{"id":22818,"date":"2024-11-26T06:48:47","date_gmt":"2024-11-26T06:48:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/?p=802442"},"modified":"2024-11-26T06:48:47","modified_gmt":"2024-11-26T06:48:47","slug":"best-agency-to-work-for-west-gold-winner-morris-garritano","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/2024\/11\/26\/best-agency-to-work-for-west-gold-winner-morris-garritano\/","title":{"rendered":"Best Agency to Work For \u2013 West Gold Winner: Morris &amp; Garritano"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul class=\"nav nav-tabs tabs tabs-entry\">\n<li class=\"active\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/news\/west\/2024\/11\/26\/802442.htm\">Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/news\/west\/2024\/11\/26\/802442.htm?comments\" rel=\"nofollow\">0 Comments<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"article-content clearfix\">\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-802335\" src=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/app\/uploads\/2024\/10\/01-All-Staff-580x273.jpg\" alt width=\"580\" height=\"273\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/app\/uploads\/2024\/10\/01-All-Staff-580x273.jpg 580w, https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/app\/uploads\/2024\/10\/01-All-Staff-300x141.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/app\/uploads\/2024\/10\/01-All-Staff-768x362.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/app\/uploads\/2024\/10\/01-All-Staff.jpg 1487w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 580px) 100vw, 580px\"><\/p>\n<p>Want a simple, yet effective agency management tip for making your employees happy? Treat them like customers.<\/p>\n<div class=\"bzn bzn-sized bzn-intext\">\n<ins data-revive-zoneid=\"79\" data-revive-block=\"1\" data-revive-id=\"36eb7c2bd3daa932a43cc2a8ffbed3a9\"><\/ins> <\/div>\n<p>That mindset stood out among comments from employees who nominated Morris &amp; Garritano in Insurance Journal\u2019s 2024 Best Agency to Work For survey. M&amp;G took home Gold \u2014 Best Agency West.<\/p>\n<p>The San Luis Obispo, California-based agency employs 153 people, and it anticipates revenue for 2024 will hit $31.6 million, up from $29.3 million a year ago. The firm\u2019s specialties include construction, wine and agriculture, hospitality and food service, real estate\/rental\/lending, social services and healthcare, manufacturing, and retail and wholesale.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur agency stands out as one of the best places to work because of its deep commitment to both its employees and clients,\u201d wrote one employee.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs one of California\u2019s largest privately held insurance firms, we prioritize a culture of collaboration, innovation, and continuous growth. Employees are empowered with the resources and support needed to excel in their roles, fostering a strong sense of ownership and pride in their work.\u201d<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/best-insurance-agencies-to-work-for\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/img\/ij-best-agencies-to-work-for-2024-gold.png\" alt=\"Insurance Journal's Best Agencies to Work For\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The employee described an \u201copen-door policy\u201d from leaders, as well as their dedication to professional development.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe treat our employees like we treat clients,\u201d said Kerry Morris, M&amp;G\u2019s chief operating officer. \u201cWe make their learning, their development a priority. Engagement\u2019s a big deal. We try to understand what drives people, what brings people into work is different for everybody. They want different things. We make our employees feel as if they are our clients.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"bzn bzn-sized bzn-intext-2\">\n<ins data-revive-zoneid=\"162\" data-revive-block=\"1\" data-revive-id=\"36eb7c2bd3daa932a43cc2a8ffbed3a9\"><\/ins> <\/div>\n<p>She said the firm invests a lot of its resources on learning and development, and leaders regularly sit down with employees to do \u201ccareer-pathing\u201d to find out where they\u2019re headed and where they want to go. \u201cWe try to make sure our employees have the resources that they need, that they\u2019re learning,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Brendan Morris, who joined M&amp;G in 1994, working alongside his dad, Greg Morris,<\/p>\n<p>explained the firm\u2019s five core values: Do the right thing, love what you do, always be improving, go the extra mile and build collaborative relationships. \u201cWe also embrace flexibility, offering remote work options and flexible schedules to help our employees balance their professional and personal lives,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-802334\" src=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/app\/uploads\/2024\/10\/02-Irvine-Chamber-Certificate-300x225.jpg\" alt width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/app\/uploads\/2024\/10\/02-Irvine-Chamber-Certificate-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/app\/uploads\/2024\/10\/02-Irvine-Chamber-Certificate-580x435.jpg 580w, https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/app\/uploads\/2024\/10\/02-Irvine-Chamber-Certificate-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/app\/uploads\/2024\/10\/02-Irvine-Chamber-Certificate.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\"> \u201cM&amp;G cares about its people \u2014 from the business side and the personal side,\u201d one employee wrote. \u201cThey put a focus on career development and are constantly encouraging people to learn and grow in a direction that fits both the agency and the employee. It is common to promote from within for roles within the agency, myself included. I started as a receptionist and now lead our marketing and communications teams. They provide opportunities for training and advancement, a forum to voice an opinion or recommendation and are truly committed to my professional growth.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Being part of a \u201cfamily\u201d was another common theme. \u201cM&amp;G is the only employer that I\u2019ve worked for in my 20-plus years in the industry who actually cares about their employees,\u201d an employee wrote. \u201cTheir commitment to excellence is unrivaled, and they truly believe that all of us at M&amp;G are what makes the company successful. The owners know you by name, and make you feel comfortable and welcomed no matter what the occasion. We are a family here at M&amp;G and it\u2019s truly an amazing place to work.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Said another long-time insurance professional:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve worked for many agencies during my 30-year career in insurance. \u2026 This is by far the best agency I\u2019ve worked for. The leaders in our company are invested in their employees and clients. I have learned so much from them and continue to be inspired by them daily.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-poll\" data-post=\"802442\">\n<div class=\"article-poll-vote\">\n<p>Was this article valuable?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-poll-feedback voted-no\">\n<form class=\"feedback-form\">\n<p>Thank you! 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That mindset stood out among comments from employees who nominated Morris &amp; Garritano in&#46;&#46;&#46;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22819,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[1157,1158,1,9],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/best-agency-to-work-for-west-gold-winner-morris-garritano.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22818"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22818"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22818\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22818"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}