BKS awarded top regional insurance broker in the Southeast.

1. WEST REGION
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Washington Workers’ Comp Costs
Pacific Health Care Acquisition Search

2. 24 | INSURANCE JOURNAL | NATIONAL OCTOBER 1, 2018 INSURANCEJOURNAL.COM
NATIONAL | SpecialReport | BestAgenciestoWorkFor
2018 Winners
OVERALL
The Horton Group,
Orland Park, Ill.
EAST
Gold - Tompkins Insurance
Agencies, Batavia, N.Y.
Silver – Rogers & Gray Insurance
Agency, South Dennis, Mass.
Bronze – Marshall & Sterling,
Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
MIDWEST
Gold – Concklin Insurance
Agency, Lombard, Ill.
Silver – Gibson, South Bend, Ind.
Bronze – The Bulow Group,
Tinley Park, Ill.
SOUTH CENTRAL
Gold – SwingleCollins &
Associates, Dallas, Texas
Silver – Bryan Insurance Agency,
Graham, Texas
Bronze – Porrier Group,
Lafayette, La.
SOUTHEAST
Gold – BKS-Partners, Tampa, Fla.
Silver – Jones Insurance Agency,
Garner, N.C.
Bronze – Harbour Insurance
Agency, Port St. Lucie, Fla.
WEST
Gold – Morris & Garritano, San
Luis Obispo, Calif.
Silver – Eaton-Provident Group,
Scottsdale, Ariz.
Bronze – North Town Insurance,
Spokane, Wash.
T
he votes were tallied and
the results are in for the
2018 Best Independent
Insurance Agency to Work For
survey by Insurance Journal.
Employees of the Best
Agencies to Work For in 2018
highlight the importance of
competitive salaries, employee
benefits, training and edu-
cation, resources, and other
employee perks as drivers of
satisfaction in the workplace.
But it’s not all about compen-
sation and benefits. Happiness
in the workplace has a lot to
do with people, relationships
and culture. Employees of the
winning agencies cite high
personal job satisfaction; rate
their relationships with their
immediate boss or supervisor
as positive; and express a high
opinion of their agency’s owner
or principals and their agency’s
reputation in the community.
Many employees are grate-
ful the best agency owners
support local charities and the
community. Employees are
grateful for the opportunities
their agencies provide for them
to participate in community
service. Employees take pride
in working for agencies that are
respected and hold strong val-
ues and ethics. Employees also
appreciate the generosity of
their agency owners in sharing
revenues in the form of bonus-
es and trips.
The best agencies also pro-
vide ways to help their employ-
ees grow — by giving them
the tools and technology they
need, and supporting them
with education, training, annu-
al and performance reviews
and, in some cases, mentors.
The survey results clearly show
employees value this support.
As expected, the winning
agencies score high for overall
employee benefits including
wellness programs and for
working conditions includ-
ing flex-time and alternative
schedules that allow employees
to work from home.
The best agencies to work for
also provide employees with a
strong sense of work-life bal-
ance, and deliver a workplace
environment where employees
feel supported wholehearted-
ly by management and their
peers.
Many of the employees say
they feel like family in their
agencies.
Insurance Journal wishes
to thank the more than 2,000
customer service represen-
tatives, account executives,
producers, managers and other
agency staff who took the time
to nominate their independent
insurance agency in this year’s
survey.

3. 28 | INSURANCE JOURNAL | NATIONAL OCTOBER 1, 2018 INSURANCEJOURNAL.COM
NATIONAL | SpecialReport | BestAgency toWorkFor
Commitment to Company Culture
By Amy O’Connor
F
or the founders of
Tampa, Fla.-based BKS-
Partners, being nomi-
nated as Insurance Journal’s
Best Agency to Work For by
their employees is not only an
“incredible honor” but also
motivation to keep improving.
“It’s such an incredible hon-
or because to think that what
we do and how we try to inter-
act and engage with colleagues
is meaningful – and it also
puts a lot of pressure on us to
continue to raise the bar, chal-
lenge ourselves, and to not be
satisfied with the status quo,”
Founding Partner Elizabeth
Krystyn said. “[We] spend
nights and weekends thinking
of different ways that we can
engage with people and help
them develop their passions
and interests and help them
achieve their career goals.”
When the three founding
partners – Krystyn, Laura
Sherman and Lowry Baldwin –
came together in 2006 to start
BKS-Partners, creating and
maintaining the right company
culture was the ultimate priori-
ty, and that is still the case.
The company, which pri-
marily focuses on employee
benefits, commercial and
high net worth insurance,
never wavers from its internal
guide deemed the “Azimuth.”
Krystyn described the Azimuth
as their “culture document that
describes how we want to work
with each other, our clients,
our insurance company part-
ners and the community.”
“We put culture front and
center,” said Sherman.
Sherman said that means
employees, who are referred
to as “colleagues” at BKS, not
only share in the successes of
the whole firm, but consistent-
ly work hard to keep improving
themselves and the company.
That can also include letting
BKS leadership know what can
be done better.
“We give them the forum to
tell us when we aren’t getting
it right and we are very nim-
ble, we can adapt and we can
change,” said Sherman. “I think
that’s probably one of the rea-
sons that our colleagues are not
only as forgiving, but also as
passionate, because they know
that they are stewards of the
culture as well.”
Employees who nominated
the agency, selected as the Gold
winner for 2018, described
multiple attributes about the
company’s cul-
ture that make it
a “Best Agency
to Work For,”
saying:
“The leaders
of the agency
encourage idea
sharing and com-
munity as important aspects of
our culture.”
“The culture and support to
be your best is unparalleled!
If you work hard, you will be
rewarded and lifted further. If
you stumble and fall, you rise
as a team and grow.”
“[BKS has a] culture of suc-
cess and accountability.”
“Our vivacious and embrac-
ing culture accompanied with
our strong client focus is what
sets us apart.”
“Our culture is supportive,
collaborative, and full of posi-
tive energy.”
“[BKS-Partners has a] colle-
gial culture that emphasizes
working across company divi-
sions.”
That commitment to culture
has been a driving force behind
the firm’s dramatic growth
over the last 12 years, Sherman
and Krystyn said. With more
than 250 colleagues now work-
ing at BKS in multiple states,
Southeast
Sherman said as the company
has grown they have made
sure to add leadership who are
aligned with its culture.
“It’s inevitable that I won’t
be walking the floor and see
everybody every single day …
and we aren’t as involved in
all the day-to-day decisions,”
Sherman said. “[Colleagues]
have definitely embraced and
trust the leadership we have
brought in. But it’s also about
how you keep that intimacy
and knowledge of everyone.”
But it’s not just about com-
pany growth at BKS – personal
growth is a major focus as well.
A new career path program,
PTO to do community service,
and the Passion Project contest
where colleagues can win mon-
ey for a cause they are passion-
ate about, are other opportuni-
ties employees love.
“The culture at Baldwin
Krystyn Sherman Partners is a
culture all organizations should
strive for!” One respondent
said. “The partners and all
levels of leadership engage on
multiple levels with all employ-
ees and the entire organization
collaborates as a team on a reg-
ular basis. All employees work
very hard and all are happy to
do so because of the culture
and appreciation received. BKS
Rocks!!”
BKS-PARTNERS
Tampa, Florida