Wow. What a year. Whether we call it unprecedented, unique, or one of a kind—2020 was certainly a year we will never forget.
When I think back to mid-March of last year, I remember vividly the moment we asked almost 4,000 of our employees to start working remotely in a matter of days. Those employees had to learn to work with their colleagues, direct reports, and managers in new ways. To balance their jobs with caring for children or other family members. To create home offices or workspaces where none had existed before. To manage and support technology, to teach and to train, to lead, and to communicate.
At that exact same time, we asked nearly 200 of our employees to continue to work in our offices during a pandemic and help maintain our essential services. Those employees had to adapt to a completely different environment almost overnight. To go to work in offices that were quiet and spare instead of boisterous and busy. To wear masks and other PPE eight or ten hours a day. To implement new processes and procedures to keep everyone as safe as possible while still performing their duties.
I was concerned about the impact this transition would have on our culture and, ultimately, how that would affect those we serve. I also knew that a situation like this was truly a "moment that matters," and that how we responded would have a significant impact on both our culture and our brand reputation.
At the time I asked myself: Can we completely change the way we work and still deliver for our customers and each other?
I'm incredibly proud to say the answer was a resounding yes.
Our employees' commitment to our policyholders, our injured workers, and each other did not alter, did not waver, even for a moment. They continued to perform and do their jobs well in spite of so much change. They adapted, they flexed, and they did not forget our vision, our North Star, and our Core Values.
How did our team demonstrate their commitment to our customers throughout such an unusual year? Here are a few examples of our actions and our results from 2020:
We contacted our customers via phone, email, and post, and we made every effort to touch base so they knew we were there for them and we were not walking away just because they were behind on a payment. We made it easier for them to keep their policies active and we helped them save money during a difficult time.
When California businesses needed help to keep their employees and customers safe during the pandemic, we were there. We provided grants-up to $10,000 per policyholder-for items like acrylic countertop shields, hand sanitizer stations, and cleaning and disinfecting equipment. Within this annual report, you'll see a video from one of these customers in which she discusses exactly how the safety fund support helped her customers and her business.
By the end of 2020, more than 2,400 California business owners had used our free online IIPP builder to help them quickly and easily build their OSHA-required IIPPs. We've received feedback from businesses that the builder has been very helpful and we plan to expand its features over the next several years.
We also launched our Online Safety University for policyholders. The safety university provides free occupational safety training with more than 200 courses customized for different industries. Employers can even assign training to their employees and review progress with an easy-to-use digital dashboard.
All told, we've declared more than $270 million in dividends over the last two years. That's money that has gone back to our policyholders and will help them invest in their employees, equipment, facilities, and other needs.
Our annual policyholder and broker survey measures customer satisfaction, how easy it is to do business with us, how likely customers are to recommend us to others, and other factors. We've been tracking these numbers for a few years now and we've seen notable progress each year. We also carefully analyze the information we receive from these surveys and we're taking action to address areas where we believe we can improve.
This is the only measure I'll mention that is focused on our internal performance, but I believe it's an essential measure of the progress we've made over the past few years and reflects on how dedicated our workforce is to our vision, North Star, and Core Values. Our engagement scores have gone up for six straight years and that tells me we're continuing to build a strong, customer-centric culture, recruit and retain talented individuals, and set up State Fund to serve you over the long-term.
Here are the 2020 financial highlights that are described in detail in this report:
While 2020 was truly a year unlike any other I've experienced, both personally and professionally, I'm heartened by the progress our country has made over the past few months. With increasing vaccine availability and generally decreasing numbers of COVID-19 cases and deaths, it looks like we're on a path to return to some degree of normalcy in 2021.
We stand ready to support California's entrepreneurial spirit throughout this year and into the future.
Sincerely,
Vern Steiner