Leadership Perspectives

Good Neighbors Mean Good Business
by Marty Shaw
Managing Director, Canada

Did you know that Canada and the U.S. are the world’s largest trading partners? There’s no question that a solid relationship is important, both as neighbors and as NFP. Today, our company has offices in Toronto, Burlington and Montreal that boast a wide range of capabilities. They range from group benefits and retirement to an integrated wealth management and life insurance program that helps physicians through all phases of their careers. But as you might guess, many products are delivered differently in the U.S. than in Canada. So, in an effort to continue to grow business across borders, we’re working closely with our stateside offices, as well as the U.K.-based office, to offer a complete set of solutions to prospects and clients.

A Two-Way Street
Let me introduce you to Chad Rowley and Mark McCormick, managing directors in our Boston office. They specialize in working with Canadian-headquartered companies that have operations in the U.S. Their team helps more than 300 Canadian companies manage the benefits programs that cover their American employees working within U.S. subsidiaries or divisions.

Because of Chad and Mark’s in-depth understanding of both the Canadian and U.S. health care systems, they can help clients navigate the fundamental differences between the two, as well as the nuances within the U.S. markets. The result is that it’s easier for all of us to seal deals and forge important long-term relationships.

When it comes to the importance of creating a purposeful relationship, we have to bring up recently acquired Canadian-based Group Force Benefits. The firm is a group-managing general agent that acts as an intermediary between brokers and insurers to create group benefits solutions and back-office efficiencies for insurance brokers. We’re working to provide the Boston team’s expertise to the growing Group Force distribution system to help the firm enhance its offering in a unique way in its space. None of our competitors have that same opportunity.

Two Great Case Studies
Another example of our successful cross-border collaboration is with a North American energy company. We helped them with their retirement plan in the U.S. and were hoping to assist with their medical plan. They were opening up an office in Canada, and it was a pretty big deal. The catch was, they were only going to have one person there … ever. Finding a carrier that would take a one-person “group” wasn’t too difficult, but we had to work hard to get them their one-person retirement plan. Two people spent many hours getting it done. Why’d we do this? Because it was an opportunity to prove to the client that NFP can help them wherever they are. As a result, our relationship with them is much closer and holds promise for future opportunities.

Another Canada-U.S. integrated selling success is that of a large, international automotive parts company. They wanted to deliver benefits utilizing a consistent communication style to employees in different countries, including Canada. Will Byron, managing director of the Southeast region, asked if we’d meet with the company’s Human Resources leadership. Through that meeting, we secured the account, which we’ve had now for about five years. The company receives local, on-the-ground guidance from us on how to communicate with their Canadian employees in French and English. Their communications style is now consistent across North America, because it all gets coordinated out of our North Carolina office, where Will is located. In fact, they’re so happy with us that we’re now expanding into their retirement business.

The Bottom Line
Clearly, the more products and solutions each of our offices has to offer a client, the more relevant NFP becomes. This commitment to creating a more integrated company starts with the corporate resources all our offices can tap. Our recent interaction with a large, multinational manufacturing company proves the point. Initially, the opportunity was simply a chance for me to review the Canadian offerings. But when we involved Eric Boester, executive vice president of Corporate Development, and his team in New York, the opportunity got a lot bigger. Together, we delivered a request for proposal that included five different NFP offices and businesses. It was clear that the more of a one-stop shop we could be for them, the more we would stand out against the competition.

The opportunity showed that it takes time and energy to develop trust across the NFP regions, nationally and internationally — but it’s well worth it. The relationship is still alive, and we continue to compete for their business. Just more proof that our company’s growing strength comes from how we cement relationships across borders.

When done properly, the results speak for themselves.

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HR

RECOGNITION

Unsung Hero, Emily Britt

Emily Britt Is that comma in the right place? Is "health care" one word or two? Which words should be capitalized in a headline? The Marketing team just asks Emily, a copy editor in our Austin office. Every day, she edits and proofreads print and digital collateral that the entire company relies on. Websites, emails, memos, ads, white papers, brochures and more — they cross her desk at a rapid pace. She makes sure each piece is error-free, clear, on brand and consistent with the NFP Style Guide, which she manages and updates.

