May 29, 2008 10:43 pm US/Central
Go Inside 1 Of The Best Places To Work
(WCCO)
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For 12 years General Mills has been named one of the best places for working mothers. So what makes it such a great place? We went inside to find out.
AP
Minnesota is home to some of the biggest companies in the country and arguably some of the best. This week General Mills was named one of the best places for multicultural women by Working Mother Magazine for the fifth year in a row.
It's one of a number of accolades the company has received over the years. For 12 years it has been named one of the best places for working mothers. So what makes it such a great place? We went inside to find out.
"You know if I need to get my eyebrows waxed, I can go down and get my eyebrows waxed at some point during the week and not have to eat into my family time on the weekends to do that," said Kelly Baker, Vice President of Corporate Diversity.
From the hair and nail salon, to the coffee shop to the bank next door it's easy to mistake the inside of General Mills' corporate headquarters for a shopping mall.
"Everything is here. There's a doctors office, the gym, the banks and stuff. I think I do more productive work when I'm here because I don't have to worry about running off to all these different places -- it's all in one spot," said Christopher Hill, Event Sales Manager.
Those perks extend beyond the building. Each summer employees work summer hours which means half-day Fridays. The number of employees working flex time has more than doubled in the last seven years.
New mother Beth DiMarco is a Product Sales Manager and one who has taken advantage of the flex time.
"I have a laptop so when (my daughter) got pink eye for the first time I was able to work from home," she said.
DiMarco's current favorite feature is the on-site infant day care. Employees at other General Mills locations across the country can take their children to two national child care chains, where they receive a 10 percent discount.
The company's latest venture is the infant care clinic. Two Wednesday's a month doctors treat employees' children on the spot. That's on top of the health clinic the company already has inside its headquarters for employees.
"I think there's just a fundamental respect for people's whole lives here," said Baker.
Baker said General Mills' focus on family started years ago.
"There were a group of our senior women, these would be vice presidents and such throughout the organization, that came together and said part of our role is to ensure that we have a pipeline of women to ascend to senior leadership," she said.
It was a way of life built around the company's brands -- a chance to live up to the Betty Crocker image.
"We're an organization that cares a lot about kids, we care a lot about moms. A lot of the products that we sell moms need to approve and purchase. So yes, there is a consumer angle to this," said Baker.
With the downturn in the economy you may be asking, "How can anyone afford to offer these kinds of perks to its employees?" At General Mills, they say they can't afford not to.
"In order to attract and retain and keep those people very, very focused and productive here we need to offer a place where they want to be," said Baker.
The company won't say how much it spends offering these kinds of perks, but says its retention rate is double its competitors.
"I've been with the company eight years and it's the benefits that got me here and they've definitely helped keep me here," said DiMarco.
Whether it's the ability to have their car worked on while they work or the chance to swing by the company store to grab milk on the way home, General Mills said all these perks are designed to help employees achieve a balance between work and home life. The company believes all this nourishes the soul and provides the perfect food for thought.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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