2008 Choice Employers, 301+ Employees, No. 3: Commerce Bank

Commerce Bank is a $17 billion regional bank holding company based in Kansas City and operating in Kansas, Illinois, Colorado, and Oklahoma.

In its Springfield region, the bank employs 220 full-time and 82 part-time employees.

A good reason for the bank's 143-year longevity is a competitive employee benefit package, according to Commerce Springfield region Chairman John Himmel.

"At Commerce Bank, we take an awful lot of pride in our employees, which are the off-balance sheet most valuable assets that a financial institution has," he says. "We think it's critically important to not just offer a competitive hourly wage or a monthly salary but also to layer on top of a competitive employee benefit program."

Commerce pays 65 percent of the health insurance premium ... for employees and their dependents. In addition to a 10-holiday schedule, the bank also offers 24 hours of personal time annually for full-time staff and 12 hours for part-time employees.

Vacation ranges from 10 to 20 days. Additional accrued time builds up per pay period with a maximum of 200 hours for full time and 80 hours for part time. This accrued time can be used for sick leave, doctors' appointments or personal leave. There is a six-month waiting period for vacation at a pro-rated amount and no waiting period for other paid time off.

Nikki Hampton is the human resources manager for the Springfield region, which includes Bolivar, Lebanon, Branson, Nixa, Ozark and Republic. She's been with Commerce for 13 years. "Commerce has a very strong culture. It is a family oriented environment," she says.

Part of that support from the company is a tuition reimbursement plan. No matter the area of study or degree sought, Commerce reimburses up to $3,000 for graduate courses and $1,500 for undergraduate courses per year.

"We strongly feel that the key to success is in higher education," Himmel says..

Paid medical leave is also another important benefit. The paid time off benefit ranges from 16 days to 130 days. Commerce also provides adoption assistance, with reimbursement up to $2,000.

Employees are reviewed annually, and they can participate in quarterly update meetings with managers. "Food for Thought" lunches occur every other month and give employees opportunity to meet with senior management.

"There's a lot of support from the management team to all employees to stay with Commerce and to work their way up, make it their career," he says. "That's what I've done. I get to help other people do that. There's a lot of job satisfaction in that."