I’ve heard this said repeatedly over the last several days, “It doesn’t seem possible it’s mid-December!” This may be in part because where I’m at (in Des Moines, Iowa) we didn’t really have any measurable snow (or snow that stuck to the ground for more than 24 hours) until this past weekend. That alone is crazy. But it may also be due in part to the fact that this past year seems like it flew by at supersonic speed…and so much has happened. I can’t possibly address it all, but there are some key changes I’d like to touch on.

Looking back to almost a year ago exactly, we just had launched a major rebrand of our company “face.” Let me give you a little snapshot of what the “old” Holmes Murphy looked like. Here’s a side-by-side comparison of old versus new (it’s a little small, but hopefully you can easily see the difference):

There wasn’t anything wrong with that first image; however, it became abundantly clear to us that we aren’t your average broker — so to have a generic company image and tagline just didn’t make sense. We purposely broke out of that safe zone last December and launched our new “Thinking Ahead” brand. Why? Because we sell thinking, not insurance…and you can’t insure yesterday. Others might say they have your back; we say, “We’re Thinking Ahead to Protect Your Behind!” So we changed our image to match who we are and what we do. If you haven’t already, I encourage you to wander around our site a bit. I think you’ll enjoy what you see.

One would think an entire company rebrand would be enough to call it a day (or rather, a year)…but at Holmes Murphy, we’re constantly moving forward. One of those places we moved forward to was Orlando — almost all 600+ employees (at the time).

If you know anything about us, you know Holmes Murphy invests a lot in our employees because our employees take care of our No. 1 priority — our customers. In 2010, we set a 5-year achievement plan in front of our employees. If the goals in the plan were met in 2015, we said the company would pay for all employees to head to Orlando in April 2016 for team-building and, of course, some fun. Well, we not only hit our goals, but we surpassed them. Let’s just say we had a lot of happy faces at the happiest place on Earth!

In July, we rolled out a new, more flexible responsible time-off policy for exempt employees. We recognize the growing national trends of working longer hours and taking fewer vacations, and how it can take a toll on the work/life balance necessary for optimal efficiency. It’s up to employers like Holmes Murphy to combat those behaviors for their employees’ wellbeing. With this said, our new policy expects and encourages employees to take time away from work when they need it to operate at their best. Holmes Murphy has always been known for our great customer service and our “putting clients first” philosophy, and we feel this new policy is just one more way to ensure our employees are at their best so we can continue to deliver top-notch service to our clients.

In addition to the responsible time off policy, we also rolled out additional benefits for all employees, including new parental leave benefits, volunteer time off, and a “Celebrate” day (where employees are encouraged to take a day off within a week of their birthday).

We also recognized the need for Holmes Murphy to continue expanding and improving our product to the greatest benefit of each of our clients. As a result, we’ve relocated a couple of our offices with a couple more on the horizon. Our Omaha and Cedar Rapids team members recently moved into their new office spaces, with Kansas City set for a January move and our Des Moines office set for an early 2018 move. We don’t take these investments lightly. We purposely and strategically evaluated the need for these relocations and determined the transitions support our brand focus by providing employees a collaborative, dynamic, and amenity-rich space to match our company’s forward-looking view. More productive, energized, and happy employees equal a greater customer experience.

The year has wound down with some pretty exciting news for our company. Holmes Murphy was named a “Best Places to Work” in Des Moines, Kansas City, and Dallas. This makes me so proud — proud of our employees and proud of our company. When I walk in the doors each morning, it’s evident to me we have very dedicated employees constantly thinking ahead for our clients and going above and beyond to make sure each one is taken care of. We only hire the best, and we hope each of our clients recognizes this.

This past year has definitely been one of change for Holmes Murphy and one that we hope demonstrates how our company continues to move the dial on our employee experience. We believe this directly translates to the customer experience and their satisfaction. Everything we do and the changes we make have our clients top of mind. I truly hope you see the advantages of working with a company whose employees are dedicated to making the insurance process seamless for you!

I envision 2017 to be another fun and productive year. But before we get there, I hope you all have a safe and wonderful holiday season!