Within Donegal’s Loss Control Department, Chad Wallaesa and his team are taking advantage of not only where they are today, but where they want to go tomorrow.
“The reason we’re here every day is for our policyholders and our agents,” said Wallaesa, Assistant Vice President of Loss Control & Premium Audit. “We keep that understanding as our true north.”
Wallaesa has led Donegal’s Loss Control operations since 2023, and has worked side-by-side with business partners on the Human Resources team to build out a department that continues to deliver new cutting-edge solutions and services to customers, both internal and external.
“As we’re preparing for tomorrow, one of the biggest things we recognize is that our agents and policyholders expect things now. And rightfully so,” Wallaesa said. “So we’re working towards providing them with the best guidance we can in a time when they need it. There are fundamental risks out there, but there are also risks that are changing, and you have to be flexible. You have to be prompt in your response, and be prepared for the consulting and guidance that our underwriters need, but also our agents and policyholders as well.”
That focus has driven Wallaesa’s hiring approach, as he’s worked closely with Donegal Human Resources Manager Dylan Shultz and HR Business Partner Lauren Gerhart to build out the team through not only external hires, but several key internal leadership promotions.
“We need communications skillsets, technology skillsets, and the drive from an ethics standpoint that goes behind all of that,” Wallaesa said. “All of that is critical.”
‘Finding talent is easy’
At Donegal, a collaborative “One Team” mindset is culturally ingrained throughout the organization. Underwriters work closely with Business Relationship Managers. And departmental heads work side by side with their designated HR Business Partner on a mutual understanding of not only the skillsets that potential candidates can bring to their teams, but more importantly, whether they’d be a cultural fit.
Wallaesa and Shultz have built a working relationship rooted in communication and alignment.
“When Chad first came to Donegal, we established a good rapport through the interview process, but since then, it’s shifted gears,” Shultz said. “It’s been important, sitting down with him, having conversations, and understanding the business needs of what he wants for Loss Control. That’s helped me to not only identify the candidate profile, but also what’s important to Chad: The communication, the work ethic.”
Finding talent is the easy part, Shultz explained.
“It’s easy to identify safety management professionals, loss control consultants,” he added. “But matching that profile to what Chad is looking for, that’s where it requires conversations to weed out the individuals who are probably a great fit on paper, but may not align when it comes to Donegal and Chad and his expectations for the role.”
Among the conversations that Shultz and Wallaesa have: The type of candidate Wallaesa is looking for. Their desired background. And, geographic considerations, which often proves the biggest challenge.
“Can they be virtual and remote, or does it benefit the position to be in a specific place?” Wallaesa said.
“Location-specific positions sometimes does limit the pool, but it doesn’t change the candidate profile,” Shultz added. “I tell Chad, give me your wish list. What are you looking for? Let’s see what we find out there, and what’s trainable. Can we find that right person who can come in to Donegal and be trained fairly quickly and embrace what Chad is looking for?”
Another big challenge that the two have navigated together? Tough, but necessary, internal conversations.
“Sometimes, we have a lot of great candidates that raise their hand, and only one to two positions to fill potentially,” Shultz said. “And that does lead to tough conversations. Especially when that person would have been a really good fit in the position, too.”
Earlier this year, Wallaesa’s responsibilities expanded to include Premium Audit. Since then, he has focused on learning from the team’s considerable technical experience, while identifying opportunities to strengthen communication and collaboration with underwriting, marketing, and other internal and external business partners.
“Premium Audit has an experienced team with significant technical knowledge,” Wallaesa said. “My focus is on building on that foundation and creating stronger connections across the organization so the team’s expertise can be incorporated earlier and more consistently into broader business decisions.”
Ensuring the right fit
According to Wallaesa, talent retention begins with recruitment.
“That can be a challenge in today’s competitive environment,” he said. “So really, we’re looking for candidates that enjoy the challenge, enjoy the opportunity, and appreciate and fit in with our culture. I’ve been in the industry for 24 years now, and I think our culture here at Donegal is a differentiator.”
Authentic and open collaboration between Wallaesa and his HR business partners, as well as upfront conversations with potential candidates, have proven critical to ensuring the right fit on both sides of the table.
“We paint an upfront picture to candidates,” Shultz said. “This is the team you’re joining. This is Chad’s management style. This is what to expect from a workload perspective. Being upfront about that, and then when new hires actually come in and live that, it goes a long way in retaining top talent.”
Another factor in retention? A commitment to promoting from within.
“For our team members who want to pursue advancements or technical opportunities, or potential leadership, the fact that Donegal values promoting from within is huge. That’s not the case in many other places,” Wallaesa said. “Our employees see that their work is valued.”
Shultz calls it a “healthy competition.”
“No one was preselected for any of the roles that we’ve talked about,” he said. “We had people who were not a year into their roles here who felt confident enough to raise their hands for it. Chad opens it up to everyone.”
Within the Loss Control Department, Wallaesa has built out career paths and different levels to facilitate the continued growth and advancement of his employees.
“Even if someone may not have been selected for management, there are specialty roles that they could get into to better set themselves up for future growth,” Shultz said.
The authenticity approach
To others, Wallaesa would advise taking a hard look at your current team as you assess growth and additional needs.
“Have you asked your current team members, where do you want to be in five years? What do you want to accomplish?” he said. “It’s simple, the foundational questions and interactions. But I think you’ll see some surprises, and folks will surprise themselves. I always believe in challenging people to be better than they think they can be. I think you can find some good talent where you are for future positions.”
For Shultz, it all goes back to authenticity.
“When Chad came on board, his team was already good. But they had just lost their previous leader, and weren’t sure what the outlook was,” he said. “Chad sat down with everybody. He got to know them and understand where they were at professionally. He got to know them personally, and learned how each of our team members tick in a way. And I think that helped a lot.”
That authentic approach, he added, “helped Chad to earn the respect of the team, and has made it easy to buy into Chad’s strategy and vision. And from a hiring and retention perspective, it’s easy to support and build that out once you understand your current team’s talent.”