Best Places to Work 2025 Awards
#1 LARGE COMPANIES: The Beacon Mutual Insurance Co.
Local Employees: 159
CEO and President: Brian J. Spero
AT COMPANYWIDE EVENTS, conversations between employees at The Beacon Mutual Insurance Co. can go on for hours.
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This is a great thing, said Brian J. Spero, the Warwick-based insurance firm’s CEO and president. Spero noted that such chatter speaks to the camaraderie and strong work culture Beacon Mutual has built over the years.
“You can just tell from the vibe in the room how well everybody gets along,” Spero said. “We almost hate to start the programs, because everybody’s having such a good time talking to each other. It really is the best place to work.”
For Shannon Broadbent, Beacon Mutual’s vice president of human resources, those conversations are a sign that employees are enjoying the company’s work environment.
“Employees genuinely like coming to work, whether it be coming into the office or working hybrid,” she said. “They like doing what they’re doing. They like helping our policyholders, our injured workers and each other. They’re always willing to chip in to help each other.”
A great work culture, Spero says, yields great results. Part of that workplace fun comes via employee committees and social activities, Broadbent says. Those committees organize events, including the company’s Halloween-themed party.
Other events offered include a family Christmas party for employees and their families to enjoy, as well as other outings at the zoo, sporting events and ocean cleanup days. Some events, such as the company’s multicultural luncheon, also bring employees closer together, company leadership says.
Beacon Mutual’s culture, Spero and Broadbent say, reflects the employee’s values. Both described the company’s workers being as engaged, committed and community-focused.
“Our staff is very engaged. They’re deeply involved in our company and its mission, and they’re always working hard to do the right thing,” Spero said. “They appreciate the environment and that makes them engaged in everything that we’re doing.”
Employees are also committed to the company’s values around hard work, employing best ethical practices, and fostering a diverse and inclusive environment, Spero says.
To support employees’ disposition to volunteer in their community, Beacon Mutual provides its workers eight hours per year for volunteering. The company also hosts a volunteer week every May.
Staff during that volunteer week puts together a list of different organizations for employees to choose to help out throughout the week, Broadbent said. At least 60% to 70% of Beacon Mutual’s staff performs community service that week.
“We also have a charitable matching program so employees can donate to two organizations of their choice, and then Beacon’s charitable foundation will match up to $250 per year to what they contribute to those organizations,” Broadbent said.
In recent years, Beacon Mutual navigated working trends and reimagined workspaces during the COVID-19 pandemic. The company went fully remote for two years starting in 2020, then transitioned to a hybrid schedule where workers come in to the office two days a week.
“Most departments have a day that they like to have everybody in for training and just collaboration and socialization and all of those things,” Spero said. “And honestly, from a financial perspective, we’ve had the best years in the company’s history since COVID, so it seems to be working.”
Employee burnout, something employers have had to manage since the pandemic, is something the company is very receptive to, Spero said.
“I would say that we’ve been extraordinarily lucky because, of the quality of our workforce, we really haven’t seen a lot of that,” Spero said. “But it also takes direction to keep that going. It takes an intentional effort.”
Part of that intentional effort is reflected in the company’s attitude toward vacancies. Spero says Beacon Mutual strongly prefers promoting from within first before looking outside the company.
Another way the company looks after its employees is providing them with resources for mental health wellness. Broadbent says about 20 employees have sought certification to become mental health aid instructors, an initiative created by the company in the past year.
“May is Mental Health Awareness Month,” Broadbent said. “So we do a lot of different things for our employees throughout that month as well.”
