World Class, Local Touch: How the Best Employee Experience Balances Professionalism with Authenticity with Dan Weber, CHRO at Marsh McLennan Agency, Southwest

This episode features an interview with Dan Weber, CHRO at Marsh McLennan Agency, Southwest. Marsh McLennan Agency is a global professional services firm that provides business insurance, employee health & benefits, retirement, and private client insurance solutions to organizations and individual clients. There, Dan leads the HR team and oversees compensation, benefits, onboarding, and more. On this episode, Dan talks with us about becoming a pied piper for talent, finding the sweet spot between responsibilities and compensation, and balancing professionalism and authenticity.Quotes*”We spend so much time in the business world focusing on our development areas, our weaknesses. But we sometimes forget that we bring natural talents and strengths and we can gain a lot by capitalizing on those while also looking at our blind spots. But if all we do is spend time on our blind spots, then we forget about some of the natural gifts and strengths that we have.”*”One of the things we always emphasize with our supervisors - and that's [an] old term, but it's the best one I can use. I often like to say people managers that we're managers of people - and letting those people managers realize that they are often the most important conversation at their employees' dinner tables every night.”*”Employees don't stay or leave an organization. They leave a boss. They leave that people manager. Or they stay because of that relationship.”*”We do try to show folks that you can be a part of something that is bigger than yourself. That you are there during small business owners’ worst day, their absolute worst day. And you're there to let them know that they're covered. And that they are gonna be okay. That they're going to be able to recover because MMA was there for them. But it didn't start on that worst day. It started in the very beginning when our very technical professionals are able to look at that risk management spend and determine what is the right mix for them… And so when we sell the vision that you can be a part of something, a cause, you could be a part of giving organizations a peace of mind, that's one step. The next step is that your whole job is to make sure that important decision makers in the C-suite, from the CFO, the COO, the CEO, you're knee to knee with them, making sure that they are taking care of their most important line items, the most important spend, insuring their physical assets, but also insuring their employees. You can't get more important than that.”*"I'm convinced 90% of employee relations situations are where an employee just needs to feel permission to take control of the situation, whether it's providing difficult feedback to someone who's In the interaction with them or to take themselves out of the equation and even leave the organization if they need to. But allowing them to regain a sense of control."*"Communicate what you can control and communicate what you don't know. It is absolutely okay to say, ‘Here are the things that we know. Here are the things that we don't know.’ And the type of trust you get from that honesty and transparency is amazing. I can't tell you how many times through the pandemic I had to say, ‘I don't know, but as soon as I do, I'll let you know.’ And then giving folks something to count on.”Time Stamps*[4:56] The Flight Plan: Get to know Marsh McLennan Agency*[12:50] First Class: Best EX practices at Marsh McLennan Agency*[36:03] Turbulence: EX lessons learned*[39:55] Smooth Landing: Advice for other EX leadersLinksConnect with Dan on LinkedInCheck out Marsh McLennan AgencyThanks to our friendsThis episode is brought to you by Firstup, the company that is redefining the digital employee experience to put people first and lift companies up by connecting every worker, everywhere with the information that helps them do their best work. Firstup has helped over 40% of the Fortune 100 companies like Amazon, AB InBev, Ford and Pfizer stay agile and keep transforming. Learn more at firstup.io