Topic
Employment
Get your brokers back to the office: BFL CEO
November 4, 2021 by Greg MeckbachBarry Lorenzetti is encouraging you to get your brokers back to the office and if you disagree, don’t hesitate to contact him for a public debate. “It’s not as if COVID is going away and we will shut off COVID…
Ontario auto claim reduces employment insurance sickness benefits: federal judge
October 20, 2021 by Greg MeckbachAn Ontario auto claimant is facing a reduction in federal employment insurance (EI) benefits because she was getting income replacement benefits with her auto insurer. In 2019, Antonina Sennikova was involved in a motor vehicle accident that prevented her from…
Hybrid office: What brokers can learn from the parable, Who Moved My Cheese?
July 21, 2021 by David GambrillOntario brokerage Mitchell & Whale is allowing its staff to return to the office in any way they choose, a hybrid work model inspired by the 1998 best-selling book, Who Moved My Cheese? Authored by Dr. Spencer Johnson, Who Moved…
Insurance CEO’s advice on engaging employees amid pandemic
June 4, 2021 by Greg MeckbachIf your employees are working remotely because of the pandemic, pick up the phone and ask those workers what’s keeping them up at night, suggests the new CEO of the Canadian Universities Reciprocal Insurance Exchange (CURIE). It is important for…
Fairfax takes a stand against using COVID as a reason to fire staff
May 3, 2021 by Greg MeckbachThe parent company of Northbridge Insurance took a stand against cutting staff due to the pandemic. “One of the things we did last year is we said [to the president of each Fairfax-owned insurer], ‘You cannot use COVID-19 as a…
Will the need for social interaction make the hybrid office a passing fad?
April 21, 2021 by David GambrillWhile many Canadian employees wish to return to a hybrid office — some adamantly so, according to a recent survey by human resources firm Robert Half — some believe the “fear of missing out” on the opportunity to socialize with…
How to build empathetic managers for the hybrid workplace
April 16, 2021 by David GambrillCanadian property and casualty insurance industry leaders have often talked about the importance of managing with empathy during the pandemic, but empathic managers will become even more valuable in the hybrid workplaces that are expected to emerge after the pandemic…
What would a hybrid workplace even look like?
March 26, 2021 by David GambrillCanadian property and casualty insurance professionals would like a more flexible, hybrid workplace, a recent survey shows, but the question for employers now is what such an arrangement might look like. About 87% of the more than 1,150 P&C insurance…
How vaccine rollout impacts commercial risk management
March 22, 2021 by Greg MeckbachIf your commercial clients are bringing more workers back into the office, risk managers might be curious as to whether returning workers have received any of their COVID-19 vaccine shots. But before your clients ask their employees about their vaccine…
Risk management lessons from the governor general’s resignation
January 26, 2021 by Greg MeckbachIf a commercial client has any inklings of a toxic workplace, an independent investigation is one way of managing reputational and liability risk, an expert says. The resignations last week of Governor General Julie Payette and her secretary may have…
How Canada’s P&C professionals feel about working from home
January 19, 2021 by David GambrillMost Canadian P&C insurance industry professionals would like to see more hybrid, flexible working arrangements once the health threat of the global COVID-19 pandemic has subsided. “I’m not really keen to go back to five days a week [in the…
Advice for how to go beyond a ‘general commitment’ to diversity and inclusion
January 8, 2021 by Greg MeckbachYour organization may be committed to having a diverse and inclusive workplace, but you may need to go further than that, the Toronto-based Human Resources Professionals Association suggests in a recent report. “A general commitment to diversity and inclusion is…