Flexibility, employee socials, even PTO for birthday: unique ways companies get workers

Wisconsin’s jobs economy has been humming.  

Unemployment hit a record low at 2.7% and there are more than two openings per job seeker.  

Workers seemingly have their pick of industries and that has caused companies to be more strategic in how they attract and retain their employees.  

The coronavirus pandemic showed many companies that employees can make valuable contributions to the company while working from home. The regular rigor of working in an office wasn’t as necessary as previously thought.

Here's a look at how some key employers in southeastern Wisconsin are working to attract and retain workers:

Zywave pivots to primarily remote work 

Zywave, a Milwaukee-based software company, has its corporate headquarters in the city but has shifted to be “a remote-first company.”  

The office remains available to anyone who wishes to use it and we’ve added “Fun Tuesdays” to enhance our culture with in-person social opportunities that bring the team together weekly,” said Liz Brooks, vice president of human resources for Zywave.

“We’ve also added monthly virtual events so our remote workers feel included in the festivities.” 

That flexibility, Brooks said, is the “most highly regarded benefit” Zywave offers to its employees.  

“We offer a flexible working schedule, which provides employees the opportunity to create and manage their own schedule,” Brooks said. “In addition, the work/life balance offered at Zywave is unmatched with uncapped paid time off for most employees, company volunteer days and outings, and incentive/reward trips for top performers.”   

West Bend Mutual listens to employee feedback

For West Bend Mutual Insurance, the company relies on surveys and discussions with employees to get feedback on the company.  

“As a silver lining to the pandemic, we improved access to systems, tools, and information they needed to succeed, whether working from home or in the office,” said Shelley McGraw, marketing communications manager for West Bend Mutual Insurance.

“These changes included technology improvements, additional communication channels, and in-person and online social events. In September 2022, we held our first all-associate summit, a weeklong learning, networking, and social event. It was well received and will be a tradition in the future.” 

McGraw said allowing the option for employees to work in the office, home, a hybrid of both or fully remote has been “instrumental in improving our success at recruiting and hiring qualified candidates in today’s environment.” 

“West Bend is growing, so we have some aggressive hiring needs to fulfill new positions and replace vacancies,” McGraw said. “However, we recognize our associates are our greatest asset, so to deliver on our promises, we must continue to understand their needs and find solutions to ensure we provide the best tools, information, and support they need to succeed.” 

Cielio leans into diversity, inclusion

At Cielo, a Brookfield-based talent acquisition agency, the company has leaned into strengthening the diversity of their employees in a inclusive way to separate themselves from other companies.

"We invest in tools, resources and programs to enable our talent to grow and discover new opportunities and have built our own internal Cielo University to help facilitate that growth internally. We believe our differences make us stronger, and in the importance of diversity, equity, inclusion," said Jamie Marquardt, vice president of corporate communications.

"Employee resource groups, ongoing education, inclusion infusion events, and an online discussion group are just some of the ways in which all our people play an active role in maintaining and enhancing an inclusive workplace."

Cielo changed the way it offers paid time off as a way to recruit and retain workers to allow them to "to create their own sense of work/life balance."

Marquardt said the company enhanced paid parental leave for new parents, extended a four-week paid sabbatical for our tenured employees, and developed an employee emergency fund to support employees at their greatest time of need. 

"Our people are also energized by the benefits we added to get a paid day off annually for their birthday, as well as their work anniversary," Marquardt said.

Next Door addresses unique staffing challenges

Milwaukee non-profit Next Door, which helps improve the intellectual, physical and emotional support of children and families, needs staff to do its important work and offers advanced training to teachers through its Pathways Program.

Cristina Crogan,  vice president of development and communication for Next Door, said the organization has been impacted by a number of different factors including a higher demand for remote work, low unemployment rate, and employees making career changes.

"The national teacher shortage is even more prominent in early childhood education because the field continues to offer lower compensation than other fields," Corgan said. "To open all classrooms requires the retention of all current teaching positions and hiring for 30 to 40 additional teaching positions for our 29^th Street and Capitol Drive sites."

To try to retain workers, Corgan said Next Door has implemented a remote work policy for positions where it's applicable.

"In addition a variety of appreciation and culture-building activities and initiatives take place throughout the year," Corgan said. "These include monthly wellness initiatives, health screenings and appreciation activities, days where all staff members are together to learn about each other and develop relationships, professional development days, opportunities for two-way communication about organizational needs and issues, and three Success Coaches to support our staff members through personal and professional challenges."