PBN Diversity Equity & Inclusion 2024 Awards
INSURANCE: Amica Mutual Insurance Co.
A 117-YEAR-OLD COMPANY that began formally embracing diversity, equity and inclusion 12 years ago continues to weave its way into the warp and woof of its culture.
Amica Mutual Insurance Co.’s leaders agree the foundation to the Lincoln-based insurance company’s DEI success is the people at the top – its board of directors and senior leadership.
“It really starts at the top and trickles down,” said Shameem Awan, Amica’s senior assistant vice president of talent management and diversity, equity and inclusion.
Leading by example, Amica’s 10-member board is a diverse group of men and women representing different ethnic and racial origins and backgrounds, Awan says. The board’s Compensation and Human Resources Committee meets about five times each year with CEO and President Edmund “Ted” Shallcross III; Sam Palmisano, chief human resources officer; and Awan to oversee, review and contribute to Amica’s DEI strategy.
Palmisano and Awan also annually report the company’s DEI strategy and results to the full board.
Amica’s DEI strategic plan has two primary components: workforce diversification at all levels and inclusion with a sense of belonging for all employees. Supporting the company’s DEI strategic plan is tied to one of senior staff members’ five annual performance goals.
Levels of DEI support and related results also factor into a discretionary component of goals for Amica’s managers, officers and senior staffers. With these incentives, Amica leadership has been quick to accept, approve and adopt measures companywide, ensuring the program’s success.
“Our CEO, Ted Shallcross, and the full board of directors are very deeply committed to DEI,” Palmisano said. “They have been fully supportive of everything the staff [members] have done for years.”
Successfully communicating leadership’s DEI goals and enlisting grass roots involvement from rank-and-file employees also has been crucial to Amica’s success.
The results have proved positive. Amica has attracted and welcomed people from diverse backgrounds to landscape its traditional employee base to a more modern representation of the community.
After several years of incremental growth, the national insurer – with 26 branch offices across America – boasts a workplace that is 29% minority. Despite the Supreme Court’s recent ruling effectively eviscerating race-conscious college admissions – already rippling into corporate hiring elsewhere – Amica plans to continue advancing DEI.
“We’ve watched closely the legal developments following the college-admission case,” Palmisano said. “We haven’t changed our approach. We’ve been full steam ahead. We make sure we’re in compliance with state and federal law. We are firmly committed to our DEI initiatives, and we intend to stay the course.”
Trumpeting Trustpilot’s 4.4 (excellent) TrustScore; leading-insurance-rating-agency AM Best’s A+ financial-strength rating; and 62 J.D. Power service-excellence awards – the highest number achieved by any company – Amica has no trouble attracting top talent. Quality candidates flock to this midsized company, rated by Forbes and Newsweek as one of America’s best employers and workplaces, particularly for women.
The Age Friendly Institute has recognized Amica for recruiting employees from across generations, while U.S. Veterans Magazine applauds Amica’s friendliness to hiring those serving in the U.S. armed forces.
Amica also seeks diverse suppliers and partners for outside efforts.
Beginning this 2024-25 season, Amica Companies Foundation is working with the Boston Celtics Shamrock Foundation to improve access to high-quality early-childhood education in New England’s underserved communities.
More locally in Rhode Island, Amica has been living up to its moniker – meaning, “friend” – by forging friendships with the community through its naming rights of the Providence Civic Center downtown arena, known as Amica Mutual Pavilion since 2022.
Home to the Providence College men’s basketball team and the Providence Bruins ice-hockey team, the AMP hosts diverse national touring acts and events, including World Vision, an international relief nonprofit that promotes child-sponsorship to empower less-fortunate children worldwide.
Overall, Amica’s initiatives help the company cultivate DEI as varied as the company’s wide-ranging products and services.
“Our goal is to have a place where everyone can be themselves and feel like they’re a part of the community,” Palmisano said.
