Multifamily and single-family real estate developer Van Metre Cos. has rolled out a new series of benefits for its 490 employees, aimed at providing them with the flexibility to keep themselves and their families safe and well in the face of the COVID-19 crisis and its challenges.
"Van Metre values family, and so the company has rolled out flexible work schedules, wellness hours, tutoring credits, and other benefits to encourage flexibility without having to sacrifice their professional advancement,” says Kevin Rabil, executive vice president of Van Metre Homes. “We know that productivity and creativity are strongly associated with a safe and healthy environment." He continues, "As we have navigated through this challenging year, the added flexibility and benefits offered by Van Metre has allowed employees the opportunity to continue to thrive."
In response to concerns from working parents, particularly mothers, that the COVID-19 crisis might force them to choose between child care and their position, the company has introduced a flexible work hours program. This system allows employees to temporarily alternate or reduce hours in order to accommodate their children, or else create the schedule that works best for them.
"A major component of The Van Metre Cos. mission is to create a culture that supports our team members in a balanced life,” says Glen Skutnik, executive vice president of Van Metre Investment Properties. “When the pandemic pushed us into a remote operation, we created the Crisis Task Force to focus on ways we could keep our culture intact. We asked our teams to tell us what they needed in order to remain efficient through anonymous surveys."
The company’s existing employee benefits included complete closure between the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, half-day Fridays, and prohibiting meetings after 2 p.m. during the first week of school in order to allow parents more time to connect with children. Additional new benefits for Van Metre Cos. employees include:
- A 50% increase in monthly wellness benefits
- A tutoring reimbursement of $75 per month
- Free Audible accounts and book discussion groups
- 40 additional wellness hours for the year
- Home office stipends, as well as allowances to work from home through 2020 or longer
- Monthly virtual social events
- Paid sick leave
- Accountability groups
"Wellness of both mind and body had always been a top priority for the company, but early this spring we took a very hard look at how we could invest in the well-being of both our employees and their families,” says Tiffany Lamkin, vice president of people operations for Van Metre Cos. “We know uncertainty leads to anxiety and we knew this couldn't be a one-size-fits-all situation, so we maintained total transparency and flexibility to meet each individual employee's needs."
