Employee & Agency Engagement

Our employees and agency owners can participate in a dialogue with the company's management through any one of several channels. These include "town hall" meetings held at Allstate locations throughout the country, our Allstate NOW news Web site for all employees and our Gateway site for agency owners. Allstate also engages employees and agency owners through a number of annual surveys.

Employee Satisfaction

Allstate conducts an annual survey of its employees to obtain feedback on the effectiveness of leadership and the work environment. This voluntary, anonymous and confidential survey (called the Quality Leadership Measurement System) measures employee perceptions and behaviors that directly affect our business results. All employees, except officers, are invited to participate in QLMS, which is administered via the Internet and analyzed by Allstate's human resources function with the assistance of an outside vendor. One of the key measurements provided by QLMS is overall employee satisfaction. In 2008, the overall satisfaction rate among Allstate employees was 85%, compared with 86% in 2007. Historically, Allstate's overall employee satisfaction rates have been in the high 80% range and average higher than industry benchmarks.

Agency Relationship Survey

Each year, Allstate measures the satisfaction of agency owners, financial representatives, and independent agency owners regarding their business relationship with the company. In 2008, agency owner and financial representative satisfaction decreased, reflecting a tougher competitive environment that led to lower compensation and growth. Agencies also faced the start of one of the worst economic environments in the history of the country, along with several catastrophes.

Across the company, we continue working to strengthen the agency-company relationship. Since the survey, we've delivered a number of programs that help our agency owners and financial specialists continue to provide an outstanding customer experience while building successful businesses. Several more programs are in the pipeline. Our relationship with agencies remains a top priority, and we will continue to deliver programs designed to support agency owners and financial specialists while fostering ongoing dialogue.