Time to walk the red carpet.

⏲️ Total Read Time: 6 Minutes

Welcome distinguished EMC team members. While you spend the next couple of weeks trying to hype yourself up to get your holiday shopping done (or started 🙋), we're here to provide a distraction through a series of special end-of-year awards. 

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‌There's only one event that could one-up the Oscars: EMC's Golden Flag Awards. Four words you've been waiting all year to hear...

Bill Hader Emmys 2019 GIF by Emmys

FEATURE

And Now Here's Your Host

*Host voice* Thank you all so much for being here. It's an absolute pleasure to welcome you to the second annual Golden Flag Awards. These awards are as coveted as they are elusive—kind of like an entire day with no meetings.

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There were a lot of hits to choose from this year. EMC said farewell to eSource in a tasteful satire of all the reasons it had to go. We stopped at nothing to make sure the EMC Brand Amp stayed on your radar, in your inbox, on the intranet, in the Jean Report and Circuit and EMC News and even a new series called The Brand Minute (maybe you caught yesterday's episode). We opened a pickleball court—no, wait, that’s wrong—we opened the EMC Downtown Park in Des Moines, which includes a pickleball court, among other features. The Hynes-Gunn trophy used all its PTO traveling around with team members from the Wichita-Dallas branch. A lot of other things happened, too, but our speech is getting too long and the music is about to play us off-stage. 

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Enjoy the next six minutes of jaw-dropping, high-production content.  

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Your Newest BFF:

One EMC Tour

In this case, BFF stands for “Best Fun-filled Function.” Because the One EMC Tour wasn’t a regular work event, it was a cool work event. EMC leaders traveled tens of thousands of miles to hit 17 branch locations. Each event helped nurture IRL friendships, provided opportunities to discuss business goals, and left us feeling like we could take on the world. Like a true BFF would. 

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The One EMC Tour was so fetch that we thought, “We should do this again.” And we will on April 16, 2024, as One EMC: one event, one day, one really great time.  

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Making ✨the Most ✨ Happen:

Technology Teams

We need to take a moment to shout out the hundreds of team members on our technology teams. Why? Well, you’d be hard-pressed to find a group more important to the behind-the-scenes of our lives than the tech team. Many of these individuals take a page out of Isaac Newton’s playbook and remain in constant motion, ensuring our company can function appropriately while creating better customer experiences. Plus, they answer questions like: How can we secure our data? Can we streamline this process? How do we use AI without starting a robot uprising led by Arnold Schwarzenegger?

Runner up: Acronyms

Rule No. 1 of business writing is to avoid gratuitous acronyms—but just like your lactose-intolerant friend eating a late-night slice of pizza, there are exceptions to everything. Besides, the world is full of them: EOD, YTD, WFH, RCMMSWG (reading Circuit makes me scream with glee). OK, we made up that last one. But these efficient little things collapse lengthy phrases and spare us all from typing out Employers Mutual Casualty Company (EMC) 27 times a day. Think of all the things we can do with the time we save, YOLO. 

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Most Likely to Make an Impact:

BRGs & BRG Leaders

It's not easy to inspire connection and lead with vulnerability, but Business Resource Group (BRG) leaders are doing just that. They open up dialogues, share personal experiences and advocate for team members. EMC’s BRGs are making a real impact by helping us bring our whole selves to work. And they’ve gained a lot of traction this year. In fact, 14% of team members are involved in one or more BRG. And we know those who have had the opportunity to have heart-led conversations as a result of these groups are grateful. 

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Blockbuster of the Year:

ELT United Way Hot Ones

This video series was hotter than a ghost pepper, picking up nearly 1,000 views. A challenge in which the Executive Leadership Team (ELT) eats progressively fiery wings while being asked thought-provoking questions—all in the name of raising money for a good cause. Evidently, watching the ELT sweating and dribbling from the nose while going through a visible trial of physical discomfort is a recipe that works—duly noted. 

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Lifetime Achievement Award:

EMC Brand

Of all the great stories here at EMC, one in particular has stood the test of time. From its early work of being a reliable workers’ compensation partner, to the hundreds of thousands of VTO hours used to lift our communities, the EMC brand has stuck around for more than 110 years. Everybody stand up with us if you would, and give the EMC brand a totally deserved round of applause 👏 

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‌This spring, we’re excited to embrace the Brand Amp (have you heard of it?) and uphold EMC’s purpose of Keeping Insurance Human—reaffirming what we already know, that insurance is a people business. 

