2008 Choice Employers, 25-100 Employees, No. 3: Arvest Bank

After more than 30 years in retail sales, Sheila Rehagen wanted a career change. She chose Arvest Bank because she knew a satisfied employee who worked there.

Rehagen, a financial services representative who notes that Arvest was interested in matching her interests and personality with the right job. "That means a lot to me, to be able to go to work and look forward to it," she says.

Putting the correct people in the correct positions with clear expectations up-front is key to developing and maintaining a workplace where people want to stay, says Penny Lacy, Arvest's senior vice president of human resources.

"We try to let them know we do work very hard, but we do try to have fun at work, and that spills over to our customers. They definitely notice," Lacy says. "We've had customers come work for us, and they've told us they applied with us because it's a fun environment."

Arkansas-based Arvest's Springfield market includes Branson, which the bank entered in 2006. The first Springfield branch of Arvest came on line in 2007.

A Republic Road branch in Springfield and a branch in Hollister are set to open this month.

Bankwide, there are more than 200 Arvest branches. Locally managed markets in Arkansas, Oklahoma, southeast Kansas and southern Missouri have their own presidents, management teams and boards of directors, Lacy says. The president of Arvest's Springfield market, which includes Branson, is Mike Daw.

The bank matches 100 percent of 401(k)contributions up to 3 percent, and 50 percent on the next 2 percent, Lacy says.

Vacation, sick and personal days are taken from a lump block of time that is accrued based on the number of hours worked.

Arvest pays employees for six holidays, and full-time associates accrue at least 20 days of paid time off a year. After seven years of service, employees can earn up to 25 days.

"They can accrue up to 600 hours, so it's quite flexible," Lacy says. "It offers so much flexibility depending on your family needs."

Arvest pays between 75 percent and 80 percent of health premiums for full-time and part-time employees, Lacy says, and more than half for dependents.

All employees are eligible for bonuses, which range between $751 and $1,000.

In addition to annual employee evaluations, associates provide anonymous feedback on managers' performances, and the response rate is good, Lacy says.

Managers benefit from finding out how they are perceived, she adds.

"We definitely encourage our managers to keep that communication open at all times and build that rapport. I think it helps with retention."

Rehagen plans to stick with Arvest.

"I hope to retire here, and the longer I've been here, the better it gets," she says. "I feel like they even think about you when they hire new people ... and I feel like everyone is accessible here."[[In-content Ad]]