Employees Overwhelmingly Vote Rancho Mesa Best Workplace

Author, Megan Lockhart, Marketing & Media Communications Specialist, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

The insurance industry is a people business and Rancho Mesa is proud of the work we do in our community and the people on our team. The dedicated individuals who protect our clients are truly what sets us apart.

We value employee satisfaction across all areas of life. So much so, we decided to ask employees about their job satisfaction and we found that 93.5% of our employees said they have a high level of overall job satisfaction. And, while many companies have purchased “best place to work” awards through various publications, Rancho Mesa wanted real data from our real employees. Last year, Rancho Mesa used MarshBerry’s reputable Employee Engagement Survey which allowed employees to voice their opinions honestly and confidentially. MarshBerry then evaluated the feedback and provided a summary of the results. These results offered insight into areas such as career advancement, management, and work/life balance. Here’s what they discovered.

94.3% of employees say their work schedule allows them to have a work/life balance.
Rancho Mesa prioritizes work/life balance by ensuring manageable workloads, encouraging employees to take regular breaks, and time off. The agency offers a strong PTO policy, wellness programs via its health benefit plans, all in order to support employees' well-being. Rancho Mesa leadership promotes deep respect for personal time, with no expectations for after-hours work. The agency believes in recognizing the team’s efforts, ensuring that everyone can maintain a healthy balance between their professional and personal lives.

97.4% of employees say their careers are being advanced by working at Rancho Mesa.
The agency supports employees' career growth through continuing education courses, professional development workshops, and internal promotions. Rancho Mesa funds insurance licensing and certifications for team members, encouraging designations such as AIS, AINS, CRIS, and CISR. Furthermore, in 2024 Rancho Mesa promoted 16% of its entire workforce to more advanced positions. The agency is passionate about supporting its employees' professional goals, setting them up for a fulfilling and successful careers.

97.5% of employees say their immediate supervisor cares about their well-being.
Rancho Mesa upholds a leadership style that is committed to maintaining open lines of communication, regular check-ins and guidance when needed. Leadership also recognizes and celebrates achievements with initiatives like the OneofOne® Recognition Program, encouraging both leadership and employees to submit praise for when their team members go above and beyond. Based on the numbers, 67% of Rancho Mesa employees were publically recognized for their OneofOne work in 2024. The agency is proud to have cultivated a work environment where employees feel supported and truly cared for by their team.  

97.4% of employees say their job fully utilizes their knowledge, skills and experience.
The agency is committed to offer challenging and meaningful work that aligns with the team’s individual expertise. Rancho Mesa also utilizes employees' skills by creating opportunities for them to train and mentor others, encouraging continuous learning, and ensuring every team member can grow and contribute in their own distinct way.

92.1% of employees say they plan to keep working at Rancho Mesa for at least the next three years.
Rancho Mesa is proud to maintain a low employee turnover rate, which reflects the strong loyalty and satisfaction felt among the team members. Many employees choose to build long-term careers with Rancho Mesa, some even retire after 20+ years. Rancho Mesa believes this is the biggest indicator of its commitment to employees.

We’re honored to have the real voices of our team vote Rancho Mesa a best place to work, and we’re proud of the company culture that led to these results. If you are seeking a lasting career that values personal growth, professional development, and a positive work environment, you are invited to explore Rancho Mesa’s employment opportunities. 

Employee Spotlight: Brenda Khalil Becomes Safety Star Certified in Construction

Author, Megan Lockhart, Marketing & Media Communications Specialist, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

Rancho Mesa’s Brenda Khalil pictured holding her RM365 Advantage Safety Star certification.

Rancho Mesa congratulates client technology coordinator, Brenda Khalil, for earning her certification in construction safety as a part of our RM365 Advantage Safety Star™ program.

The courses in the Safety Star program teach important topics relating to construction safety in the workplace to help employers mitigate job-related injuries. Fall protection, ladder safety, heat illness prevention, and fleet safety are a few of the courses participants must pass in order to earn their certification in construction safety.

