Bridgewell Financial

The Bridgewell Financial team last week had the pleasure of attending the Salesforce World Tour conference. As part of our commitment to ongoing skills development, our Jessica Thompson (She/Her) and Sharika Thalapally spent the day learning about new Salesforce technology, taking part in workshops and hearing from industry leaders about how the Salesforce platform can help support Bridgewell’s individual and group clients. We’ve spent most of 2024 integrating Salesforce into our back-end CRM infrastructure and this event was a perfect opportunity to help us learn more about the industry’s most powerful operating system—all to improve our customer service experience! Thanks to the Salesforce team for hosting such an informative event. 

Last week the Bridgewell Financial team came together for our annual holiday party in support of the Daily Bread Food Bank. Once again, we were hosted by the wonderful team at the Leaside Curling Club who gave us lessons in throwing, sweeping and precision rock placement. As you’ll see in the photos below, we were starting to get the hang of it by the end of our time on the ice! We were delighted to be joined by many of our industry partners, vendors and Bridgewell team members, who helped us raise funds and collect donations for the Daily Bread Food Bank. Bridgewell then matched their donations for a grand total of $15,589.70. It’s always rewarding to be able to give back to an organization providing much-needed support across our community. In addition, we’d like to extend a huge ‘thanks’ to our sponsor Well Juicery Canada Ltd. for providing a selection of their healthy and refreshing beverages for all of us to enjoy!   It’s been another year of growth for our firm, and we’re very fortunate to have the opportunity to celebrate with the people who made that success possible. 

November is #FinancialLiteracyMonth in Canada, with this year’s theme being “Money on your Mind. Talk about it!” It’s a relevant message, encouraging Canadians to discuss their finances (good and bad) so they can better secure their financial future. But there’s an opportunity to take it a step further by talking about their financial #wellness — what money means to them and why it matters to their lives. It’s about encouraging them to design a financial roadmap to build wealth so they can live life on their terms. The key financial literacy takeaway from our perspective at Bridgewell Financial: It’s about putting purpose behind your financial goals, not just building wealth for wealth’s sake.

What happens when you put some of the world’s leading #health, #wellness and #longevity experts and industry executives in the same room (think Dr. Gabrielle Lyon, Matthew Walker, PhD, Manulife CEO Roy Gori and WHOOP's Kristen Holmes, to name only a few)? You're exposed to a remarkable array of insights and expertise that expand your understanding of optimal human performance and innovative tools such as the Manulife Vitality platform, diagnostics being developed by firms such as GRAIL and the WHOOP performance tracking device. That was the case when Bridgewell Financial Partner Chad Tranter attended last week's Longer. Healthier. Better Symposium in Boston. Our latest blog breaks down some of Chad's key takeaways from the event.

October is #MenopauseAwarenessMonth and an opportunity to highlight issues around women’s health in the workplace. Specifically, how employers can do more to build #groupbenefits packages that help address women’s unique health and #wellness concerns, while also promoting their workplace productivity and inclusion. The Medavie Blue Cross / Croix Bleue Medavie workbook—Facing Menopause Together—offers mid-life health information and tips to manage common menopausal symptoms, along with strategies such as providing flexible work arrangements and accommodations to help foster a more supportive work environment. It’s a worthwhile read.

This year's Benefits Alliance Connect Conference was a resounding success--including two well-attended and insightful sessions featuring Bridgewell Financial Partner Michael Wortsman. In our latest blog, the Bridgewell team offers their reflections on the event, including key #groupbenefits trends and takeaways gleaned during presentations by RBC Insurance, Manulife, Beneva, Orion Travel Insurance, Wawanesa Insurance and the Canadian Association of Pension Supervisory Authorities. Read it now.

As the Bridgewell Financial team recognizes #WorldMentalHealthDay, we can’t over-emphasize the importance of this year’s theme: Prioritizing #mentalhealth in the workplace. Helping employees improve their well-being and staying productive at work—by using innovative #groupbenefits solutions—is a key part of what we do. So, too, is living our values by encouraging our team members to embrace healthy living and introducing new technology and processes to help them be more efficient and to reduce work-related stress. In our view, it takes a holistic, diligent approach to build stronger workplaces.   So, on this World Mental Health Day, let’s all agree to put our team members first and to take meaningful steps toward making our workplace environments as welcoming and rewarding as possible. 

We’d like to thank our colleagues from Risk Strategies | Hugh Wood Canada Ltd, our co-hosts for our second-annual mix and mingle event. We had the pleasure of socializing with both Bridgewell Financial and Hugh Wood clients, enjoying a stunning venue, amazing food and tasty cocktails. We also had the opportunity to welcome the always engaging David Lewis from EOS Worldwide, who shed light on the EOS system and how it helps organizations and their leaders efficiently optimize management systems through a unique strategic framework. We look forward to seeing everyone next year!

As a member of their advocacy committee, Bridgewell Financial Consultant Amr Galal has been a long-time contributor to Benefits Alliance’s ongoing efforts to improve health and wellness #groupbenefits coverage for Canadians. Amr had the opportunity to provide his unique insights for a recent BA article—Getting Real About Virtual Care—for their Take 5 for Wellness newsletter (always a Bridgewell recommended read). In it, he explains why employer-paid virtual care may be at risk as the industry braces for Ottawa’s clarifications to the Canada Health Act. Could virtual care be prohibited or restricted under the Act if the government reclassifies this important benefit class? Read the article for Amr’s perspective. 

We’d like to thank the Benefits Alliance team for organizing an incredible #ConnectConference in Nashville this week. Our Michael Wortsman and BA’s Carolyne Eagan had a fast-paced and insightful discussion during the 'Using an effective brand and clear messaging to build Bridgewell Financial' session, which Carolyne moderated (see the photo below).   As always, the range of speakers from across the #groupbenefits industry--and the fresh topics they covered--delivered tremendous value. We always appreciate the opportunity to network and take inspiration from our industry colleagues. This year’s event delivered on all fronts!