Best practices from 4 of Fortune's Best Places to Work
October 11, 2011 12:00 AM
Lisa Mroziski, total rewards manager, W. Baird & Co.
Lisa Mroziski, total rewards manager, W. Baird & Co. and board of directors, Wellness Council of Wisconsin, told attendees that our job is to be all things to all people; to be incredibly caring in what were doing and how were impacting people's lives." They utilize social media for fitness challenges by engaging people with Facebook. They found that even though there were a few negative comments about the program, most people really stood up for the program." At W. Baird & Co., when the company went through a major network change for their health plan, the CEO responded personally to concerned emails and questions. They didn't care what his answer was, she said, they were just dumbfounded that he responded himself."
Fred Thiele, senior director, global benefits, Microsoft
Fred Thiele, senior director, global benefits, Microsoft, explained his company is "very focused on saying work life balance and meaning it." They have many remote workers because of long commutes. They feel teleworking helps maximize employees productivity, but doesn't leave them exhausted from a long trek to and from the office.
At one point, EBN Editor in Chief Kelley Butler asked each panelist to list which three benefits-related items they would put in a time capsule assuming the Apocalypse is fast approaching in 2012. Thiele suggested a code of federal regulations so historians could see how convoluted the alphabet soup is, a total rewards statement for the typical employee, and Thank You cards for global benefits to show how much of an impact we as benefits professionals really have."
Tami Graham, director of global benefits design, Intel Corporation
Tami Graham, director of global benefits design, Intel Corporation, stressed the importance of having an open door policy in their organization. It's a fundamental aspect of our culture...you quickly get to the issue," she explained. A natural mode for encouraging corporate transparency is social media. "We widely embrace social media and blogs at Intel, she said. However, she acknowledged that an employer needs good governance and ethics standards and a strong policy relegating social media. It's a tool but all of your governance applies to social media," she said.
James Clark, director human resources, firm wide benefits, KPMG, LLP
James Clark, director human resources, firm wide benefits, KPMG, LLP explained that being a best place to work means "never feeling like you're alone." He added that employees "often don't see what they have until they leave." In order to show them the full extent of their earnings before they get the COBRA check, Clark suggested including a total rewards statement in their paychecks.
He also recognized that the workplace needs to be fun to keep employees engaged. "We spend a lot of hours at work, [so] we need to make it fun," he said. KPMG uses vacation photo challenges to "foster that kind of caring environment."
Best Places to Work Panel
HR directors and mangers from KPMG, Intel, W. Baird & Co., and Microsoft shared their employee benefit insights with attendees at 2011 Benefits Forum & Expo in Dallas, Texas. Editor in Chief Kelley Butler (far right) moderated the Best Places to Work panel at the conference.
