One of the surest signs that an employer is doing something right is long-tenured employees, so Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. must be on the right path.
“People stay here for 25, 30, even 40 years,” said Donna Cyr, director of human resources for the privately held insurance and financial services company’s New England regional office in Rocky Hill, Conn., from where she oversees HR at the company’s Warwick office.
Being part of a 36,000-employee giant offers Nationwide’s 40 Rhode Island employees a competitive financial package. But it isn’t money alone that helped the local Nationwide office be named one of the Best Places To Work.
“I have worked at many companies, and the culture and everything about this company is one of valuing people. That starts with our customer and ties into all of all associates,” said Cyr.
One key aspect of valuing its employees is the care that Nationwide takes to help them grow. “We have a career development program both nationally and regionally. We constantly monitor that our people are being given the opportunity to advance,” she said.
The process includes an intensive training and development curriculum for employees. And while not everyone can advance within the company, lateral movement also increases longevity.
An underwriter might move into sales if he wants to experience change. “We prefer to switch our employees to a different department than to lose a good employee,” Cyr said. “We really value our people, and in turn, they value their work.”
After a year of full-time employment, Nationwide associates also get up to $5,250 per calendar year in educational reimbursements that can be used for college courses and job-related certification programs.
Offering a flexible work environment is another attractive feature of working at Nationwide. For example, many associates work from home offices or have “mobile offices” in company cars, with all the needed materials and equipment for these telecommuting arrangements – including wireless Internet, mobile phones, and laptops – supplied by the company.
Nationwide also offers employees health and wellness programs, and it promotes volunteerism.
The local office has created a “biggest loser” contest, gym workout groups and baseball games.
In addition, for every 25 hours associates contribute to a qualified nonprofit organization, they can receive one full day off with pay. Nationwide also promotes blood donation by giving each employee who successfully donates one pint of blood half a day off with pay – up to a maximum of two full days off.
The financial benefits package includes, in addition to base salaries, incentives to perform well and stay with the company. The payout from the company’s profit-sharing plan – called Goal Sharing – varies based on employees’ pay and performance as well as the company’s financial results for a given year. Nationwide also matches 50 percent of employee contributions to their 401(k), to a maximum of 3 percent of their annual salary. Employees receive annual performance reviews and merit raises based on those reviews.
But the final word in how good a place to work Nationwide is comes from the marketplace.
“We do recruit … but because of our reputation, we receive résumés and applications every day from people who want to work for us,” Cyr said.
