A passion for excellence, integrity, resourcefulness and commitment to the community are the core values that have been driving Oswald for 125 years. And according to employees at every level in the firm, those values are exactly what make the company successful.

CEO Robert Klonk says that while a lot has changed during his 22-year tenure with Oswald, the principles have remained. “They are our guide post, no matter what,” he says. The firm is also employee-owned—an important factor in recruiting and retaining employees, including millennials.

Christian Hanna, Oswald management program graduate, previously worked at a publicly held company and has no desire to go back. “Our shareholders are not people who buy our stock—they’re fellow employee owners,” Hanna says. “I’m maximizing my colleagues’ shareholder wealth. That was a huge attraction for me.”

Klonk says staying independent and privately held is a point of pride among employees. “It’s a mindset of, ‘We want to control our own destiny.’”

JENNIFER MORRISSEY, CIO

We have a very strong workplace culture, and it’s a big driver in the company’s success. Diversity and inclusion are embedded in the fabric of the firm. You can see how we represent our clients and our clients represent us.

We are not an agency that goes in and makes a one-time impact with our clients, then leaves. We want to partner with our clients. We leverage technology to gain an understanding of how our clients operate and what their risks are—data allows us to drive those solutions.

Technology and data is an exciting place to play, and it’s my sandbox. Creating solutions—both short-term and long-term—is my favorite part of the job. Any time I can deliver an innovative solution through operations, data and technology—that really excites me.

ROBERT KLONK, CEO

The world is changing, and if you don’t already, you’d better start looking like your buyers. We spend a lot of time and invest a lot of money in our workforce to develop new leaders. We’re going to look more like our customer base than we did 10 years ago. And it’s not just millennials—it’s diversity in all aspects of what we do.

During these tumultuous times, we believe it’s more important than ever for independent agencies to innovate and find better ways to do things. That’s how we maintain our independence. We have a tremendous amount of pride in being employee-owned and staying independent. There is zero interest in ever selling this organization because of that. It’s our 125^th anniversary this year, and we’re very proud of that.

When we hire, I look for integrity and passion. I can always teach them insurance, but I can't teach those. My favorite part of my role is the pride I feel watching the people here perform their duties, and how well they do it.

CHRISTIAN HANNA, CLIENT MANAGER

Everyone wants to talk about the lack of millennials in insurance, but no one wants to do anything about it. I once got an email from our CEO that said, “Come see me.” I think normally when you get an email from your CEO, your head goes to the wrong places. When I met with him he said, “Christian, just know that you have an open door into my office if you ever have anything you want to talk about.”

That’s the kind of company I want to work for. Those are stories I can tell when I try to recruit people who may be waffling in their job, or having a tough time. When the going gets tough, other people here have your back.

I graduated from Oswald’s Professional Associates Program, an 18-month management training program. I did three-month rotations in different departments, then started to hone in on what areas I liked and matched up with. That was global risk for me.

Photo by Gary Yasaki