Business View Magazine l October 2022

119 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 9, ISSUE 10 John Mullen & Company works across every island in the State of Hawaii but around 80% of the firm’s staff is located in its main office in Honolulu. The company ultimately aims to expand to other parts of the US, with this being mentioned as a long-term ambition by DB Insurance. On the mainland, independents like John Mullen & Company normally only have two- or three- person offices. However, due to the separation of Hawaii from the U.S. mainland, the company has grown far beyond this. This presents opportunities but also challenges. “We try to adapt ourselves to the current insurance market in Hawaii,” Mullen says. “Right now, most of the activity is in property claims. This is where most of the hiring and training is. In Hawaii, the insurance market doesn’t have particularly strong internal training programs and our office has taken on that role as much as any company in the state. We are known for training the industry, so people try to steal talent from us, constantly, because we train our people well.” John Mullen & Company’s long-term business plan is to maintain its stability even as its rivals attempt to poach its best and brightest. The firm aims to continue offering consistency of service, making it the choice for companies entering Hawaii. “I firmly believe that the people working for any organization ultimately determine whether it works or not,” Mullen comments. “John Mullen & Company is one of those lucky businesses where our people ensure that it works. And so, we make sure we look after them.” During the COVID crisis, for example, John Mullen & Company was one of the first organizations in Hawaii to shut its doors. Two days after home working was touted as a means of reducing the virus’ spread, Terry’s daughter Sara Mullen, President at John Mullen & Company, announced that all employees would be working from home for the foreseeable future. Online training was JOHN MULLEN & COMPANY immediately offered to help employees manage the transition. “We didn’t miss a beat,” Mullen explains. “Although the pandemic did require us to completely re-think our roadmap. We rebuilt our physical office three months before COVID hit. We held a grand opening on our 60th anniversary in October 2019 and then, just a few months later, we shut it down. We had a million- dollar office that was empty. But the main thing was keeping our employees safe.” John Mullen & Company has maintained a hybrid work environment to this day because the