This week, I spoke at the WCI 2018 conference in Orlando regarding the choices we make and the impact they have both short- and long-term in our lives, our careers and the lives of others we connect with each day. Currently, you have a choice to read this synopsis or, instead, view the video of my full speech. Each of us has a moral compass or set of values that guide us. Our parents or mentors provide advice on what we should do in life. Society has created expectations about how we should int

When I think about how I connect the dots between my background in healthcare with my career in the insurance industry, my current role as a business leader and my passion about social responsibility, employee benefit models and taking care of people, the answer is pink socks. Yes, pink socks adorned with black mustaches. Allow me to explain. Empathy and caring have always been at my core. On my fifth birthday, I announced to my family that I would become a nurse. At age 15, I began working as

February is Insurance Careers Month, and Sedgwick is proud to participate in this industrywide effort to attract new talent to our ranks. With nearly 4 million Baby Boomers retiring each year and fewer than 5% of millennials expressing interest in careers in insurance, our industry faces a looming talent crisis. To ensure we can properly meet clients’ increasingly complex needs and care for the millions of people who depend on our services when unexpected events occur, we must make a concer

At Sedgwick, our colleagues are dedicated to taking care of our clients and helping them stay informed on key changes and emerging trends in our industry. We recognize that 2018 will be a year of change in a variety of critical business areas. Sedgwick’s thought leaders believe the changes and trends in the spotlight for 2018 will include important topics such as catastrophe planning and response efforts, policy compliance and drug control efforts, self-service options, improving on opportuni

GOOD HEALTH EMPOWERMENTS Of the many challenges to general health and well-being of our citizens, the most urgent is the soaring opioid epidemic, which causes 91 deaths each day and costs our nation an estimated $53.4 billion each year.1 The Trump administration has declared this epidemic a national public health emergency, directing federal agencies to provide more grant money to combat its rapid spread. The growing crisis has increased the urgency of exploration into more effective treatment o

Many industries today share a dilemma: how to bridge the talent gap. As seasoned professionals retire, they take with them institutional knowledge, industry experience, subject matter expertise, and technical and leadership competencies. Recruiting new workers to take their place is a challenge. There is conflicting research on what millennials actually want and need.  The most recent research shows that it is more aligned to those of previous generations.  However, millennials

Brian Gifford, PhD, Director of Research for IBI, discusses paid parental leave trends. On January 18, I attended the Integrated Benefits Institute (IBI) Paid Parental Leave and LOA Regional Event in San Jose, California. The topic of the day was the emerging trend of adopting paid parental leave policies and how employers are balancing their leave of absence policies with business goals. The event was well attended by employers and service providers and featured some of Silicon Valley’s top em

Next week we will gather at what is now one of the largest events in the industry – the 2016 Workers’ Compensation Conference August 21 – 24 in Orlando. I want to add that, before the conference begins, a great group of Sedgwick colleagues will be taking part in the Give Kids the World service project on Saturday morning. This is an extremely rewarding opportunity for our industry to give back to the local community. For our colleagues, this helps extend our commitment that caring counts℠ at S

edge:What are you working on right now that will have an impact on our customers in the near future? Ericka:Sedgwick customers look to us for leading-edge ways to manage risk, administer benefits, leverage technology, and take care of their people. Cultivating our diversity, inclusion and engagement is key to our ability to deliver more innovative services and to go the extra mile for our customers. A big part of my role is leading Sedgwick’s efforts to foster a culture of belonging because it

Just over 18 years after the ADA was enacted, the law was amended with the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act (ADAAA) that was effective on January 1, 2009. The ADAAA retained the ADA definition of disability, but it expanded the interpretation of its terms. The intent of the ADAAA was to encourage broad coverage of individuals with disabilities. Employers were expected to place less emphasis on determining whether a person is disabled and instead focus on the interactive process, so tha

At Sedgwick, we see the value of diversity and inclusion every day in many of our common business practices. Putting these concepts into action enhances our customer service capabilities, expands our business strategies, attracts a wider pool of qualified job candidates, and positions us to identify the next generation of leadership. Today’s workforce is becoming increasingly diverse and includes individuals from four separate generations and various racial and ethnic backgrounds, as well as

We've been actively preparing for a great RIMS 2015! I’m excited to be speaking to the conference with one of our client partners on the changing needs of the workforce. We have had a great time preparing for our session, Faces in the crowd: Meeting the needs of an increasingly diverse workforce, scheduled for Tuesday morning. I spend a lot of time working with our colleagues and listening to their perspectives as they navigate their work day. A few key things are changing for our organization,

Kathryn Tazic, SVP Client Services, and Brittani Drost, Claims Representative, discuss careers in claims management.

Every spring a large number of employers and industry professionals gather in a city big enough to accommodate over 9,000 registered attendees, along with an estimated 8,000 other participants, for one of the risk and insurance industry's biggest gatherings – the annual Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS) conference and exhibition. As a former RIMS president and board member for six years, I know first-hand how much work goes into organizing and coordinating this important industry eve