How CMB Embraces a Culture of Flexibility

How CMB Embraces a Culture of Flexibility

By Ben McDonald, as told to Tara Hogue Harris

Is building an environment where employees want to come back to the office possible? Ben McDonald, president and CEO of CMB Insurance, and a member of the Professional Young Insurance Brokers, thinks it is. He explains why he’s working to give his employees options at the office – and why it’s an important part of helping his teams want to return in person.

There’s a debate right now on whether staff need to be back in the office. Where do you stand?

There are two sides to the fence. I’m one of the people who can’t do this job at home – for one thing, I have two young kids. I also thrive on personal connections and the culture we’ve built in our teams. That said, people have been hit with a lot over the past few years. While I might want to be back in person, it’s fairer to create a workplace that’s flexible and adaptable. Let’s experiment on that side of the fence for now, and make it work for everyone.

How do you see your physical offices fitting into your employee’s lives?

Starbucks famously set out to create a “third place”, providing the comforts of your home along with a great service experience. Imagine if we did the same sorts of thing in the work place. Our goal is to create a space where people want to come in to work. You should feel looked after here, like you do when you go home, or when you step into your local Starbucks.

We’ve always been a fun workplace, with bi-weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly events to connect and reward our people. Now we’re also focusing on smaller treats and perks, like great bagels and pastries to make Monday mornings easier. Excellent coffee. Fabulous Friday events (today we’re celebrating potato day!) It doesn’t have to break the bank to cultivate care.

Would you consider these efforts a part of CMB’s work culture?

Culture isn’t what we do for our team. Our people are our culture! These benefits are just here to support them. We’re focusing on people first.

Why does this focus make good business sense?

Being a broker is a high-stress industry. People are our most important asset, and recruiting is harder than ever. We want to make it easy for our team to stay with us. There’s a lot of risk in setting hardcore expectations about returning to the office. I’d rather be steady Eddie for my team after all they’ve been through – be thoughtful and offer some flexibility, and in the meantime, create a workplace that people are excited to come into.

How can management support this approach?

Flexible workplaces require management for sure – and it can be hard for management to let go of the level of control they might like. I believe if we focus on people first, good things will happen. Of course, our industry does demand coverage in-office, and we managed to safely do that through COVID. Teams have to decide together what’s best. Management is there to swoop in if needed, but as long as productivity and performance are maintained, our job is to deliver options to make working with us an easy choice.

Any final words?

Culture eats strategy for breakfast, as they say. We don’t want to lose what defines our culture at CMB, and that includes the camaraderie and connection of being together in person when we can. I want to show my employees that I care about what works for them. I know this approach will allow them to show that same care to our clients and providers.