Best Agency to Work For – West

Wood, Gutmann & Bogart Insurance Brokers, Tustin, California

Wood Gutmann & Bogart Culture of Care

Culture of care may sound like an ’80s band or a marketing slogan for an emerging nonprofit organization, but it’s a phrase Kevin Bogart wasn’t hesitant to use when touting the workplace he oversees.

Employees at Wood Gutmann & Bogart Insurance Brokers in Tustin, Calif. – No. 74 on Insurance Journal‘s Top 100 Privately Held Independent Agencies list – were asked what makes their agency a great one to work for, and there were a number of comments from workers with a positive attitude who obviously like their job.

“The group of professionals that work within Wood Gutmann and Bogart are top-notch,” replied one employee. “They have great knowledge in their fields. It is a team approach environment, and everyone’s input is valued.”

But beyond those workers were employees with stories to share that told of partners stepping above their roles as leaders and reaching into their own pockets to ensure employees were happy and well-compensated, even during the worst of times.

“During a few very challenging economic years when other agencies were laying off employees, the partners of this firm decided no one would lose their jobs due to the decline in profits. What they did do (a few of us found out later) is they each silently contributed from their personal savings to our payroll for a very long time so that no one would lose their employment,” wrote one employee.

True story?

“I would say there were a good three years there that we felt the need to go beyond what the business was spinning off on its own to make the bonus pools as robust as they should be,” says Kevin Bogart, a partner in the firm, which employs 73 in Orange County, 15 in San Diego, 15 in Ventura and three in San Jose, Calif.

According to Bogart, employees who have been with the firm for five years annually receive about $2,500 from a tenure bonus on top of other bonuses, which typically add up to another $2,500 a year. It’s double that for people with 10 years at the firm, and it goes on up for those with more time.

During the economic recession, the firm’s partners were kicking in to make up for roughly a 25 percent shortfall in the regular bonus pool, he says, “because we’re committed to attaining and maintaining the best talent that we can find in the marketplace.”

A benefit of providing a positive work environment is that the mindset reaches customers in the form of good service and a positive outlook from the employees. “We have a culture of care for one another and care for our clients,” Bogart says.

Additionally, WGB has a “Flex Fridays” program that gives service staff three-day weekends once a month, a “Bowling Stress Busters” event that enables the ownership to interact with employees in a casual setting, and an adopted corporate charity called “Project Cuddle,” which helps women who are hiding a pregnancy.

The firm’s charitable inward and outward attitude is reflected in one employee’s tale: “I had some major health problems when I first started my employment at WGB and before my 90 days, I had to take a month off for disability. They saw something in me and didn’t let me go. They offered me sick time in advance to cover some of the days I was out and worked with me through the health problems. When I came back fully healthy, I more than proved to them that the chance they took and the money they invested was worth it. How they handled the situation was a blessing for both myself and the company.”

WGB writes all lines of insurance, including employee benefits, personal lines, and high-net-worth individuals. With roughly 3,000 customers, two-thirds of the business is from commercial lines. The firm serves primarily middle-market to large clients.

Taking care of those clients by having happy employees has yet another side effect. Most of the firm’s employees have been there 10 years or more, with several marking 20- and 25-year anniversaries.

“Once we get ’em, we tend to keep ’em,” Bogart says. “It really is a culture of care for one another. We work hard, but have lot of fun along the way.”