HRO Today featured Jeanie Heffernan, chief human resources officer at Independence Blue Cross (Independence), in its January/February 2020 issue’s cover story, “Insuring HR’s Success.” Heffernan discussed her 20-year partnership with Independence CEO Dan Hilferty, for which she won a 2019 CHRO of the Year Award. She also talked about her process of creating Independence’s people-first strategy and culture. When she joined Hilferty after he became CEO, their biggest challenge was to energize and create hope for the future of the company.
“We decided we wanted a bold vision focused on our people. Our mindset was: As an insurance company, we put our members at the center of everything we do,” she said. “To make that a reality, we needed to also put our associates at center of everything we do. So, our focus was on building the culture to get associates to live the brand.”