2010 Choice Employers, 25 to 100 Employees No. 3: UMB Bank

The 41 local employees of UMB Bank can participate in profit sharing and stock options after a waiting period of 13 months to 18 months. The bank pays more than half of health insurance premiums for full- and part-time employees and their dependents, and domestic partner benefits are available. In addition to tuition reimbursement and an employee mentoring program, UMB’s benefits also include gym membership contributions, pet and legal insurance, career path resources, a diversity initiative and the Wellness Counts rewards program.

Ann Marie Baker, president of the bank’s southwest Missouri/greater Missouri region, answers SBJ’s questions.

How would you describe your company’s culture?
We have a values-driven culture focused on providing unparalleled customer experience. We promote and encourage all employees to trust each other, have pride in what they do, and to enjoy the people with whom they work. We recently established a teamwork initiative to provide employees with guides, resource and activities about teamwork and how each person can make a positive change in their work environment. … We regularly focus on building a culture that promotes the work-life balance and job satisfaction that builds internal pride and ultimately supports our culture of developing the unparalleled customer experience.

What methods do you use to involve employees in benefit decisions?
We have multiple channels for employee feedback, (including) focus groups, a designated open-door mailbox for comments and suggestions, a dedicated employee help center that is staffed daily to answer employee benefits and company questions, and cross-functional committees regarding a variety of benefit and policy-related proposals and initiatives.
Give us some examples of how your benefits package has evolved to meet work-force needs.
We replaced our previous vacation and sick accounts with a very generous paid time off  program. We also initiated a volunteer time off program to support employee community interests and corporate commitment to community involvement. We established new adoption assistance and paid parental leave programs .

How does your company support professional development?
We offer tuition reimbursement and paid certification programs, as well as a sizable internal training and development function. Additionally, we offer professional managerial coaches and related formal development programs. We offer a wide variety of compliance, managerial, sales, and other online and classroom training programs.

Just for Fun
If there were no limitations – budget or otherwise – what benefit would you begin offering employees tomorrow?
On-site, high-quality child care would be a huge asset to many of our associates.
And just for fun, we have offered chair massages on staff appreciation days. Offering those on a regular basis would be very well-received. My personal favorite might be a UMB pet. I’ve visited offices that have a resident cat or dog, and that creates a very friendly and relaxed environment. And while we’re dreaming, maybe a gourmet kitchen or a Starbucks on site.[[In-content Ad]]