Securian: AARP Best Employers 2008

By: AARP.org | Source: AARP.org | September 2008

Winning years: 2008, 2007, 2005, 2004
Industry: Insurance
Location: St. Paul, Minn.
URL: www.securian.com
2008 Rank: 6

Highlights of 2008 Winning Strategies

One of AARP’s top-10 Best Employers for Workers Over 50 in 2008, Securian is committed to its employees and to their evolving needs. Securian offers employees the benefit of six months of job-protected leave when they need time off for their own illness or the illness of a dependent. Securian’s Occupational Health department provides the following services to employees: two on-site nurses for employees’ needs, resting rooms, lactation rooms, an internal emergency-response system, blood pressure monitoring, free tetanus boosters and flu shots, and ergonomic evaluations and workstation changes. The average tenure of employees age 50+ is 17.8 years.

Additional Policies and Practices:

Recruiting: Securian recruiters maintain listings of previous employees and retirees to help identify candidates for rehire.

Workplace Culture/Continued Opportunities: Securian offers employees the following learning and development programs: tuition reimbursement, in-house classroom training, and certification classes. Employees must work 30+ hours per week to be eligible for the tuition reimbursement program and 20+ hours per week to be eligible for in-house classroom training and certification classes. In the past 12 months, 90 percent of Securian employees took part in at least one of the training opportunities, with an average of three hours spent in training.

Securian offers its employees more than 75 internal courses, many of which are taken by employees age 50+, including: Adult Learning Principles, Change and Transition Management, Stress Management, Diversity, Managing Personal Growth, Time Management, and Project Management.

The company celebrates long-service anniversaries with announcements, parties, and awards.

Securian has made the following benefit enhancements based on employee feedback: new corporate-training programs, changes in leadership and recognition, improved employee communication, and targeted teamwork training. The Speak Up policy empowers employees by enabling them to openly voice concerns or complaints.

Employees have the opportunity to work on temporary assignments in other departments, on team projects, and on cross-functional teams. They also have access to formal job-rotation programs. Accommodations are made for employees in need, including job reassignments, purchasing special equipment and technology, creating modified work schedules, assisting with telecommuting during recovery or incapacitation, and hiring interpreters for the hearing impaired.

Benefits/Health: Full- and part-time employees working 20 or more hours per week receive individual and family medical coverage, individual and family prescription-drug coverage, individual and family vision and dental insurance, and short-term disability coverage. The company offers individual and family long-term care insurance to all employees. It offers long-term disability exclusively to those working at least 40 hours a week.

Health benefits for retirees under age 65 and age 65+ include individual and spousal medical and drug coverage, individual and spousal vision insurance, individual and spousal long-term care insurance, and individual and spousal life insurance or other death-benefit coverage. New hires are eligible for these benefits upon retirement.

Securian offers domestic partner benefits to employees and retirees. The company also offers employees flexible-spending accounts to assist in covering out-of-pocket health care costs.

Benefits/Financial: Securian offers a 401(k), a defined benefit plan, and stock options to its full- and part-time employees. Employees may choose to invest in lifecycle funds, and those age 50+ can make catch-up contributions to their 401(k) plans. Employees receive financial planning information from staff members, from the firm that administers their 401(k) plan, and from external financial-planning experts.

The company provides a free week-long pre-retirement seminar for employees and their spouses. Securian offers paid time off designated for caregiving, short-term time off without pay, and long-term leaves of absence without pay to allow for caregiving. In addition to six months of job-protected leave, employees are entitled to an extended-illness leave program that provides 100 percent pay for one week of each year of service, less a one-week waiting period.

The company offers the following wellness programs to full- and part-time employees: flu shots, health screenings, health club discounts, physical activity and exercise programs, weight loss programs, stress management training, and information on pandemic flu. Sixty-one percent of Securian’s employees have used at least one of its wellness benefits during the past 12 months. Securian offers on-site care for children and grandchildren and referral services to help find care for children and grandchildren and eldercare, to its full- and part-time employees.

Benefits/Alternative Work Arrangements: Securian offers the following alternative work arrangements to its full- and part-time employees: flextime, compressed work schedules, job sharing, and telecommuting. Employees can make the transition into retirement by transferring from full-time to part-time status. Another option is to retain full-time status and benefits and to use the voluntary time-off program, which allows employees to work 90 percent of a full-time schedule. Full-time employees are eligible to move to part-time work on a permanent or temporary basis.

· Opportunities for Retirees: Securian currently has 275 retirees and a person directly responsible for retiree relations. The company stays connected with its retirees by communicating regularly, inviting them to organization events and celebrations, providing ongoing access to retirement planning workshops and information, and formally acknowledging employees upon their retirement. The company stays connected with retirees and employees who have worked for Securian for 25 years through the North Star 25 Club. Securian offers temporary work assignments, consulting and contract work, telecommuting, volunteering, and full- and part-time work to retirees.

Age of Workforce: Twenty-two percent of Securian employees are age 50+. The average tenure of employees age 50+ is 17.8 years.