Emily’s plate is always full, but the new brand work brought “busy” to a whole new level. Her response? "Bring it on. I love this!" When asked to add social media posting to her workload, she immediately dove in.

"Good editors are rare," says Sonja Hibbs, director of Content Strategies in Austin. "Great ones are even rarer. We're extremely lucky to have someone so talented. Every day she's pulled a million ways and her grace under pressure is amazing. She's an absolutely vital part of the NFP team that's easy to overlook. This is well-deserved recognition."

Emily is an avid reader who enjoys hiking, traveling and spending time with her family. She’s looking forward to her first #cap10k race in Austin this April.

Unsung Hero, Adrianna Riggio

Adrianna Riggio Many say that Adrianna is the backbone of the Sports & Entertainment division at NFP firm BWD Group in Plainview, NY. Adrianna works on most of the department’s accounts, always bringing her “A” game. From computer programs to policies, she almost always has an answer. On those rare occasions she doesn’t, she works tirelessly to get one.

“Adrianna showed early on that she wanted to learn in her role,” says Tom Caldwell, vice president of the Sports & Entertainment division, BWD Group. “She asks probing questions and genuinely cares about increasing her knowledge. She took it upon herself to get her broker’s license long before she was required to do so. She provides valuable assistance to everyone and shares her knowledge with the next generation of brokers within the department. She takes pride in her work and strives for perfection.”

Adrianna is passionate about sports and coaches young women in hockey. She travels with her team to games all over the Northeast.

Know an Unsung Hero? Submit a nomination form to humanresources@nfp.com.

A Big Thank You from the CEO

There’s no question that without you, our amazing employees, NFP wouldn’t be what it is today — a company known as much for caring about individuals as it is for providing extraordinary solutions. We hope you saw the memo CEO Doug Hammond sent out on Employee Appreciation Day. In summary, he wanted you to know:

“Thank you for tackling new ways of doing business head-on and consistently doing more than just what’s expected. Thank you for taking care of each other and the communities we serve. If you weren’t willing to work through the challenges and changes we’ve taken on, none of what we’ve accomplished over the past few years would have been possible. I hope you never wonder if your individual efforts matter. We appreciate you more than we probably have a chance to tell you, and want you to know that we’re as committed to your personal and professional success as you are to NFP.”

Employees across the company enjoyed a well-deserved nod with appreciation events:

New York Delivers
Employees of our firm BWD in Plainview, NY, feasted on a healthy breakfast and received NFP mugs filled with candy and a thank-you card from their managing directors.
It’s a Go for Yogurt in New Jersey
Employees from our firm Excess Reinsurance in Woodbury, NJ, enjoyed a make-your-own yogurt bar.
Pennsylvania Has Sweet Treats Down Cold
Our Fort Washington and Warrington, PA, office employees created tasty ice cream concoctions.
A Picture-Perfect Day in Maryland
The client service team in our Columbia, MD, office spent quality time together at a learn-to-paint studio.
Maryland Warms Up the Day with Frozen Treats
Burtonsville, MD, office employees dove into ice cream sundaes with all the toppings.

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COMMUNITY

Stepping Up for Project Sunshine

Sales of NFP socks were a "shoe-in" at this year's NFP Strategy Summit. We sold out, raising $3,750 for Project Sunshine, an amazing nonprofit that helps children and their families living with medical challenges. Colorful socks that look good and do good? Those are some happy feet!

Socks Socks

Stephanie Herrera Named “Mentor of the Year” Finalist in Austin Under 40 Awards

Congratulations to Stephanie Herrera, a senior Salesforce manager in Austin, for being named a “Mentor of the Year” finalist in the Austin Under 40 Awards. The awards recognize the most influential young people in the city. When Stephanie isn’t working for us, she’s making a difference in the lives of young women and men who aspire to a career in technology.

