Empire State Agency keeps up growth after winning honor for 2011

DeWITT — Growth at the DeWitt–based Empire State Agency has continued through the first half of 2012 after it was named last year’s top agency in Prudential Financial, Inc.’s (NYSE: PRU) agency distribution sales organization. 

This spring, Prudential named Empire State Agency and its managing director as the winner of its President’s Trophy for 2011. The Newark–based financial-services firm awards that trophy based on agencies’ hiring, retention, and sales performance, according to Matthew Dauksza, Empire State Agency’s managing director.

“Usually the top agency in the country isn’t in upstate New York or other small markets,” he says. “It’s usually your Manhattans, Chicagos, Los Angeleses.”

Not only did Empire State Agency top all other Prudential agencies last year, Dauksza says, but it is leading them for the 2012 trophy through the first half of this year.

In the first 26 weeks of 2012, the agency hired 11 new employees, he says. It has only lost two employees, resulting in a net nine new positions. And, its sales are up 26 percent so far, according to Dauksza, who declined to provide specific revenue totals.

That follows 2011, when Empire State Agency hired 18 employees. It only lost four workers, including retirees, for a net gain of 14 new positions last year. The agency’s sales grew by 8 percent last year.

Empire State Agency has had two opportunities to celebrate last year’s President’s Trophy, according to Dauksza. It had a trophy dinner with Prudential leaders at the Crowne Plaza Syracuse hotel on April 26. Then, in the third week of July, many of its employees will attend the presentation of the trophy at Prudential’s President’s Club Conference in Palos Verdes, Calif.

Dauksza took over as managing director at Empire State Agency in October 2010. His recent ascent to that position makes the Prudential award special, he says.

“From what they tell us, we were the first agency in company history to win the President’s Trophy in the first full year of the managing director,” he says.

Dauksza has been with the agency since 2000. He believes its ability to retain employees is a big part of its success.

“Our retention, I think, is the real story,” Dauksza says. “Sometimes retention is an issue in our industry. We can hire, but the trick is to retain your people.”

Empire State Agency has a two-year retention ratio of 92.1 percent, he adds. He estimates its retention ratio to be about 55 percent over four years, which he says is about three times higher than the industry average.

The agency’s aptitude for keeping its people stems from its hiring, according to Dauksza.

“The people we hire now are sometimes MBAs, lawyers,” he says. “When you bring on good people, I think that’s the true story of how you get to be number one in your marketplace or your company.”

Empire State Agency employs a total of 138 people. It has three locations — DeWitt, New Hartford, and Amherst. The agency’s DeWitt headquarters, located in 22,000 square feet of leased space at 5786 Widewaters Parkway, is the base for 48 employees. Its remaining employees are about evenly split between New Hartford, Amherst, and 30 private offices scattered around upstate New York, Dauksza says.

Between 70 percent and 80 percent of the agency’s business comes from retirement planning, he adds. Meeting the investment needs of baby boomers is a major part of that activity, he says.

Dauksza anticipates Empire State Agency continuing to hire and expand in the future.

“As we continue to grow, more of those financial planners find clients,” he says. “It’s a bottom-line increase.”

The agency also sells a variety of insurance products, including life insurance, annuities, and long-term-care insurance.

DeWITT — Growth at the DeWitt–based Empire State Agency has continued through the first half of 2012 after it was named last year’s top agency in Prudential Financial, Inc.’s (NYSE: PRU) agency distribution sales organization. 

This spring, Prudential named Empire State Agency and its managing director as the winner of its President’s Trophy for 2011. The Newark–based financial-services firm awards that trophy based on agencies’ hiring, retention, and sales performance, according to Matthew Dauksza, Empire State Agency’s managing director.

“Usually the top agency in the country isn’t in upstate New York or other small markets,” he says. “It’s usually your Manhattans, Chicagos, Los Angeleses.”

Not only did Empire State Agency top all other Prudential agencies last year, Dauksza says, but it is leading them for the 2012 trophy through the first half of this year.

In the first 26 weeks of 2012, the agency hired 11 new employees, he says. It has only lost two employees, resulting in a net nine new positions. And, its sales are up 26 percent so far, according to Dauksza, who declined to provide specific revenue totals.

That follows 2011, when Empire State Agency hired 18 employees. It only lost four workers, including retirees, for a net gain of 14 new positions last year. The agency’s sales grew by 8 percent last year.

Empire State Agency has had two opportunities to celebrate last year’s President’s Trophy, according to Dauksza. It had a trophy dinner with Prudential leaders at the Crowne Plaza Syracuse hotel on April 26. Then, in the third week of July, many of its employees will attend the presentation of the trophy at Prudential’s President’s Club Conference in Palos Verdes, Calif.

Dauksza took over as managing director at Empire State Agency in October 2010. His recent ascent to that position makes the Prudential award special, he says.

“From what they tell us, we were the first agency in company history to win the President’s Trophy in the first full year of the managing director,” he says.

Dauksza has been with the agency since 2000. He believes its ability to retain employees is a big part of its success.

“Our retention, I think, is the real story,” Dauksza says. “Sometimes retention is an issue in our industry. We can hire, but the trick is to retain your people.”

Empire State Agency has a two-year retention ratio of 92.1 percent, he adds. He estimates its retention ratio to be about 55 percent over four years, which he says is about three times higher than the industry average.

The agency’s aptitude for keeping its people stems from its hiring, according to Dauksza.

“The people we hire now are sometimes MBAs, lawyers,” he says. “When you bring on good people, I think that’s the true story of how you get to be number one in your marketplace or your company.”

Empire State Agency employs a total of 138 people. It has three locations — DeWitt, New Hartford, and Amherst. The agency’s DeWitt headquarters, located in 22,000 square feet of leased space at 5786 Widewaters Parkway, is the base for 48 employees. Its remaining employees are about evenly split between New Hartford, Amherst, and 30 private offices scattered around upstate New York, Dauksza says.

Between 70 percent and 80 percent of the agency’s business comes from retirement planning, he adds. Meeting the investment needs of baby boomers is a major part of that activity, he says.

Dauksza anticipates Empire State Agency continuing to hire and expand in the future.

“As we continue to grow, more of those financial planners find clients,” he says. “It’s a bottom-line increase.”

The agency also sells a variety of insurance products, including life insurance, annuities, and long-term-care insurance.