From the Outside In: How Listen-First Leadership Powers Texas Agency

By Ezra Amacher

For over four decades, Swingle Collins & Associates has built a reputation for doing what’s right for its clients and for the people who work at the Dallas, Texas-based agency.

The firm’s leadership team works intentionally at investing in talent and technology, making the agency a place where employees feel like they’re part of a collaborative mission. That’s according to the employees who nominated Swingle Collins, Insurance Journal’s Best Agency to Work For Gold Award winner for the South Central region.

“I’ve seen a lot of workplaces from the inside throughout my career, and what struck me from my very first weeks at Swingle Collins was how much every single person here believes their voice matters, and that isn’t an accident,” said CEO Dan Curtis. “We want the entire team to want to come to work each day.”

Curtis took over as CEO of Swingle Collins earlier this year, stepping into the role held by founder Frank Swingle. Curtis, who came to the agency from a career in logistics and finance, said there’s great value in hiring people with diverse professional backgrounds.

“Many of our best associates come from outside insurance entirely, which brings in fresh perspective and different competencies that are useful in advising our clients,” he said. “The insurance industry is truly unique, and once good people experience an agency that prioritizes culture the way we do, they tend to stay for the long haul.”

Swingle Collins has built a reputation retaining employees, as shown by the way it invests in its people. In nominating the firm for the award, one employee wrote, “There are consistent opportunities for meaningful conversations about growth, compensation, and career advancement. It has a strong foundation of core values which is embedded into how we work, and our processes and procedures that are put in place prioritize transparency and partnership.”

Another employee highlighted the company’s relationship-first culture as a driving engine behind the firm’s success. Swingle Collins’ business has grown significantly in four-plus decades, yet the agency has stayed rooted in its care for clients and for each other, the employee said.

“It is a firm built on integrity, empathy, and expertise, and that shows up in how people are treated internally,” wrote one employee.

A high-trust work environment, ample opportunities for growth, and investment in new technologies were themes that ran through employee responses. “Our leadership team is wonderful, our management team is amazing and is growing and making improvements all the time,” another employee wrote.

Team members also expressed appreciation for the way the firm values independence and organic growth. “We are growing organically rather than through acquisition,” wrote an employee. “Our reputation in the community is pristine and our employees all care deeply about their customers and carrier relationships.”

To build a workplace where employees are engaged and believe in the firm’s mission, Curtis encourages other agency leaders to “show up and listen” before trying to build programs.

“Coming in as an outsider to insurance, I spent my first year here getting to know our team, our carrier partners, and our clients before making any major moves, and that groundwork mattered more than any initiative I could have rolled out on day one,” Curtis said. “Culture is something you demonstrate through consistent, small decisions that tell your people their contribution is seen and valued.”

“From my time here, I’m convinced an insurance agency is an incredible business precisely because it’s about people protecting what matters most to them,” he said.

Topics Texas Leadership