In this presentation, our team analyzed the recruitment and employee relations in American Family Insurance through an interview with a staffing manager Jeffery Close. We compared with company website and Glassdoor/Indeed reviews. Then, we identify strengths and opportunities within American Family’s recruitment and employee relations practices. In conclusion, we proposed recommendations for recruiting employees and maintaining positive relationships.

1. Super Consultant Group: Jacob Tetri, Luke Rowh, Shelby Chorney, Abigail Martin, Yiting Liu
An Evaluation of American Family’s
Recruitment and Employee Relations
MHR 305 | April 24, 2017

2. Agenda
1. Project Objectives
2. Scarpello, Bergmann, and Ledvinka Analysis
3. Data Collection Methodology
4. Key Results and Recommendations
5. Q & A

3. Project Objectives
1. Consult with staffing manager Jeffery Close at American Family Insurance
2. Compare results with company website and Glassdoor/Indeed reviews
3. Identify strengths and opportunities within American Family’s recruitment and
employee relations practices
4. Propose recommendations in recruiting employees and maintaining positive
relationships

4. Analysis: Scarpello, Bergmann, and Ledvinka Model

5. The External Environment
● Customers
○ Families and individuals seeking insurance for auto, home, life, business, and more
● Competitors
○ Intense with Nationwide, State Farm, Allstate, and Liberty Mutual
● Technology
○ Many companies investing/utilizing smart tech such as video doorbells and car sensors
○ Online claims
○ Digital marketing techniques
● Labor Force
○ Candidate’s market with choices of benefits and company
● Government
○ Regulations by individual states
● Labor Unions
○ Exist but rare in the industry (<2%)

6. The Organizational Environment
● Financial system
○ Stability with diversified assets
■ Bonds, stocks, cash, other
● Sales/Marketing system
○ Protecting Dreams campaign
○ Independent agents
○ Sponsorship: Camp Randall Stadium, stage at Summerfest, AmFam PGA Champions Event
○ Social Media (twitter, facebook, instagram)
○ Brand ambassadors: JJ Watt, Russell Wilson
● Operations system
○ National Headquarters: Madison, WI
■ Marketing, HR, Finance, Legal, etc.
○ Regional headquarters:
■ Eden Prairie, MN, Saint Joseph, MO, Denver, CO, Columbus, OH
○ Local agents

7. The Organizational Environment (Cont’d)
● Core values
○ Innovative, caring, agile, trustworthy, transparent, and passionate
● Mission and vision
○ Mission: To inspire, protect, and restore your dreams. Because we believe a dream is the
most valuable thing you’ll ever own
○ Vision: To be the most trusted and valued customer-driven insurance company
● Policies and programs
○ In-person and online training programs
○ Sexual harassment policies
○ Matching gift program
○ Scholarship program

8. Analysis of Human Resource Management
● Planning
○ Job descriptions are clear on job postings
■ Staffing manager meets with department manager to discuss skills needed
○ Emphasis on promoting from within and referrals
■ Try to be proactive -- “Pipeline of candidates”
○ Flexible work schedule
● Implementation
○ Recruitment process taken on by HR department
■ Department manager helps with placement
■ Video and in-person interviews
○ Customer service interview question (>3)
○ Performance evaluation mid-year and year-end
○ Benefits package with talent development, 401K, medical coverage, etc.

9. Analysis of Human Resource Management
● Outcomes and evaluation
○ Each department sets its own performance goals and expectations
■ Informal discussions year round
■ Formal evaluation every 6 months
○ New hires evaluate effectiveness of recruitment process
○ Employee Experience Evaluation
■ Project to assess satisfaction
● Tweaking compensation and benefits based on the changing workforce

10. Methodology
● Conducted interview with staffing manager Jeff Close
○ Qualtrics to build survey
○ Questions based around recruitment and employee relations
○ Examples:
■ How do you measure employee satisfaction? Are there any specific surveys used?
■ What are the biggest challenges you face with recruitment?
● Utilized and compared with data on Glassdoor and Indeed
○ Ratings and reviews on compensation & benefits and interviews used for recruitment
○ Ratings and reviews on culture, management, and work-life balance for employee relations

11. Key Results &
Recommendations

12. Key Result # 1 Strength
Appropriate interviewing method used to hire people who fit the culture.
Supportive Evidence:
● “We always ask a Customer Driven Competency question in our interviews. Candidates must
score a 3 or above on their response to that question in order to progress in the selection process.”
- Jeffrey Close, Staffing Manager
● American Family Insurance has a high rating on the interview satisfaction rating, with 71%
reporting a positive experience. -Glassdoor

