Parental leave top-ups, compassionate leave, flex hours an award-winning approach
While offering an array of family-friendly benefits makes a lot of sense when it comes to attraction, retention and engagement, there’s another reason Monsanto is an award-winner in this area.
“Employees today demand it, it’s almost table stakes,” says Cathy Pickard, Winnipeg-based human resources director at Monsanto, an agricultural biotechnology company. “Employees want to look at what does the company do for them, what’s in it for them and they need to know they’re going to have quality of life and going to be able to have a life outside of work. So, for us, it’s not negotiable — we have to be constantly listening to what the labour market is telling us and trying to be as responsive as possible to that.”
Monsanto reviews its benefits each year and considers workers’ concerns and requests through bi-annual organizational surveys and quarterly “pulse” surveys of different segments of the workforce. That approach has helped Monsanto make the list of Canada’s Top Family-Friendly Employers, compiled annually by Mediacorp Canada.
“Our big mantra is ‘Create a great place to work,’” and it is, says Pickard. During interviews, job candidates often bring up the top employer recognition, so the competition has paid off in recruitment, she says.
The benefits at Monsanto include parental leave top-up benefits, up to 90 per cent of salary, for 26 weeks for adoptive parents and new mothers and fathers. The perk has been offered for several years and was probably a step ahead of the norm when it was introduced, she says.
“That’s very good and very competitive,” says Pickard. “We hear from our own employees that tell us, ‘This is fantastic, this is amazing.’ It takes the worries out of the financial when you’re trying to start a new family or increase the size of your family.”
Another benefit is vacation, which is three weeks to start and if “fairly seasoned” employees join the company, human resources will consider their previous vacation entitlement, which is important, she says.
Depending on the province, employees also receive two to three personal days per year.
The Canadian arm of the company (Monsanto is headquartered in Creve Coeur, Mo.) is very flexible when it comes to working hours for its 250 full-time employees (there are about 300 seasonal workers from April to October). It embraces alternative work options, such as telecommuting, alternate work hours, compressed workweeks and informal summer hours at the corporate offices in Lethbridge, Alta., Saskatoon and Guelph, Ont.
“It all boils down to the employee and their manager working it out,” says Pickard. “We’re very flexible. If we have specific issues, the HR group may get involved to help manage it but, for the most part, it’s between the employee and manager. It goes very smooth and, honestly, I have not had any issues since I’ve been here.”
On the financial front, Monsanto offers different types of benefits to help employees save money, such as a matching registered savings plan, profit-sharing, a share purchase plan, year-end bonuses and signing bonuses for some positions. The company also provides a generous tuition subsidy, reimbursing up to $10,000 depending on the type of program.
And when the company has a good year, it celebrates with gifts for employees or, more recently, giving them time off, such as an additional two days off.
“That’s been a huge hit with us, so we like to be able to give it and we know people do appreciate it,” says Pickard.
Monsanto Canada’s health and family benefits are rated as “exceptional” by Mediacorp Canada and include 100-per-cent coverage of health plan premiums. Employees who work 20 hours per week receive coverage and there is no waiting period before it begins. Employees receive full family coverage on the health benefits plan, which also includes retiree coverage with no age limit.
The company also offers a “whole spectrum of services” through its employee assistance plan, for issues such as mental health, addiction, financial concerns, legal advice, having a baby or elder care. The EAP is a benefit that’s underused, says Pickard, so the company has been trying to re-educate and refresh employees on its value.
Additional family-friendly benefits include compassionate top-up payments (to 100 per cent for as long as required) though there is no formal policy and Monsanto looks at each situation separately, she says. People with a laptop or Blackberry have the option of staying home with a sick relative while checking in at work.
“What we try to do is help the person, if it’s possible, balance some work and their compassionate time,” says Pickard. “Unless we absolutely see a different scenario unfolding, we will not deduct pay or send them on leave without pay.”
When a family member is sick or has had an operation, employees appreciate that they can be out of the office, sign in at different times, do some work and tend to the relative.
“We have had so much feedback on how appreciative employees are of having that flexibility,” she says.
Along with lighter fare such as organized sports teams, golf tournaments and free frozen snacks on Fridays during the summer, Monsanto puts on and funds events such as an annual dinner and dance for employees and a separate Christmas party for employees’ children complete with gifts, games, entertainment, food and a visit from Santa.
While Monsanto checks the benefits often, it will do a major review at the start of its fiscal year 2010-2011 to see if there are areas it could tweak to enhance them even more, says Pickard. That will likely involve vacation and personal time, such has having the option to take a sabbatical or buying an extra week of vacation, she says.
“One of the things that’s always going to come up in any survey is work-life balance so we watch that really carefully to see how we’re doing and to see what more we can be doing,” says Pickard.
If HR does decide to change a policy, it would build a business case that would be vetted by various departments, such as legal and financial, and potentially have to go through the company’s board or sub-committee, she says.
And to keep the benefits up to date and relevant, there’s always constant reading and research, she says.
“Much of it isn’t necessarily rocket science — it’s just listening to what your people are asking for.”
