Gainesville is home to national or regional offices for four companies in the insurance field with a total workforce of more than 1,700 — property and casualty companies Nationwide, Tower Hill Insurance Group and Florida Farm Bureau and AvMed, a statewide managed-care company.
On top of that, the area’s insurance agencies make insurance one of the area’s top sources of employment.
Nationwide plans to hire hundreds of positions in its local operation with the goal to increase overall staffing levels over the next several years, and Tower Hill is experiencing double-digit growth most years.
That’s the good news. The bad news is that at the same time the companies are growing, many baby boomers who have worked for them for years are retiring.
“Our experienced people are finally getting to retirement,” said Stephen Tanner, Farm Bureau’s vice president of human resources and administration. “There’s a lot of institutional knowledge walking out the door.”
Filling the void is challenging, partly because insurance isn’t “cool.”
“Most kids don’t grow up wanting to be in insurance,” noted Greg Moraski, an associate vice president of Nationwide’s Gainesville center.
CREATIVE RECRUITING
The insurance companies are enticing new employees by highlighting growth opportunities and robust corporate cultures.
They’re also luring college students with opportunities to work their way through school — attracting interns and new hires who vary from high schoolers to pharmacy students.
This approach worked well for Gary Johnson. In 2005, he was selling women’s shoes at Dillard’s and going to Santa Fe College part-time when a friend who worked at Nationwide encouraged him to apply.
“I like that I could work flexible hours and get benefits while still going to school,” he said. “It opened my eyes to what I could accomplish while still working on my degree.”
Since joining the company, Johnson has completed his bachelor’s in business administration at Saint Leo University, and he’s working on a MBA at the university’s Gainesville campus.
He’s benefitted from the tuition reimbursement Nationwide offers employees who have been with the company for more than one year.
“I love that I’ve been able to progress in my job and with my education without worrying about being in debt,” said Johnson, who is now a manager.
Farm Bureau offers referral bonuses for all positions.
“People who work here are going to recommend people that they want to work next to,” Tanner said.
The company has also turned to social media, online job boards, and Florida State University’s risk management and insurance program, he added.
Working with a health plan like AvMed to manage members’ care appeals to nurses seeking an alternative to the rigors of hospital nursing, said Kay Ayers, the company’s senior vice president of human resources and facilities.
“Floor nursing is very demanding, and working with our members in managing their care can be appealing,” Ayers said.
AvMed is holding its own in recruiting.
“We draw from Ocala and the outlying counties, and we have a good pool of applicants who step up,” Ayers said.
The company has planned ahead for retirements by preparing current employees to move into positions that are being vacated.
“We emphasize grooming employees for advancement,” Ayers said.
RESPONDING TO CHALLENGES
Tower Hill is growing at 6 to 12 percent a year — and it’s hard for the company to keep up with hiring, said Chris Grancagnolo, assistant vice president of human resources.
That’s especially true for mid-level positions, which require experience.
“Gainesville isn’t big enough to easily recruit many of the mid-level people we need, so we have to sell people on moving to Gainesville,” he said.
Grancagnolo himself moved to Gainesville from Charlotte, North Carolina, two years ago.
“It has the best of everything — being close to tourist attractions, great sports, education, and a great family place,” he said.
Tower Hill has a lot to offer, said training instructor Jo Hughes. The company truly has a family atmosphere that stems from the top, who was one of the first 13 staff members in Gainesville when owner Bill Shively moved it from Miami to Gainesville in 1980.
Although the staff in Gainesville has now reached 375, Tower Hill fosters a close-knit corporate culture by catering lunch for employees each Wednesday, Grancagnolo said.
It also looks out for employee welfare. In addition to a well-equipped workout room, it has built a new gym with a regulation size basketball court.
Jocita Manibusan is an example of Tower Hill’s strong employee retention. She moved to Gainesville from Guam to attend the University of Florida, where her brother was a student, and she never left.
The main reason she stayed was Tower Hill Insurance, where she’s worked for a decade.
“Guam has strong Asian influence, and family life is very important,” she said. “I love Tower Hill’s family atmosphere. From the start, I felt embraced, like getting a warm hug.”
Like many of the company’s employees, Manibusan, a sociology major, didn’t have insurance experience coming in.
“You can teach insurance, but you can go only so far in teaching soft skills,” she said.
Manibusan has risen to become assistant vice president for commercial underwriting, overseeing a team of 15 people charged with determining rates for commercial property including office buildings, hotels and shopping centers.
She fosters a friendly and stimulating environment within her workplace, which results in high retention and promotion.
“Our team is awesome,” she said. “We spend time together playing dodgeball and volleyball. We just did Zumba together.”
Manibusan has been crafty in promoting productivity. She has a sign stating $75 million — this year’s commercial underwriting revenue goal.
There’s a bell, which is rung for every $1 million policy, and a gong for every $5 million policy.
“We love to celebrate,” she said. “When we bang the gong, it can be heard throughout the building.”
While employees can learn many insurance positions on the job, including claims processing and underwriting, other jobs require specialized training.
For example, each company employs attorneys and accountants. AvMed helps meet its need for pharmacists through interns from the UF College of Pharmacy.
The toughest positions to fill are actuaries, professionals who assess risk.
“You have to be exceptionally good at math,” Farm Bureau’s Tanner said. “Actuaries are a different breed.”
APPEALING TO ALTRUISM
The insurance companies have strong commitments to the community, and they use their community outreach to appeal to prospective employees.
Jennifer N. Thomas, a personal lines supervisor at Nationwide, has led the United Way campaign at Nationwide, served in leadership positions with Toastmasters and volunteered at the Bread of the Mighty Food Bank.
“Helping at the food bank relates to my degree in anthropology that I received while working at Nationwide,” she said.
Thomas has been involved in the United Way, Ronald McDonald Charities of North Central Florida, Meals on Wheels, Bread of the Mighty and the Boys & Girls Club.
“I love that we are not just concerned about the company but also about giving back to the community,” she said.