From left, partners Dan Burns, Dan Ruggeri, Chance Potts and Ken Stephens practice what they preach about employee benefits for team members at Employee Benefit Design LLC.
As an independent agency specializing in employee benefits, Employee Benefit Design LLC strives to practice what it preaches in the programs it provides to its own staff of 18 full-time and two part-time employees.
"We're out there every day talking to small-, medium- and large-size employers about the importance of their benefit plan to recruit and retain employees, and hopefully, ultimately, to reward and retire them," says Partner Daniel Burns. "We want to make sure we walk the walk, and not just talk the talk, on the importance of benefits."
It should come as no surprise, then, that Employee Benefit Design pays 100 percent of full-time employees' health insurance premiums, as well as offering a wellness program with employer-paid incentives, a fitness club reimbursement, and dental, life and disability insurance.
EBD rewards staff through raises and bonuses - the average salary increase for full-time employees is 10 percent to 15 percent a year and annual bonuses for managers average more than $1,000 - but it also invests in staff members' personal and professional development through its tuition reimbursement program.
More than 50 percent of EBD employees utilize tuition reimbursement, among them Account Manager Alecia Andre.
Andre, who has been with the company since its launch in 1997, finished her degree in communications with the help of the tuition reimbursement program, and she is now pursuing the Certified Employee Benefits Specialist designation with her company's support.
Also, while Employee Benefit Design doesn't have a formal flextime program, "because we are a small company, we are able to operate as if we did have a flextime plan," Burns says.
The company makes sure that employees are able to take time for family-, school- or church-related activities while maintaining a high level of customer service and responsiveness.
Employee Benefit Design also is set up so employees can telecommute, accessing the company server from home or from the road, keeping productivity high.
With an eye to employees' retirement, the company provides a 401(k) with no waiting period and makes automatic contributions of up to 9 percent to employee accounts. Employees are fully vested in the plan in six months or less.
The result of all of the firm's programs and policies is a work force that is a lot like a family, a feeling that is reinforced by communication - not only in formal reviews and monthly staff meetings, but also in regular meetings over breakfast, lunch or dinner.
"I think employees want that family atmosphere, that team atmosphere, and communication just strengthens that," Andre says. Staff tenure would seem to bear that out, with most of the company's employees having been with the firm for five years or more. Regarding the leadership at the company and its support of staff members, Andre says, "They've stood behind us and given us everything we need. I can't imagine working for anyone else."
This installment of Springfield Business Journal’s Architects & Engineers Project Report showcases 26 endeavors by area design and engineering professionals.
