Family… Community… Diversity

Located a little more than 30 miles northeast of Indianapolis is the small town of Anderson, Ind. This is a town where approximately 50,000 people reside, along with farmland and the headquarters for the Church of God.

Mark Delp’s son was born extremely premature, weighing under two pounds and given less than a 10% chance of survival. Thankfully, he survived childhood, but didn’t escape unscathed after being diagnosed with autism at age three. Many doctor appointments were required after being born early and with this diagnosis. Unfortunately, neither Delp’s employer, nor his wife’s, understood the commitment a parent has towards their child and laid them off due to spending too much time away from work.

After that, Delp knew that if he was ever put in a situation to be a manager, he would not make his staff choose between work and family. Going independent with Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network (WFAFN) has allowed him the freedom to make this promise a reality at his practice in Irvine, Cal.

“When I started this company, I vowed no employee would ever have to choose between taking a sick kid to school or staying home with them without pay because they had no more vacation days,” Delp said.

As an independent business owner, he is able to run his business to reflect his values by offering many family-friendly benefits, such as covering 100% of employee health insurance premiums.

“My motto as a manager is ‘happy employees lead to happy clients,’” Delp said. “Clients can tell when an employee truly loves their job or if they are just going through the motions.”

As the practice has grown, so has the benefits package. What started years ago with just three employees being offered paid vacation and flex time has now expanded to include 14 advisors and eight administrators being offered a broad range of benefits such as: company retirement plan with match, flex time, health savings accounts, dependent care accounts, as well as several weeks of paid vacation.

In 2019, Inc. magazine,¹ Orange County Business Journal,² and Fortune³ magazine all recognized the practice as a one of the Best Places to Work in the nation in the small business category.

“A nice side benefit I discovered from giving employees plenty of flex time and vacation time is that some of the family time is spent helping the community either through fun activities like youth sports or more direct charity events, such as animal rescue charity walks, or other events,” Delp explained.

Charity is very important to the culture of Delp’s practice. Nearly every member of the branch gives back to community in some fashion. They support causes they care about through cash donations, as well as volunteering their time and resources. The practice recently started offering Volunteer Days where they pay the employee their full pay for anytime they spend volunteering in the community.

The practice was recently recognized as part of the Civic 50⁴ which honors 50 of the most community minded companies in Orange County.

As individuals, the advisors and administrators in the practice come from a wide range of industrial, geographic, and economic backgrounds. Together, they use a variety of experiences to better serve their diverse client base.

Delp was named as one of 15 Latino Leaders for 2019 by the National Diversity Council.⁵

“How we communicate with clients and connect with prospects is an ever-evolving process,” Delp said. “That is why I, along with many of my advisors, enjoy going to WFAFN-sponsored events such as Connect, Forum, and the Higher Education Conference, where we can connect with our peers and learn from each other.”

¹ 2019 Inc. Magazine List of Best Places to Work bestowed by Inc. Magazine as a result of a survey of company’s ability to attract, develop, and maintain its workforce.

² The 2019 Orange County Business Journal Best Places to Work Award bestowed by the Orange County Business Journal as a result of company’s workplace policies, practices, demographics and employee experience. Each member of the 2019 Orange County Business Journal Directory of Influence 500 list has made a positive mark on OC’s Community of Business over the course of the past year.

³ 2019 Fortune Magazine 150 Best Small & Medium Companies to Work For bestowed by Fortune Magazine and based on data such as benefits offered, diversity among workforce, employee turnover, etc.

⁴ The Orange County Civic 50 Award bestowed by the Orange County Business Journal as a result of philanthropic and/or community efforts

⁵ 2019 National Latino Leaders were selected by The Council for Latino Workplace Equity for their contributions to creating and promoting a culture where Latino talent is supported and leveraged, demonstrated leadership, record of professional accomplishments, and maintaining professionalism.

Investment products and services are offered through Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network, LLC (WFAFN).