She started the local chapter of Austin Women in Technology, formerly known as Girlie Geeks, as well as a weekly meetup called “Salesforce Saturdays.” She’s coached and mentored dozens of young professionals and veterans, helping them advance their technical skills and network with other people in the industry. Stephanie’s reaction to the news? “I was shocked! I’ve had some great mentors in my career and now’s my time to give back.” Thanks for bringing that inspiration to NFP, Stephanie!

Tausha Robertson Recognized as a Tech Innovator at SXSW Interactive

Tausha Robertson, DrPH, a senior director in our Austin office with our firm Alterity Group, is one of 10 men and women of color who were recognized by MVMT50 for innovative efforts within the tech industry at the renowned South by Southwest (SXSW) interactive festival in Austin, TX. MVM50 is a coalition of Black thought leaders working to advance employment diversity, cultural representation and leadership development in the innovation, technology and digital sectors. Tausha has long been a leader, community activist and all-around role model.

Read more about how Tausha and her fellow innovators are making a difference.

Innovators
L to R: Amber Payne, Managing Editor, NBCBLK at NBCnews.com; Tausha Robertson; Rodney Sampson, Chairman, the Opportunity Hub

Operation Cookies from Home Delivers

Operation Cookies from Home was a sweet success! Employees in our Warrington and Fort Washington, PA, offices raised enough money to send seven cases of Girl Scout cookies to members of the U.S. Armed Forces.

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WELL-BEING

Vitality’s New Program Year Starts April First — No Fooling

NFP Vitality starts its third year on April 1. If you’re a member, you may wonder what will happen to your points, status and bucks. Here’s what you need to know:

Starting April 1:

All Vitality statuses will be reset to bronze.
Ten percent of your points from the last program year will be rolled over into the new plan year as a kick-start bonus. For example, a member who earned 6,000 points by March 31, 2016, will start off with 600 points on April 1.
Vitality Bucks – the currency you use to buy devices and gift cards on the “Rewards” page – will roll over on April 1. You don’t need to cash out your bucks before the end of the plan year.
You must complete the Vitality Health Review (VHR) each program year to reactivate your account and continue to earn reward points. Check out the article below for more information on the VHR.

Remember, you earn Vitality Bonus Bucks whenever you achieve a new Vitality Status (Silver, Gold or Platinum). The more points you earn, the higher your status and the greater your bonus!

Not enrolled in Vitality? Sign up and start your path to a healthier you!

Questions? Contact Human Resources.

Earn Vitality Points with the VHR Challenge

With the start of the new Vitality plan year on April 1, you’ll need to take the Vitality Health Review (VHR) to reactivate your account. The good news is that we turned it into a fun and rewarding challenge. Get 500 points just for completing the VHR, while receiving valuable information on your overall health status. The region with the highest percentage of members that complete the VHR between April 15 and May 30 will win the challenge — and receive an additional 250 points each.

The VHR is a 15-minute confidential online questionnaire about your current health status and risk factors. Enter information about your lifestyle, behaviors and clinical measures and receive instant feedback on your health.

Challenge registration will launch on April 11. To sign up, go to www.powerofvitality.com and hover over the “Community” tab. Then click on “My Challenges.” You can even take it on the Vitality Today mobile app.

Atlanta Office Loses Weight and Wins

Vitality Champs for the Atlanta Office, Donna Dravis and Wanda Leonard, started a competitive weight-loss challenge — and there have already been big results. In just two short weeks, 15 employees lost a collective 50 pounds! Additionally, employees from the office participated in and completed the Vitality Nutrition Course Challenge, which helped the Southeast steal the lead for the win.

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DEVELOPMENT

Recruits Have NFP Spirit

We're working hard to attract and recruit fantastic candidates from college campuses for our summer internships. Last summer, we amped up our programs in Austin and New York, with a total of 17 interns doing great work for our teams. The future is looking even more promising as we connect with terrific talent from coast to coast. We can’t wait to see the results our interns produce this year. Next summer we hope to expand the internship program from corporate NFP to NFP offices across the country.

Emerging Leaders Course Provides Big Growth

We offer our up-and-coming leaders lots of training and tools. One of the newest opportunities, first offered last summer, is a seven-course virtual leadership training series called Emerging Leaders. Each course is offered four times a year and requires pre-work reading and/or assessments, homework between classes and rich discussion via case studies with other NFP leaders around the country. Those who take the series emerge better for the experience.