13. Key Result # 2 Strength
Consistent employee performance appraisals are implemented throughout
the year formally and informally.
Supportive Evidence:
● “All departments set goals and performance expectations. Those goals and expectations are aligned
to the overall strategic goals of the company. There are informal discussions on those topics
throughout the year and more formal performance assessment discussions at mid-year and
year-end.” - Jeffery Close, Staffing Manager
● By having consistent performance appraisals, they are easily comparable from year to year and can
show employee growth. This can make promotion decisions and other performance-based decisions
easier and defendable. -What is Performance Appraisal, Performance Appraisal, MHR 305

14. Key Result # 3 Opportunity for Improvement
American Family Insurance relies mostly on behavioral interview techniques
which can be very subjective.
Supportive Evidence:
● “We use behavioral interviewing for the most part. We may start with a phone screen or a virtual
interview to narrow the field, but when we get to more formal interviews, those are typically
behavioral” - Jeffrey Close, Staffing Manager
● Employee reviews on Glassdoor emphasize the behavioral questions
● Interview biases: stereotyping bias, positive halo bias, contrast errors, premature judgment bias,
interview illusion bias. (Mondy & Martocchio, 2015, p148)

15. Recommendation #1
Should improve the objectivity of the interview process by implementing
personality and case study tests.
Supporting Action Steps:
● Adopt a standardized personality test such as Myers Briggs for all applicants
○ Use results to identify which jobs and teams candidates are best suited for
● Adopt a standardized case study test such as CCAT (Criteria Cognitive
Aptitude Test)
○ Utilize results of pass/fail to determine ultimate success of the hire

16. Key Result # 4 Opportunity for Improvement
Opportunity to improve recruiting techniques to attract the best talent possible.
Supportive Evidence:
● Compensation & Benefits: 3.4 / 5 on Glassdoor and Indeed
● Only 9% of people gained an interview from campus recruiting
● “Attracting talent has become very competitive. Aside from the challenges
of a limited pool of candidates (and a large number of openings), providing
a good candidate experience, so that those candidates remain interested
and refer their friends, is a challenge.” - Jeffrey Close, Staffing Manager

17. Recommendation #2
Create partnerships with universities to foster relationships and implement
a sought-after internship program.
Supporting action steps:
● Become more involved with campuses near headquarters such as
UW-Madison, UW-Whitewater, Edgewood College, UW-Milwaukee
○ Events outside of career fairs similar to Kohl’s Career Expo
● Create a stronger brand for internship program
○ Promote friendship between interns by offering free housing and shuttle
to headquarters
● Utilize candidate pool with experience from internship to fill new positions

18. Key Result # 5 Opportunity for Improvement
Supportive Evidence:
● 3.3/5 score for culture and values on
Glassdoor
● Textbook: mentoring can improve the
employee relations in a company. Moreover,
a study by Gartner Research showed that
with a mentor, people get promotions 6 times
more often than peers without mentoring.
Although screening is done to check cultural fit of new hires, there still
seems to some dissatisfaction among employees.

19. Recommendation #3
● Implement a mentor system for new hires with
inter-departmental relationships to build a
cohesive team
● Implement a coaching system for new hires with
intra-departmental relationships to foster success
○ By providing coaching and mentoring to all
new employees it can be assured that they
are kept on track for performance while also
developing relationships within the company
Create mentoring and coaching programs for all new hires.
Supporting action steps:

20. Q&A

21. Reference
American Family Insurance Interview Questions. (n.d.). Retrieved April 21, 2017, from
https://www.glassdoor.com/Interview/American-Family-Insurance-Interview-Questions-E2706_P4.htm
HR Practices at American Family Insurance [E-mail interview]. (2017, February 3).
Mentors, M. (n.d.). The Difference Between Coaching & Mentoring. Retrieved April 23, 2017, from
http://www.management-mentors.com/resources/coaching-mentoring-differences
Mondy, R. W., & Martocchio, J. J. (2015), Page 148. Human resource management. Pearson.
Pre-Employment Tests for Insurance Companies. (n.d.). Retrieved April 23, 2017, from
https://www.criteriacorp.com/customers/insurance_pre_employment_testing.php
What is Performance Appraisal, Performance Appraisal, MHR 305
Working at American Family Insurance. (n.d.). Retrieved April 02, 2017, from
https://www.glassdoor.com/Overview/Working-at-American-Family-Insurance-EI_IE2706.11,36.htm#WhyWorkForUsTab-17916
Working at American Family Insurance. (n.d.). Retrieved April 20, 2017, from
https://www.glassdoor.com/Overview/Working-at-American-Family-Insurance-EI_IE2706.11,36.htm