Always Giving Back

Employees at The Bulow Group in Tinley Park, Illinois, say they have a lot of things to celebrate about their agency. One of those things is the spirit of giving that permeates their workplace and informs everything they do.

“The owners have made it a priority for our culture to always give back,” one employee wrote in response to Insurance Journal’s 2018 Best Agencies to Work For survey. “Our quote is: ‘Always give more than you get.'”

The Bulow Group has been named Insurance Journal’s Bronze 2018 Best Agency to Work For – Midwest, largely due to employee enthusiasm for the giving culture of the agency.

Mike Bulow, who co-founded the agency with his brother, Tom, said they are “extremely proud that our employees went out of their way to nominate us” for the award. He noted they have made “a tremendous effort to build a company culture and environment that makes people want to come to work. We feel that culture is not just a buzz word for us but rather the foundation of The Bulow Group.”

“Philanthropy is a top priority at our agency,” an employee stated. As an example, they said the “principals helped me personally start a Not For Profit for adults with disabilities. Our organization’s goal is to provide individuals with mental and physical disabilities with experiences they otherwise could not afford: Bowling, Talent Shows, Baseball Games, Concerts, etc. … It’s acts of kindness like this that make me so proud to work at The Bulow Group.”

The Bulow Group employees recognized the philanthropic spirit is not limited to external causes; it extends to employees and clients as well. And they lauded management’s efforts to help each employee achieve their personal and professional goals.

“This has been the only company that I’ve been a part of that has asked what both my Personal and Professional goals are at the beginning of each year. We meet monthly to be sure that we are on track to meet all of my goals at the office and at home,” wrote one employee.

“Internally we have monthly lunches, company outings, random acts of kindness such as gift cards, flowers and more just to acknowledge our hard work. I am proud to work at The Bulow Group and know without a shred of doubt we are the best agency to work for in the U.S.,” another employee said.

Still another employee described an example of service provided to clients that goes above and beyond the norm. “Producers at the agency perform what we call ‘Employee for the Day’ to our clients,” the employee wrote. “This is a value add service where we as the producer work a shift for our client to see first hand their operation and truly understand the exposures and the complexity of our clients industry. It is beyond effective and our clients love to see us get our hands dirty and understand the difficulties associated with their line of work.”

Mike Bulow said he and Tom entered the insurance business with the recognition that “it is a necessity for every business and we felt we can ‘do it a better way.'”

Specializing in commercial insurance, “we are very hands on and are constantly bringing value to our clients. The greatest joy is walking our clients down the path which ultimately helps them achieve their long term goals. We are more than just an insurance broker, we are a key partner to our clients,” he said.

Bulow’s advice for agency owners who want to create a best place to work? “Be authentic and have empathy towards others, go above and beyond for your employees both inside and outside of the office.”