populated by some of America’s most respected corporations, including Starbuck’s, Federal Express and The Container Store.
Actually, we’ve been on that list since its inception eight years ago. This year we were ranked at #47. What’s cool is, we’ve moved up!
When we were putting our Fortune Magazine submission together, we videotaped testimonials from our employees, which was really fun. I’d like to share a few of them with you right now.
INTEGRITY AND COMMITMENT
First, I want you to meet Erica Gardner. Erica, a reservist, was called to two tours of active military duty following the events of September 11th, 2001. This is her story.
[play video clip]
“I was in the military and I was a reservist. After the events of September 11th, I was called to active duty. November 5th, I had three days to get everything ready. Aflac, no problem. You go. We’ll take care of you. You’ll have your job when you get back.
I was recalled twice and I didn’t think they would be as kind to me because how many people are recalled twice? I was gone 14 months the second time, and I came back and I had my job. I had all my raises that I was supposed to get, it was like I had never left the company.
Too many people that I was serving with they had no jobs, they had nothing when they came back. I just walked right back in as if I had never left. They didn’t have to do it, but it was something they did. And it showed me that they really cared about my well-being. I was across the world, and they still cared about me.”
We’re proud of people like Erica. She’s shown by her commitment to her country the same willingness to serve to others we want to show as a company. Imagine the cost of trying find and enlist a person with Erica’s qualities.
By retaining Erica, we’ve established credibility not only with her, but with all of the talented people who work at Aflac. Remember, by hiring an active reservist, we made a commitment as an employer to respect Erica’s commitment to the armed forces. Sure, we weren’t legally obligated to honor scheduled raises and pay increases if Erica wasn’t actively on the job, but we did.
Why? Well, it may sound high-minded and—to some—naive, but we believe that the promise we make to our customers through the products we develop and offer can’t be delivered if the promises we make to our employees aren’t delivered. Like our corporate founders, we believe that if we take care of our employees, our employees will take care of Aflac. And the results speak for themselves.
LIVING BRANDS
Not only do our employee relations policies help drive down our operational costs, they help boost profitability by creating a culture our customers want to be a part of.
Before I show you this next clip, I’d like to remind you what Aflac does. We fill gaps that exist in major medical insurance policies by paying for out-of-pocket expenses arising from illness or accidents. We provide peace of mind so policy holders can focus on recovery rather than worrying about covering their medical costs.
That’s how our Mission Statement puts it, this is how Carol Walsh puts it, speaking from personal experience:
[play video clip]
“I’m Carol Walsh, and I work at Aflac. I’ve been there for 25 years. I personally think it’s a wonderful company to work for. One of the benefits that I think is great is they offer their employees all types of insurance.
The cancer policy I purchased years ago when I first came to the company has really benefited me, because in August of last year I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. As devastating as it was, I knew I would be supported financially.
The benefits have been wonderful. I received a great big check. It helped me pay a lot of the bills, so I wouldn’t have to worry about the medical bills as much as myself trying to get well from the chemo.”
I received my treatments from the John B. Amos cancer clinic here in Columbus. Aflac has been a strong supporter in the building of that clinic, and I took a lot of pride every time I went to my chemo treatments knowing I was a part of that.
I’m on my way back to recovery. As you can see from my hair is short. When I came back after my chemo treatments the company was very supportive and I was able to have my time off for my chemo treatments and it’s been a blessing to be a part of a company like that.”
Carol wasn’t coached for this testimonial. She was speaking from her heart. Yet she was telling the Aflac story in a way that our marketing department never could. Our products helped free her mind so she could focus on her recovery.
Of course, none of us would want to have to go through what Carol has gone through, but her experience has given her a unique and valuable perspective. As an Account Services Specialist, she licenses our sales reps to sell our product. Imagine how her personal experience will benefit sales representatives who are learning the very human value of our products.
In her testimonial, Carol hit on a couple other employee benefits that we’re extremely proud of, including flex time and our philanthropic efforts. With more than $14 billion in total corporate revenue in 2005 and more than $56 billion in corporate assets, our philanthropic efforts are not only a way for us to give back to the community, they’re a tremendous source of pride for everyone in the company.
EMPLOYEE PRIDE
Keeping Carol’s story in mind, I’d also like to share this clip from Dona Osorio. Dona hasn’t had the life altering experience Carol just told us about but, as you’re about to see, she shares Carol’s empathy for others and an enthusiasm for what Aflac does.
[play video clip]
“To me the best thing about working at Aflac is knowing that what I do matters. Even when things are crazy and the printer’s jammed and the computer won’t work and the phones are ringing off the hook, I have a little picture that I keep on the wall by my desk, and its two children in it that are patients of the Aflac cancer center in Atlanta, and when I look at that picture, I remember why I’m there, why I’m doing my job.
