Whatever the case, in order to attract


Millennials, the largest demographic pool of workers out there, Gallup advises: “Or- ganizations should ensure that their attrac- tion and retention strategies highlight and deliver on learning opportunities, career- pathing, and performance management standards.” Vi, a luxury senior living company head-


quartered in Chicago, has spent the past de- cade retooling its company culture to reflect this approach. Every single employee within its company


has access to an “eCampus,” with thousands of online courses that focus on personal ca- reer development relevant to an employee’s work and field of specialty and beyond.


TOP WORKPLACE


THE SHELTER GROUP/BRIGHTVIEW SENIOR LIVING


Based in Baltimore, Md., The Shelter Group/Brightview Senior Living was recognized in The Baltimore Sun 2016 Top Workplaces issue with special recognition in the area of ethics.


Brightview Senior Living, part of the property development and management company The Shelter Group, opened its first community 18 years ago in Baltimore, where the company is headquartered. It now operates 35 communities in eight states.


One of the company’s benefits that sets it apart from others, says Ron Bryan, Brightview’s vice president of human resources, is its health and wellness program, which is managed by a full- time wellness manager.


The company offers free health coaching, which is supplied by an outside vendor. It also offers free smoking cessation coaching and prenatal care coaches. Bryan says that its annual medical plan cost increases are in the two percent range as opposed to the more common eight to nine percent range.


Brightview funds its own medical plan for employees directly instead of buying insurance from an insurance company, so it puts a heavy emphasis on wellness and cost control. In the past year, the company signed up for a service called Healthcare Bluebook, which enables employees to shop around for the most reasonably-priced healthcare services for tests and measurements. Employees who opt for lower-priced services, such as lower-cost MRIs, can receive gift cards between $25 and $100 as a reward.


Employees who want to access the richest plans at the lowest costs complete health screenings that provide a third party with information on employees’ blood pressure, cholesterol blood glucose, and BMI. The data is aggregated by a third party provider and informs the company’s wellness campaigns. One recent 12-week motivational campaign to encourage fitness, for example, was supplied by The Wellness Council of America, a group that builds wellness campaigns for corporate employees. As part of the package, Brightview offered employees discounts on Fitbits and those who participated in the program were eligible to win prizes. Other campaigns in the past have focused on employees’ financial health.


“Every year, we continue to look at every position and say: ‘What else do we need to offer to support and develop the competencies and growth of our employees?’” says Vi’s Judy Whitcomb, senior vice president of human resources and learning.


Front-line employees have the opportunity


to participate in Vi’s one-year Management Development Program that could enable them to land a leadership position. Vi also of- fers a six-month Emerging Leaders program


for new leaders. Some of Vi’s course materials and resources are presented in Tagalog, Cre- ole, and Spanish because for many of Vi’s employees, English is not their first language. “Every year, we continue to look at every position and say: ‘What else do we need to offer to support and develop the competen- cies and growth of our employees?,” says Vi’s Whitcomb. One of Vi’s leadership competencies is


“employee development.” Company, de- partment, and individual goals include a focus on employee development, and man- agers are evaluated on the achievement of such goals. Compensation decisions are also tied to goals and the achievement of leader- ship competencies. That is designed to en- courage managers to take a sincere interest in their reports’ careers and to underscore the importance of Vi’s learning culture. High potential employees have the oppor-


tunity to participate in Vi’s year-long Break- through Leadership Program, which involves classroom training by Vi executives, graduates from prior programs, as well as faculty from DePaul University. Following a series of assess- ments and classroom learning, Breakthrough Leadership Program participants engage in a six-month virtual program through Harvard Business Publishing, which includes virtual learning sessions, online learning, and study groups. DePaul professor Robert Rubin pro- duced a report last November concluding that given the magnitude of observed performance increases, Vi will realize an estimated return on investment value of $123,000 per career employee from this year-long program. Learning opportunities, and the result of


those opportunities, are published internally through an internal employee newsletter with employee career profiles as well as on Vi’s ca- reer site. Senior leaders at Vi also highlight the importance of career development by re- counting their own career trajectories through the company through online videos. The


ISSUE 4 2017 / ARGENTUM.ORG 17


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60