HOLIDAY VIDEO

Best Original Screenplay

Did you know you can watch Cindy Lou Who’s The Grinch, Kevin McAllister’s Home Alone, and Ralphie’s A Christmas Story at least four times each in 24 hours if you take minimal breaks? Now you do. Or you could watch EMC’s holiday video 1,440 times, which we think is a better use of your time. 

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‌Filled with nostalgia, simplicity, and kids who can’t quite pronounce their Rs, this video is sure to light up your brain like a Macy's holiday display. 

SPONSORED BY MARKETING

Brain Stuffer > Stocking Stuffer

Fill your brain with a little extra knowledge this holiday season and dive into some year-end data from our niche (Neesh? Nich?) campaigns. We promise it'll be painless—and, dare we say...fun.

We can't talk about EMC's success without mentioning our manufacturing and contractors campaigns. These two programs have a combined $585 million in written premium as of Nov. 30. And they're projected to spread even more cheer in 2024—it's the gift that keeps on giving.

To help keep track of what happened with the manufacturing and contractors campaigns in 2023, we sifted through a heavy dose of data to create 🚨 this infographic 🚨 You'll find insights on premium growth, advertising impact, social media engagement and more (consider it a mini-holiday gift to your inner data enthusiast). 

Or you can head right this way to the manufacturing and contractors intranet pages to learn more. 

PEER-TO-PEER

Best Supporting Actor

Let the Golden Flag Awards roll on.

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Last month, we asked: If you could nominate a peer for a Golden Flag Award, who would it be and what would you name the award? Our hearts grew three sizes after reading your submissions.

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Here are some of our favorite responses: 

Ain't No Mountain High Enough Award ⛰️

Sarah Sievert

‌Underwriting Supervisor–CL

Sarah’s remarkable leadership has guided us through ups and downs, gracefully navigating challenges and keeping our spirits high. Just call her name; she’ll be there in a hurry. You don’t have to worry 😉 Her invaluable contributions make EMC and the Omaha branch shine.

‌‌— Marisa Vulcano, Underwriter III–CL

Customer Champion Award 🏅

Jim Klier

‌‌Endpoint System Analyst

Jim’s dedication to fostering departmental relationships and his innovative approach of calling customers instead of working through Jira tickets have skyrocketed satisfaction levels. Jim’s people-first mentality is the spark behind bold new ideas. His humorous short clip videos for the Endpoint Systems Solutions team entertain and bring awareness to how it supports EMC team members. 

— Zach Antle, Catastrophe Modeling Manager

Most Likely to Get Messy 🥪

Christie Henning

‌Compliance & Ethics Consultant

In the Innovation Lab on ChatGPT, Christie’s presentation on compliance considerations stood out as a testament to creativity. Her unconventional yet brilliant approach (demonstrated by making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich without any utensils) grabbed attention and left a lasting impression—and an intense craving for a PB&J. 

— Heidi Jo Soukup, Compliance Manager

Secret Service Award 😎

Marti Stern

‌Medicare Program Specialist

In a world where federal regulations often make attention spans wane and eyes roll, Marti stands out by mastering compliance and guiding the claims team on how best to handle Medicare claims appropriately. Thank you for your exceptional service, Marti. 

— Chad Buresh, Assistant VP – Medical Claims Services

In the spirit of the holiday season, we're sharing all the nominations we received. The harvest was plentiful, and we suspect our third-grade teacher would be proud of our using the word "cornucopia" to describe the abundance of genuinely inspiring responses. 

Thanks to everyone who contributed! And while the Golden Flag Awards may be over, the appreciation doesn’t have to stop. Instead of frantically Googling “best gifts for coworkers who are hard to shop for,” just express your gratitude through Celebrate. We promise the shout out will make them feel like they just won the Person of the Year award.

THE AFTER PARTY 

Around EMC

🧠 Think fast: Self-evaluations are due today—the perfect time to tell your boss how great you are

‌🐰 Get lost in a hole: See all the photos from the Hynes-Gunn trophy's travels with Wichita-Dallas team members here, here and here

‌🧑‍🎤Sing along: Watch what happens when the ELT drops in unannounced (and off-key) to surprise team members with some festive caroling

JUST FOR FUN

Make Connections

Need a way to procrastinate before diving into your inbox? Here it is. Welcome to today's Connections puzzle. 

‌Here's How to Play

‌Find groups of four items that share something in common. 

• ‌Select four items and tap 'Submit' to check if your guess is correct
• ‌Find the groups without making four mistakes 

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‌Category Examples 

• ‌FISH: Bass, Flounder, Salmon, Trout 
• ‌FIRE ____: Ant, Drill, Island, Opal 

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‌Watch out for words that seem to belong to multiple categories.

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