Page 285 - How America's Best Places to Work Inspire Extra Effort in Extraordinary Times

272B RE-ENGAGE

born under our health plan each year. All of the mothers are returning
after taking the three months of paid maternity leave. Other evidence
is that our overall health-care costs are usually at or below market
trends.

Q: Are your employees sharing more of the costs of health care,
like at most companies?
Noel: Yes, even before the downturn of 2008 we were moving in the
direction of transferring cost sharing to employees in concert with our
prevention initiatives. About three years ago employees paid zero to
10 percent of health-care costs. Today employees are paying about 13
percent and, by the start of next year, most will be paying 14 percent.
We have no plans to go higher than that. There has been no back-
lash from employees over cost sharing because employees do compare
the actual dollar amount they pay for health care versus what their
friends and family pay, and they realize that what Vertex charges is
still much lower than what other companies charge their employees.

Q: Are there other new benefits you’d like to comment on?
Noel: Yes, it’s interesting that we were thinking about emphasizing
financial wellness even before the financial crisis. We were already
planning to hold our first annual financial wellness week. We have
401(k) and Employee Stock Purchase Plan providers come and do
seminars. We also instituted College Coach recently, where we pro-
vide counseling and support for parents to help their kids get ready for
college. It has been a big hit; we had standing room only at our last
session. The group legal plan and discounted pet insurance were also
new this year, and employees were surprisingly appreciative.

Q: Do you put a lot of emphasis on communicating benefits to
employees?
Noel: Yes, especially during open enrollment time. We’re always try-
ing to come up with new and creative ways to communicate. We have
a diverse population who like to receive information via different de-
livery systems. Some employees prefer the highlights, some want more