A Better Employee Experience Through Enhanced Benefits
Northwestern Medicine is committed to supporting workforce well-being to help ensure an excellent employee experience. A big part of that work is listening to staff feedback and making changes where possible to meet their needs.
Following town hall meetings, listening sessions and more, leaders from across the health system came together in 2023 to develop market-competitive and sustainable benefits enhancements that address what many employees said was important to them.
The recent enhancements impact several areas, including:
- Time off
- Education support
- Eligibility for benefits
- Well-being
- Transparency
“Hearing from our employees directly helps tell the story of what they’re looking for,” says Gaurav Monga, director, Human Resources, Benefits Administration. “Northwestern Medicine benefits are here to support the physical, emotional, financial and social well-being of our teams. To give everyone the best choices possible, we regularly update and enhance these options.”
Prioritizing well-being
With the enhanced benefits, most employees see an increase in their paid time off (PTO) hours, including the addition of an annual Personal Holiday, which is a day that eligible employees may take off work for their own reasons, such as a religious holiday, a birthday or any other day with special significance to them.
The duration of paid parental leave was increased to give employees the opportunity to spend more time with their newest family member.
“When we look at the Total Rewards package, we want to make sure we are in line with peers in our industry,” Monga explains. “While each employee might not take advantage of each benefit, we have learned that it is vital that everyone have those options available to themselves and their teammates.”
Providing support
To help ease the burden of student debt, the Student Loan Repayment benefit lifetime maximum for both full- and part-time employees was increased.
An improved Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provides complimentary resources, including a 30% increase in the number of no-cost mental health visits. The new EAP offers more access to mental health and work-life resources, such as teen text therapy, as well as child care and older adult care referrals.
New hires can access the full range of benefits sooner than ever before, and PTO is accessible to employees as soon as they start accruing time.
“We know that you have a lot of options when considering joining or staying with Northwestern Medicine,” says Monga. “When you are comparing potential employers, we want to make sure that the combined value of Northwestern Medicine’s reputation, culture, communities and benefits is clear.”
Learn more about Northwestern Medicine benefits and explore which opportunities await you.