2013 Choice Employers, 25 to 100 Employees No. 2*: Ollis & Co

With 31 employees, Springfield-based Ollis & Co. pays 100 percent of health insurance premiums for all full- and part-time employees. In addition, the company offers an employee wellness program that includes 30 minutes of company time each week to work out; an onsite wellness facility and yoga studio; a 15-minute recess on Friday afternoons; $250 annually to be spent on preventative wellness; and a reduction in insurance premiums when requirements are met. The company offers tuition reimbursement for staff members, and more than 90 percent of employees participate.

Editor’s note: Answers provided by spokeswoman Myleah Shrimpton.

What do you find makes your business a desirable place to work?
“We are unique in that we are a 100 percent employee-owned company with a family flavor. With an open-book management style, our culture centers around this, with everyone having the ability to truly make an impact on the business and our customers. Ideas are encouraged on how we can improve as a company and help each other grow as professionals.

We offer industry leading benefits, including an onsite wellness facility, operate with an innovative business model and have demonstrated long-standing success for 128 years in Springfield.”

What is the average length of employment among staff, and what fosters such loyalty?
“The average length of employment for our current staff is nine years. During the past three years, we have celebrated the retirement of four members of our team with each having more than 20 years with Ollis & Co. The benefits offered, such as ownership, direct input into management direction and individual opportunity, foster the loyalty that keeps this length of employment average high.”

What innovative ways have you developed to reward employees?
“Rewarding employees for dedicated, quality work and for driving the success of company initiatives is important to our growth as a company. Some of our rewards and recognition include wearing jeans on Friday as a reward for working out weekly in our fitness facility, $250 toward wellness products or services annually provided for those who participate in our health risk assessment, additional vacation time for those who achieve a specified donation level in the company’s charity of choice, stock ownership based on the company’s performance annually, fun Fridays where we take a recess and enjoy exercise games together and happy hours at the end of challenging days.”

To what extent does the company share its financials with the staff?
“We hold regular monthly and quarterly all-agency meetings with our employees. During these meetings, we review financials, strategic plan objectives, celebrate anniversaries and accomplishments, and open the floor to any questions the employees would like to ask.”

Work vs. life – how does your company help employees strike a balance between the two?
“At Ollis & Co., we hold a number of activities for employees and their families to participate in outside the workplace. Some of these activities include periodic end-of-the day gatherings, holiday parties, milestone birthday celebrations, retirement parties and gatherings on weekends for charitable events. In addition to our events, to assist in the day-to-day demands of family life, we offer personal time, sick time and vacation to all employees.”[[In-content Ad]]