“The Emerging Leaders series was amazing,” said Donna Bryan, branch manager in Bethel, VT. “All seven segments were informative and helped me develop professionally and personally. The opportunity to connect with people from other teams and offices around the country and to listen to their perspectives kept everyone engaged and allowed for lively discussions.”

Recruits Have NFP Spirit
Pictured: Donna Bryan and Dan Lussier

Our Burtonsville, MD, office acknowledged four employees for completing the Emerging Leaders series during their Employee Appreciation Sundae Event in March:

Emerging Leaders
L to R: Donna Beck, Andrew Dixon, Robert Horenberg, Mary Jane Donaldson, Wayne Shropshire

Congratulations to the following employees who completed Emerging Leaders:

Donna Beck, Burtonsville, MD
Robin Bilodeau, South Burlington, VT
Donna Bryan, Bethel, VT
Andrew Dixon, Burtonsville, MD
Mary Jane Donaldson, Burtonsville, MD
Amanda Humphries, Aliso Viejo, CA
Noreen Kennedy, Sontag Advisory, New York, NY
Veronica Lee, Aliso Viejo, CA
Wayne Shropshire, Burtonsville, MD
Maria Vejar, Aliso Viejo, CA
Christine Vlamis, San Jose, CA

Interested in growing your leadership skills? Request more information on this series.

Grow Your Career with Us

We love nothing more than to watch those we work with grow into new roles and responsibilities. Liz Braun, previously with our office in San Jose, CA, and Rachel Harbaugh, previously with our Vermont office, have new positions within our Corporate Integration Management Office, with a focus on our property & casualty (P&C) office growth. Rachel joined the team of Dan Salomon, senior vice president of Integration Management, as AVP of Agency Operations. Liz also joins Dan's team as senior director, Integration Specialist, reporting to Rachel. Both bring deep industry experience as well as strong technical skills to their new roles.

Want more information on how to grow your career with NFP? Sign in to the People First Portal and view open career opportunities.

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Regional Office & Platform News

Recent Acquisitions

We’ve expanded our capabilities with several strategic new transactions that complement existing proficiencies across the country:

Group Force Benefits, now part of the Canadian operations of NFP in Ontario and Montreal, QC
Vanorsdale Insurance Services, now part of the P&C division in San Diego, CA
401(k) Management Group, now part of the Retirement division in Santa Ana, CA

Please join us in welcoming these offices to the NFP family.

The Ultimate Connection

As a trusted partner of Ultimate Software and an UltiPro client, we at NFP were asked to sponsor and participate at “Connections,” Ultimate Software’s annual conference. We sent nearby field producer Michelle Masters, senior director, from the Midwest region, to reach their customers and turn introductions into clients. Her participation in the event benefits everyone. Not only does it further spread our story, but some of Michelle’s new connections will be introduced to other regions and platforms, where appropriate. Thanks, Michelle, for representing us so well.

P&C Taking Steps to Build Better Business

We’re taking another major step in our journey to becoming a fully integrated, world-class insurance broker and consultant. Our latest milestone is the introduction of integrated systems for P&C business. Launching soon are Salesforce for tracking and managing the sales process, Epic for managing and servicing accounts, and Lawson for accounting support. These tools will help those who use them to collaborate across NFP offices and create companywide visibility and information. We’ll be one team helping meet the needs and exceed the expectations of our clients more consistently and efficiently than ever before. Isn’t that what it’s all about?

Mixing Good Business with Good Times at ICBA Conference

Employees representing our Atlanta, Austin and Nashville offices attended the ICBA Community Banking Live Annual Conference in New Orleans, where the focus was on how to protect and promote the community banking industry. Laissez les bon temps rouler — Let the good times roll!

