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Royal Neighbors of America® Earns Seventh Great Place to Work Certification™

Nov 14, 2023

Employees Recognize Strong Culture, Sound Values, and Flexible Work Model as Key Reasons


Rock Island, Ill. (November 14, 2023) – Royal Neighbors of America, a fraternal benefit society located in Rock Island, Ill., today announced its seventh year being certified as one of the nation’s top employers in 2023 by the global authority on workplace culture, Great Place to Work®. This designation is based solely on employee feedback. This year, 87% of employees deemed Royal Neighbors of America as a great place to work – which is 30 percentage points higher than the average U.S.-based company.

“Our primary focus is on fostering belonging, empowerment, and shared values within our organization,” said Human Resources Executive Angie Johnson. “Some of the key reasons that contributed to the higher-than-average employee ratings was 96% of employees surveyed felt good about the ways we contribute to the community, and they also felt welcomed. It is a testament to our strong corporate culture, driven by five areas of focus that highlight health and well-being, work-life balance, financial security, personal and professional growth, and appreciation and support.”

Ms. Johnson added, “Our annual employee engagement survey, a cornerstone of our culture strategy, has consistently guided our path forward. The feedback we receive informs our strategic decisions for the year ahead such as keeping our flexible work model. Our flexible work model has increased collaboration and employees appreciate the flexibility it offers. It has also allowed us to expand our talent pipeline and foster diversity and inclusion. At the heart of our culture is our founding philosophy of ‘neighbor-helping-neighbor,’ and our employees exemplify this by supporting one another and creating a workplace that is truly exceptional.”

Employees at the Rock Island-based fraternal benefit society identify themselves as “Royal Neighbors.” The name Royal Neighbors comes from combining “neighbor-helping-neighbor” with “royal,” signifying their founders’ beliefs in the nobility of the work they would do. In 2022, employees and members contributed to the organization’s record $24.5 million in social impact.

“Our employees are making a real impact on local communities across the nation by providing insurance, supporting women, and serving our communities. This is our organizational mission,” says Zarifa Reynolds, Royal Neighbors of America CEO. “Our recent Great Place to Work Certification comes on the heels of a significant effort to reintroduce and elevate our core values of faith, courage, humility, endurance and unselfishness. We updated the language of the values established by our founders nearly 130 years ago and implemented a concerted plan to bring these values to life. We are proud of this certification, as it reaffirms our ability to successfully live out our mission and values and make greater impact for our members and the communities we support.”

According to Great Place to Work research, job seekers are 4.5 times more likely to find a great boss at a Certified great workplace. Additionally, employees at Certified workplaces are 93% more likely to look forward to coming to work, and are twice as likely to be paid fairly, earn a fair share of the company’s profits, and have a fair chance at promotion. Earning Great Place to Work Certification has many benefits including:

  • Better recruitment metrics such as offer acceptance rates
  • Higher business profitability
  • Greater employer brand awareness and employee pride
  • Improved employee trust
  • 51% higher retention rates than average U.S. workplace
  • Recognition of having great managers and leaders -

More information about Royal Neighbors’ Great Place to Work Certification can be found at on the Great Place to Work website.

More about Royal Neighbors of America

Royal Neighbors was founded in 1895 as a membership organization by nine pioneering women who recognized the need to insure the lives of women and children. Now, with more than 250,000 members nationwide, Royal Neighbors of America offers life insurance and annuity products to its members and is driven by its mission of supporting women and serving communities. The organization’s employees, members, and chapters across the country drive the mission through localized volunteerism and philanthropy programs making social impact the cornerstone of their work. In 2020, Royal Neighbors was upgraded to “A Excellent” (3rd highest out of 13) by the AM Best Company for overall financial strength and ability to meet ongoing obligations to certificate holders. The rating was affirmed as of November 30, 2021 and once again in 2022. In 2023, Royal Neighbors delivered $24.5 million in social good impact, record revenue and received an all-time high score from the Great Place to Work® employee survey, achieving their seventh Great Place to Work Certification. For more information about Royal Neighbors of America, go to royalneighbors.org.


About Great Place to Work Certification™

Great Place to Work® Certification™ is the most definitive “employer-of-choice” recognition that companies aspire to achieve. It is the only recognition based entirely on what employees report about their workplace experience – specifically, how consistently they experience a high-trust workplace. Great Place to Work Certification is recognized worldwide by employees and employers alike and is the global benchmark for identifying and recognizing outstanding employee experience. Every year, more than 10,000 companies across 60 countries apply to get Great Place to Work-Certified.

 

About Great Place®

Great Place to Work® is the global authority on workplace culture. Since 1992, they have surveyed more than 100 million employees worldwide and used those deep insights to define what makes a great workplace: trust. Their employee survey platform empowers leaders with the feedback, real-time reporting and insights they need to make data-driven people decisions. Everything they do is driven by the mission to build a better world by helping every organization become a great place to work For All™.

Learn more at greatplacetowork.com.

 

Media Contact:
Marie Young, Manager, Communications
Marie.Young@royalneighbors.org | (309) 732-8280

Form #:P00696; Rev. 11-2023
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Form #: P00008; Rev. 9-2024