All those other things really don’t matter because the end result is something that’s going to help them. That’s why I’m there. If what I’m doing makes things just a little bit better for them, then what I’m doing is worth it. The whole reason Aflac exists is to make things better for people who are going through hard times. Knowing I have a part in that, it makes me feel like what I’m doing has a higher purpose. It means I can go home and feel good about what I’ve done.”
Can you imagine trying to get that level of selfless service from an employee that was unhappy or cynical about her work environment?
Dona’s comments reflect an attitude that pervades our entire organization. It’s an attitude that comes from seeing how we treat people like Erica Gardner when it comes time to fulfill her obligations to the National Guard or Carol Walsh when she needs to take time to recover from a life-threatening illness. And it’s an attitude people like Dona Osorio share with our customers and with their co-workers.
The life experiences an employee like Carol Walsh goes through increases her understanding of the products we sell. It’s valuable.
The dedication to service people like Erica Gardner exhibit is hard to find. We hold on to it.
And the empathy shown by Dona Osorio—and I can assure you, we’ve got a lot of Dona’s at Aflac—is reinforced every day in our corporate culture. It’s who we are.
BENEFITS THE PROGRAM OFFERS AFLAC
Actively promoting goodwill and human welfare is not an option at Aflac—as an insurance provider it’s the core of our business plan. You may be in a different industry, but if you treat your employees well, they’ll leave your company in good hands.
Our success has shown that.
Finding and nurturing the right talent is challenging and expensive. When you find it, it makes business sense do everything you can to retain it. At Aflac, we do this by making the rewards of working here as varied as the people we employ. We do this because, quite simply, we need a diverse outlook as badly as we need the talent that comes from their years of service.
By retaining top performers and creating an environment where they can find and develop their own talents, we’re able to recruit top talent, reduce turnover and develop and retain knowledge that is more than just useful to the organization, it’s a market differentiator.
[play video clip]
I guess, there are a lot of good things about working at Aflac, but one of the best things are the benefits that they offer. We have three children, and actually we’ve raised three children, and working at Aflac, with job security and the benefits they offer, it’s helped us get through children, you know infants and teenage years and now we’re getting ready to send our kids to college.
And so, you know, with health insurance, you could say is worth its weight in gold. We don’t have to worry about that going into the emergency room, it costs a lot of money to send children to school these days and so we’ve been able to kind of rely on a lot of things that Aflac has available.
My daughter got ready to go into the workforce and she started looking for a job. She started looking at Aflac to see if she could get on. Just in seeing over the years what the company has done for us, for our family, she decided, this could very well be a good place for me too. It’s been good enough for my mamma for 26 years, it’ll be good enough for me too.
It’s just been good for our family, and it’s good for the community and, and all of it has just been grand.
People love working at Aflac. We have families that have worked here for generations, It’s actually common for us to have three generations of family working with us.
EMPLOYEE APPRECIATION WEEK
And we show our appreciation. We provide companywide, divisional and departmental celebrations throughout the year. The highlight is our annual Employee Appreciation Week. Beginning in June, we celebrate our achievements together during a week of concerts, movies, baseball games and family adventure days at a variety of venues such as Butt’s Farm, Six Flags and Stone Mountain.
The week is dedicated to celebrating our belief in our people. We don’t use it to remind anyone of a corporate initiative. We don’t talk about strategic directions. We don’t sneak training seminars and “education opportunities” into the week. We just say “Thank You,” although our thank you includes cash give-aways, coupons and more than a few parties.
LISTENING PROGRAMS
We also listen, to hear what our employees have to say. Programs I’m especially proud of include our Spot Awards and our Bright Ideas program.
I love our Spot Awards program. That’s the one where our managers commit “random acts of cash,” rewarding employees for great behavior with dollars or gift cards. Our Bright Ideas program gives everyone at Aflac a voice. Employees can submit money-saving ideas, or ideas for process improvements. If their ideas are chosen, they’re recognized and rewarded.
Isn’t that great?
It may be hard to quantify a return on investment for running programs like these, but I will say this. For the past eight years, Aflac has been among the top 100 companies to work for in America, and each year we’ve climbed to a higher spot on the list, we’ve seen our profitability increase.
If we take care of our employees, they take care of Aflac. Hmmm….
Of course, there’s always room for improvement, but I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished. I’m proud that, out of all the companies in America, we’re among the top 50 to work for. I’m proud that we’re a company that puts families first and respects diversity. I’m proud that we put a significant portion of our profits back into the community. I’m proud to work for a company that does its best to help people in their most urgent hour of need. I’m proud to work for a company that treats its employees as well as its customers.
Our corporate founders may have been onto something back in the mid fifties when they started an insurance company based on principle. Back then, companies didn’t always put taking care of their employees at the forefront of their priorities, but John, Paul and Bill Amos did. And I think they’d be proud of where that philosophy has taken this company.
You could say they had a lot of foresight.
You could also say they had their ducks in a row.
Thank you.