Good Times
L to R: Todd Broussard, Kim Harvill, Randy Kohls, Matt Self, Kim Clarke and Meghan Authement

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Tools & Resources

An HR Tool That Makes Decisions Easier

Need help with the way you handle your clients’ human resources (HR) decisions? The HR Decision Support Tool is our proprietary online application that helps make appropriate recommendations on HR technology and benefits administration platforms that best fit the needs of your prospects and clients. It’s a back-end database that contains more than 50 benefits administration and HR technology vendors and their platforms. The database includes vendors that have a preferred partnership with NFP, as well as other vendors in the marketplace.

Also, visit our HR Tech Management Center, a one-stop administrator resource where you can manage client data used in NFP applications, including the HR Decision Support Tool and Benefits-At-A-Glance mobile app. Advisors can also reach out to their regional client relationship manager, who can provide a system demonstration of the HR Decision Support Tool’s features.

Benefits-At-A-Glance App for Advisors Is Live

Our free, employee-facing benefits app is here! With Benefits-At-A-Glance, your corporate clients and their employees can:

View group plan benefits — Choose summary or detail level, filter by in-network/out-of-network or search benefits by keyword
Store benefit plan insurance cards — Use a smart device to snap a photo and store or email cards
Get contact info fast — Reach carriers, company representatives or HR easily, with all the info in one place
Access plan and company documents — View summary plan documents, employee handbook, provider/network directories and more

If you missed the training webinars, watch a recording for important information on administration, how to enter data on the back end and ways to introduce this app to clients. You can also take advantage of these marketing pieces to promote Benefits-At-A-Glance to your clients:

You can also provide “demo” access to the Benefits-At-A-Glance mobile app for your corporate clients.* The email address and password login credentials are guest@demo.com and “password” respectively.

Questions? Contact your regional support specialist.

*Note: This app is for clients of NFP offices and isn't available for NFP employees.

The Dynamic Duo of Insurance Insight

Want to be a life insurance superhero? You can have happier clients and easier workdays with ProductExpert and ProductSprinter. Take advantage of a one-of-a-kind set of technology tools that can make your life insurance sales cycle faster and your revenue opportunities greater.

ProductExpert provides the big picture — Product features, carrier ratings, market trends, historical information and other relevant data

ProductSprinter gives you the nitty-gritty — A detailed, down-to-the-dollar product comparison, customized for your client’s specific scenario

Together, this dynamic duo will add some “pow,” “boom” and “shazam” to your sales cycle. And you can say goodbye to your archenemy — the great life insurance unknown.

Want to learn more? Contact the NFP product team.

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Technology

Don’t Let Ransomware Hold You Hostage

You can stay safe from ransomware and other malware and cyberattacks by following some key cybersecurity practices. So, what is ransomware? It’s a nasty type of malware that can lock computer files so they can’t be opened without a sophisticated password. Ransomware can be distributed by email attachments and through websites. Stay safe by using common sense and following these best practices:

Don’t open unexpected email attachments or links. Even if you know the sender, don’t click unless you can confirm the email is legitimate. Otherwise, delete it.
Beware of ads and links. Think twice before clicking on links unless you know their source, and always avoid ads.
Keep your home and work computers, smartphone and tablet security software up to date. Hackers never rest; you shouldn’t, either.
Limit Internet use at work to business. You’re always at risk, even on “legitimate” sites. Ads, links on shopping sites and online games also expose you to malware.
Don’t install applications that a website says you “need” to view or access content. This approach can be used to install malware on your machine or device.

If it’s too late and your work computer is infected, report it as soon as you can to the Coordinated Incident Response Team. Practice these cyber safety tips and the odds will be in your favor that you’ll never have to make that call.

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Marketing

New Brand Means New Brochures

Strategy Summit saw us roll out fresh, new, rebranded collateral that will help us draw in prospects and expand client relationships. Visit our Marketing Resource Library to access the brochures:

Social Media

Get the word out on your office events, charitable efforts and employees’ professional achievements. Submit them for posting on our rapidly growing Facebook and Twitter accounts:

Fill out the brief NFP Social Media Post Submission Form. The form is located on NFP Brand Central, where you’ll find tools and support you need for NFP-related branding, compliance, marketing and public relations.
Email the completed form and any related photos to communications@nfp.com.

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