PBN Best Places To Work Awards 2023
LARGE COMPANIES #1: The Beacon Mutual Insurance Co.
Employees in R.I. 155
CEO and President Brian Spero
ACCIDENTS IN THE WORKPLACE put businesses and their employees in a difficult position emotionally, financially and physically. With compassion and understanding, the team at The Beacon Mutual Insurance Co. helps make filing a workers’ compensation claim as stress free as possible.
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“I always say to people, if you walk around our claims department and listen to our adjusters talk on the phone, you can tell they care for the people [they’re assisting],” said Brian Spero, CEO and president of the Warwick-based insurance company. “We’re helping other Rhode Islanders. It’s not some uncompassionate call center somewhere outside of Rhode Island. That claims adjuster has a special connection to the injured workers.”
Founded in 1992, Beacon is the state’s largest writer of workers’ compensation insurance. The company assists businesses that have a choice of insurers and those that are limited to Beacon due to the inherently dangerous work they do or their poor track record.
Spero and Shannon Broadbent, Beacon’s associate vice president of human resources, describe the Beacon team as an exceptional workforce that is very engaged and compassionate. The employees’ positivity is contagious, Spero said, and makes everyone around them feel energized.
Culture is extraordinarily important to the leadership team. Five years ago, when Spero came aboard as CEO, they created two strategic plans. One focused on business and the other on culture. “I truly believe internally and externally that there is a direct link between internal culture and performance,” Spero said. “We get extraordinary results because we have extraordinary people.”
Beacon also has a wellness committee aimed at helping employees make time for physical, emotional and financial wellness activities. Beacon also recently remodeled its state-of-the-art fitness facility. The workout area has equipment and a variety of group exercise classes to choose from, such as yoga, strength training, spinning and Zumba.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Beacon team created a “well-being at home” guide with webinars about mental health and financial well-being, as well as virtual sessions featuring mindfulness exercises and at-home workouts. Beacon staff also made time to participate in various fun activities such as virtual bingo, a nonfinancial poker tournament and an online Italian cooking show hosted by Spero. To make employees’ lives easier, Beacon additionally offered flexible work arrangements, allowing staff to put their children on and off the bus or attend special events – a perk that continues today at the company.
Several years ago, Beacon started a diversity, equity and inclusion program, formulating its own committee of officers that employees selected.
“The results, in terms of hiring, have been good,” Spero said. “When you look at our workforce now compared to maybe five years ago, it’s much more diverse. It’s younger and that does bring a special energy to the company.”
A big supporter of community service work, Beacon provides employees eight hours of paid time off annually to volunteer at local nonprofits and opportunities to help different types of organizations throughout the year. Employees support initiatives related to animals, children, the environment and other causes. Beacon’s charitable foundation makes monetary contributions to more than 100 charities throughout the state.
As proponents of continuing education, the company promotes from within. Beacon offers employees opportunities for continuing education and provides tuition assistance for professional development, undergraduate and graduate studies.
Additionally, Beacon’s onboarding program lasts for a year and emphasizes learning, relationships and forming connections throughout the company, Broadbent said. Employees learn about the different roles and responsibilities in the organization, participate in a coffee hour meet-and-greet with all of the company’s vice presidents and have lunch with Spero.
“If you have employees that work in a great place, it’s going to be noticeable to people outside of the company who deal with them,” Spero said. “We are always complimented by the people we deal with on how happy our employees are with what they do and how it makes a real difference in how they do their job.”
