Risk & Business Magazine Hardenbergh Insurance Group Magazine Winter 2018 | Page 28

POSITIVE WORK ENVIRONMENT
Creating A Positive
Work Environment
I
’m blessed because I come to work
every morning excited and happy.
As the President of an organization,
one of my key responsibilities is to
embolden an environment where
everyone feels the same way I do. I can
confidently say people at Hardenbergh
Insurance Group (HIG) are happy to
come to work each day!
I know this to be true because people
that have worked here for years tell me,
but also because almost every new hire
we have had in the last five years has said
to me in one way or another “The people
here are so happy, I just keep waiting for
the reality to set in and for them to show
me their other side.” To that I typically
respond with great pride something like
to the effect of, “I know, it’s crazy how
great everyone that works at HIG is. It’s
not a mirage, this is who we are!”
Here are five reasons we have been able
to create and harbor a positive work
environment:
1. Create a Mission Statement – We
created a mission statement that was all
about who HIG is at the core level. With
that mission statement we broke things
down further to identify our Core Values.
By doing this we have created a clear
direction for our team members.
2. Communicate – We hold a quarterly
meeting to reinforce the mission
statement and core values. and to We
also communicate changes that occur
have occurred throughout the quarter.
This ensures that everyone feels part
of the team and informed on what
happened and what is coming.
3. Celebrate! – We celebrate often.
Reaching goals, achieving an act that fits
in our core values, birthdays, marriages,
births and holidays. This makes the work
environment fun and recognizes people
for their special occasions. It makes us
all one family.
4. Support Charities – We try to find
creative ways to support charities that
I’M BLESSED BECAUSE I COME TO WORK
EVERY MORNING EXCITED AND HAPPY.
28
BY: JON SHARP,
PRESIDENT
HARDENBERGH INSURANCE GROUP
are close to the hearts of our team
members at HIG. For example, we do a
$5 Jean Friday. The money raised goes
to a randomly selected charity that one
of our team members nominated. This
reinforces that everyone’s specific cause
is important and creates appreciation for
the support provided.
5. Encourage Volunteerism – At HIG,
insurance is our number one game, but
we realize that there are more important
things in the lives of our staff than just
insurance. Therefore, we give each team
member one half day a month to go into
the community and serve whichever
organization is close to their heart. This
allows our team members valuable time
they may not have outside of work to give
back.
The 5 reasons above are easily replicated
and even though it is time away from our
desk’s the benefits to our staff greatly
outweigh production lost. If you are
reading this and have team members
that aren’t excited to show up for work,
I encourage you to implement one, or
all, of these steps and watch the positive
work environment develop!