COMPANY: First Insurance Company of Hawaii

BEST PLACES TO WORK 2011 RANK: No. 10, Large-sized companies (250 employees or more)

VACATION DAYS A YEAR: 13

VOLUNTARY TURNOVER RATE: 5 percent

BENEFITS: Employees receive bonus for referring new clients; offers a 401K match; and provides tuition and gym membership reimbursements.

First Insurance Company of Hawaii shared information about their pension plan to an onsite cafeteria and their Tae Bo classes. Offering meals and ways to burn calories – mixed with work – sounds like a good work environment. The staff shared a bit more of what makes FICOH one of the best places to work in Hawaii.

All active regular associates are eligible to participate in their Profit Plus Plan, which is a form of ‘variable pay,’ and is in addition to employees’ base salary. They have established an education assistance program for industry-specific courses and post high school education.

“At First Insurance, we work hard but we also remember to spend some time for the community, as well as for our own well-being,” staff says. “We have ‘First CAT’ (First Insurance Community Action Team) which is an associate-led organization dedicated to supporting charitable efforts in our community. This year, First CAT strives to achieve 100 or more events in celebration of our centennial year!”

They also have a wellness program that offers incentives for wellness activities by earning points and redeeming these points for a variety of items.  In addition to their Tae Bo classes that are held on site three times a week, Zumba is also on-site two times a week, free of charge.

EMPLOYEE RECOGNITION: The staff at FICOH all strive to live up to the core values of the company which are:

• Treat people with dignity and Respect.
• Begin every action with a commitment to Integrity.
• Continually work at Creating the future for the company and the community.
• Deliver Excellence in customer service.

FICOH's Aloha United Way committee holds an annual chili cookoff.

MORALE BOOSTERS: First Insurance sponsors various activities for employees such as company-wide quarterly meetings, holiday parties, “Lunch with Santa,” and Aloha United Way activities.

“This year we will be holding a company centennial gala to celebrate our 100 years in business,” a staff member said.

There is an employer-sponsored employee assistance program which provides counseling, workshops, seminars and classes for personal or workplace issues.

Free or discounted tickets to local family entertainment or sporting events are also available.

AWARDS AND HONORS: FICOH has four major awards, or recognitions they honor their employees with:

• Mahalo Award (quarterly employee run nomination program)
• Service Award
• Retirement luncheons
• Professional designation Award

WHY ARE YOU A BEST PLACE TO WORK?

First Insurance embraces community service and is a learning organization that encourages professional development including industry-specific subjects and post high school education.

They sustain their business based on four pillars:

Customer First – Treat customers with care.

Performance Management – Attract, develop and retain the most knowledgeable and talented team in the industry

Technology – We will invest in technology to improve our speed to market in developing and deploying new products, to increase the ease of doing business with us, and to reduce overall operating costs. We embrace technology as a tool to our success.

First will be First – By being customer centric, having the best people, and utilizing technology as a tool to deliver efficient and effective products and services, First will be First. We will be the insurer of choice for the people of Hawaii and this will be reflected in First being a market share leader.

In April, Hawaii Business released the results of 2011’s Best Places to Work in Hawaii.

Since this assessment is only conducted once every year, we wanted to follow up with some of the companies to see how they are keeping business booming and employees happy.

Is your company a Best Place to Work? Register for free at bestplacestoworkinhi.com