“Participating in the Safety Star program is a key factor in helping our clients mitigate risks. Gaining knowledge from getting certified, plays an essential role in understanding the risks within many industries and better allows me to assist our clients in implementing an effective safety culture throughout their organization,“ Khalil said.

The Safety Star program is just one way Rancho Mesa ensures not only our clients but also our team members understand how to mitigate industry-specific risks

Employee Spotlight: Rachel Bristol Promoted to Client Manager

Author, Megan Lockhart, Marketing & Media Communications Specialist, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

We are pleased to congratulate Rachel Bristol on her recent promotion from Assistant Client Manager to Client Manager.

Rachel recently celebrated her 5th anniversary with Rancho Mesa. Since her start in 2019 as a receptionist and Certician©, Rachel has made impressive career strides, moving up to Client Coordinator the following year.

Through her excellent dedication to her team, supporting client managers, she was then promoted to the Assistant Client Manager role in 2022, where she continued to excel and expand her responsibilities.
Throughout her career, Rachel has become our most accomplished client coordinator trainer, dedicating much of her time to training her new team members. In the past two years especially, Rachel has gained valuable experience assisting client managers while also maintaining her own book of clients, to prepare for her new role.

“I am thrilled about my promotion to the position of Client Manager. I look forward to being more hands-on with our clients and taking on new challenges,” Bristol said. “I am grateful for the opportunity to grow and learn.”

We are thankful for Rachel’s contributions to Rancho Mesa, and we are proud of her impressive career achievements.

Employee Spotlight: Ashley Hunter Earns CRIS Designation

Author, Megan Lockhart, Marketing & Media Communications Specialist, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

Rancho Mesa Assistant Client Manager, Ashley Hunter, took a commendable step in her career recently by earning her CRIS designation.

The Construction Risk and Insurance Specialist (CRIS®) certification is an educational program for insurance professionals that focuses on the insurance and risk management needs of construction projects and contractors. Those who complete the program prove a dedication to the industry and an expertise in construction insurance and risk management.

“I am glad I have the opportunity to continue to learn and grow within the insurance industry,” Hunter said. “Gaining my CRIS was a big accomplishment for me to complete through one of our busiest times.”

Ashley began her insurance career issuing certificates. She then gained bonding experience working in the Surety department, and has now moved to the Landscape Group managing her own accounts and providing support to the Client Manager.

Rancho Mesa is proud of Ashley’s career achievement and commitment to our team.

Employee Spotlight: Megan Lockhart Promoted to Marketing and Media Communications Specialist

Author, Alyssa Burley, Partner, Media Communications and Client Services Group, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

Rancho Mesa is excited to announce Megan Lockhart has been promoted to Marketing and Media Communications Specialist.

Megan joined Rancho Mesa in July 2021 as a Surety & Media Communications Assistant where she split her time between the Surety Group and the Media Communications and Client Services Group. After only a few months, she transitioned to the Media Communications and Client Services Coordinator role where she, most notably, assisted clients with the transition from the Risk Management Center to the SafetyOne™ mobile app and website. In September 2023, her role’s focus and title changed to Client Communications Coordinator where she has ultimately honed her strategic communications skills and stepped up to learn new skills when needed in a marketing and media communications capacity.

“I am honored and excited to step into this new role as Marketing and Media Communications Specialist,” Megan said. “I'm looking forward to taking on new responsibilities and initiative within our team!”

Rancho Mesa appreciates the dedication of its team members and is proud to watch them grow in their careers.

Heat Illness Prevention Vital for Workers in Late Summer and Early Fall

Author, Megan Lockhart, Client Communications Coordinator, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

With Fall on the horizon, and high heat still a hazard for employees working outdoors, it remains critical for employers to practice heat illness prevention on the job.

 These past few months have seen record-breaking heat across California and throughout the U.S., with temperatures reaching as high as 120 degrees in areas like Palm Springs. Since many employers conduct heat illness prevention training in May or June, as we close out Summer and enter Fall, employers might be tempted to reduce their monitoring of heat illness symptoms with workers on the jobsite. However, temperatures can still sore well into September and even October. So, this can be dangerous if employers are no longer vigilant.

