Empowering Our People

How we treat our people is just as important as what we deliver. We truly live our values daily. But what truly drives our work forward is our passion. Our employees are motivated to bring their best each day because we are passionate about our customers, our company and our communities.

Tyler Whipple

Diversity and Inclusion Director

At American Family Insurance, we’re weaving inclusive excellence into our DNA. It’s who we are, what we do and how we’ll continue to deliver excellent results. Our leaders and employees are champions of diversity and inclusion.

View 2018 people Report

Tyler Whipple

Diversity and Inclusion Director

View 2018 people Report

Diversity and Inclusion

CEO Jack Salzwedel says, "I am so proud to join more than 450 other CEOs and company presidents who support more inclusive workplaces. Across our country, persistent inequities still exist. So does what seems like a growing lack of inclusive behavior. I see it every day.

We’re already starting this work at American Family. We created the Diversity and Inclusion team — led by Tyler Whipple. And we’re making progress."

We are:

Leveraging our executive diversity council to build a diverse workforce and drive a culture of inclusion through our corporate values.
Providing diversity and inclusion learning opportunities for leaders and employees, including unconscious bias training and inclusive leadership workshops with industry experts.
Developing an online manager toolkit with resources and suggestions to incorporate topics in team activities.
Conducting empathy interviews to inform our work in building mentoring programs.
Building a social media platform with educational resources and conversation starters around these topics.
Strengthening connections to our business resource groups to enhance their impact on cultural competency.
Using leadership events to build awareness around the business case to further diversity and inclusion.

Business Resource Groups

A key component of our Diversity and Inclusion efforts are our Business Resource Groups, (BRGs). BRGs support American Family by:

Providing a diverse and inclusionary viewpoint into customer driven corporate initiatives
Proactively presenting ideas that promote business development
Providing professional development opportunities for members
Sponsoring events or activities that promote diversity and inclusion awareness for and about our customers, employees and communities

Business Resource Groups

A key component of our Diversity and Inclusion efforts are our Business Resource Groups, (BRGs). BRGs support American Family by:

Providing a diverse and inclusionary viewpoint into customer driven corporate initiatives
Proactively presenting ideas that promote business development
Providing professional development opportunities for members
Sponsoring events or activities that promote diversity and inclusion awareness for and about our customers, employees and communities

Our Business Resource Groups

Membership: 742

Women’s Professional Development Series

Annual Women’s Speaker Series

“The Balancing Act: Self, Family, Work”

“Leading with Authority”

Partnership established with Lean In to provide additional resources to AmFam women
Membership: 454

Black History Month celebration — Two day event

Celebrating young dreamers

Partnership with Centro Hispano for Escalera events

Passport to Diversity event — Theme “Share Your Culture”
Membership: 241

Pride Flag Raising for June PRIDE Month

Wear Your Pride week

Participated in Madison OutReach Pride Parade
Membership: 217

Fallen Hero Table for Memorial Day-across all regions.

Veteran’s Day Ceremony & Celebration

Dough for Dogs fundraiser — Raised $10,000 to place a service dog with a Veteran

Investing in Our Employees

At American Family Insurance, we recognize the importance of continuous learning and skill development, and we support our employees in their educational efforts with tuition and loan assistance, and an employee scholarship program.

Student loan assistance program

For employees who have graduated with an associate’s degree or above and have student loan debt, American Family provides a monthly contribution of $100 for student loan repayment with a lifetime maximum of $10,000. And our Advisor Program helps to lower loan payments, assists with refinancing and offers guidance on other financing options for a college education.

Employee scholarship program

Our employee scholarships are open to American Family Insurance employees in undergraduate, graduate or post-graduate programs, and offer a $2,500 annual scholarship, renewable for an additional three years. Tuition, fees, books and supplies can be covered with scholarship funds.

Tuition reimbursement program

Tuition reimbursement is available to employees who have been with the company for one year. Employees are reimbursed for tuition, books and other education expenses, up to $5,250 annually for full-time employees and $2,625 for part-time employees who qualify. In addition, several colleges offer American Family employees a tuition discount.

Student loan assistance program

Employee scholarship program

Tuition reimbursement program

The tuition reimbursement benefit was one reason I joined American Family.I have completed my associate, bachelor’s and master’s degrees since I started with the company. I appreciate the company’s support and encouragement in achieving my educational goals.

Emily Boyd

Human Resources Shared Services Manager

Employee Wellbeing

Electric Vehicle Charging Stations

Employee Gardens

Employee Well being

Partnering with Virgin Pulse, we offer a program that cultivates good lifestyle habits for our employees. Teamwork, competition, rewards and fun motivates employees to embrace healthy behaviors and maintain these habits over time.

Electric Vehicle Charging Stations

In 2015, American Family installed three, two-port, level-two electric vehicle-charging (EV) stations at its national headquarters, where employees could recharge their EVs for free. In December 2017, the company added three stations. With more than 30 unique EV drivers, employees use charging stations an average of 76 percent during weekday office hours.

The Corporate Responsibility team continues to assess current and future needs, looking for ways to encourage rapid EV adoption. Two other office locations also have level-two charging stations. The lifetime environmental impact of the installed charging stations helps avoid 10,739 kg of greenhouse gas emissions, the equivalent of planting 275 trees and letting them grow for 10 years.

Employee Gardens

American Family’s National Headquarters is located on 450 acres, some of which had been agricultural. Our National Headquarters hosts 122 garden plots, an orchard with more than 30 fruit and nut trees, 20 fruit-bearing bushes, wren houses, and several hundred row-feet of raspberries and asparagus. Additionally, a group of employees built and manage a large flower garden designed to nurture and protect Monarch butterflies.

The garden is also good for employee gardeners, who appreciate the benefits of growing their own food, enjoying outdoor activities and meeting new people.

Empowering Our People

Tyler Whipple

Tyler Whipple

Diversity and Inclusion

Business Resource Groups

Business Resource Groups

Our Business Resource Groups

Women’s Business Resource Group (WBRG)

Multicultural Business Resource Group (MBRG)

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, and Allies Business Resource Group (LGBTQA BRG)

Veteran’s and Military Business Resource Group (VMBRG)

Investing in Our Employees

Student loan assistance program

Employee scholarship program

Tuition reimbursement program

Student loan assistance program

Employee scholarship program

Tuition reimbursement program

Employee Well being

Electric Vehicle Charging Stations

Employee Gardens