 In order to prepare, employers should check their Heat Illness Prevention Program to ensure it meets current standards. The Cal/OSHA website offers a sample written Heat Illness Prevention Program for both indoor and outdoor spaces that employers can download.

 Additionally, employers should keep workers up to date on their heat illness prevention training. Rancho Mesa has added additional dates to our Heat Illness Prevention webinar to help keep employees safe. Clients can register for one of the webinars in the coming weeks to learn how to best protect their workers from heat illness.

 Rancho Mesa is happy to offer the necessary resources clients need to stay prepared. For questions about this and other workshops and webinars, contact your Client Technology Coordinator.

Rancho Mesa Hosts Contractual Risk Transfer Workshop

Author, Megan Lockhart, Client Communications Coordinator, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

On Friday, August 23, 2024, Rancho Mesa enjoyed a great turnout for its workshop, Protect Your Company with Contractual Risk Transfer, presented by Alan Coppola from Travelers.

Attendees munched on cookies and sipped refreshments at our Mission Valley office, during the informative presentation. Coppola outlined the importance of including insurance requirements in written contracts on construction projects, and covered common risk exposures associated with these contracts.

Coppola closed his presentation by advising clients to assess their company’s contractual risk process to ensure they are fully protected.

Through workshops such as these, Rancho Mesa aims to help clients gain necessary information to keep their businesses secure and manage risk.

RM365 Advantage Safety Star™ Program for Construction Moves to SafetyOne™ Platform

Author, Megan Lockhart, Client Communications Coordinator, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

Rancho Mesa has officially released its RM365 Advantage Safety Star™ program in the SafetyOne™ platform. Moving forward, clients participating in the construction safety program will complete the courses entirely through the platform or via an in-person workshop.

The Safety Star videos have been updated with the most current safety information, and the required courses are now accessed entirely via the online training feature.

The Safety Star program teaches important topics relating to construction safety in the workplace to help employers mitigate job-related injuries. Fall protection, ladder safety, heat illness prevention, fleet safety, and accident investigation are some of the courses participants must pass in order to earn their certification in construction safety.

If clients are interested in Safety Star certification for themselves or their employees, they can submit an application on the Rancho Mesa website, or reach out to their Client Technology Coordinator.

SafetyOne Updates Online Driver Training Courses

Author, Megan Lockhart, Client Communications Coordinator, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

In an effort to provide the most current content in our SafetyOne™ platform, Rancho Mesa has updated the most popular driver training courses in the online training library. These trainings now have the most up-to-date videos and quizzes.

SafetyOne users now have access to the following updated courses:

• CDL Defensive Driver Training

• Driver Safety: The Basics

• Driving Safety: The Complete Program

• Distracted Driving

• Driving Defensively

Rancho Mesa continues to provide new content to ensure clients’ employees are equipped with the most current safety information. For questions regarding accessing online training in the SafetyOne platform, reach out to your client technology coordinator.

Rancho Mesa’s Fleet Safety Workshop Recap: Teaching Safety and Compliance

Author, Megan Lockhart, Client Communications Coordinator, Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc.

On Friday, May 17, 2024, Rancho Mesa welcomed attendees at the Mission Valley Library for Fleet Safety: Above and Beyond Compliance, a workshop presented by Jose Pineda from Travelers Insurance.

Clients enjoyed refreshments while Pineda highlighted important vehicle safety strategies and ways organizations can control their risk for fleet-related accidents.

The presentation proved to be both educational and entertaining as the presenter kept the audience engaged with frequent questions and anecdotes. After covering topics relating to insurance claims for commercial drivers and the many ways to prevent them, Pineda concluded by emphasizing the dangers of distracted driving and its threat to people’s lives on the road. 

“There is no claim amount that will replace a human life or the damage that will happen to a generation of people if it's removed because someone did something behind the wheel that they shouldn't have done. It's just not worth it. Let's make sure that you know that, and let's tell our folks that they need to know it too,” Pineda said. 

The presentation was recorded and will be available to clients at the end of the week.

Rancho Mesa is proud to host workshops on important topics such as these to assist clients in keeping their employees safe and their businesses secure.