Stories of Opportunity
Stories of Opportunity 2020 was a year of challenges. We faced many difficult situations, both in our personal lives and as a company. But every challenge was an opportunity to do something incredible, and VGM employees always delivered. This report highlights how our family of employee owners embraced our Power of One Principles to support each other, our customers, and our communities during this challenging year. In the video below, VGM CEO Mike Mallaro introduces our 2020 Stories of Opportunity.
Advancement and Recognition You may have noticed, but VGM isn’t like most other companies. The power of employee ownership means working here isn’t just a job. It means every employee owner has an equal opportunity to learn, grow, and advance. It means you can Create Your Future.
CREATE YOUR FUTURE Shanon Eckhardt began her career at VGM in 2012. But coming from California, she admits she was a little hesitant to sign on at first. “With a little leap of faith and a lot of hard work, I have had the privilege to be a part of an amazing team,” Shanon said. Luckily, Shanon was convinced—even persuading her best friend to move from California to join the VGM family too— and has since had a profound impact on the company and the employee owners around her. She rose through the ranks to her current role as a Vice President of Operations at HOMELINK and was recognized as the 2019 Van G. Miller Employee Owner of the Year.
When you own the place, you get to Create Your Future, every single day.
Shanon Eckhardt VP - Operations VGM HOMELINK
CHEER EACH OTHER ON
Traveling Trophy This year, we gave employee owners the opportunity to share the #vgmlove with a coworker who made a difference in their personal or professional life. Each recipient keeps the Traveling Trophy for a week before sending it on to the next deserving employee owner.
Advancement and Recognition in 2020
57
Promotions Wow! Beyond honored to receive this trophy today. Thanks very much to everyone at VGM who showed their dedication during this crazy year—your efforts are appreciated!
Lateral Moves
69
Jay Bracken CISSP, Information Security Officer VGM IT
Learning: Create Your Future CREATE YOUR FUTURE There’s no better testament to the Power of One than the VGM Leadership Summit, a bi-annual event that kicked off 2020 with the energy and enthusiasm needed to carry us through this year. On January 19-21, 250 VGM employee owners participated in a first-class training event that includedTED-style talks, team-building activities, and networking events that helped them learn and grow as VGM leaders. The event culminated with the annual VGM Awards ceremony, celebrating employee owners who make extraordinary contributions to VGM’s success.
There’s such great teamwork and chemistry in this VGM family,” said award winner Mike McGill. “It’s unstoppable. It’s a force. It’s employee ownership at its finest, and we’re just going to keep moving forward.” Mike McGill Account Manager Moxie
Learning Opportunities for Employee Owners in 2020 Managing Remote Teams: 70
Clifton StrengthsFinder: 74 RingCentral and Teams: 60
Leadership Summit: 250
VGMU Online Courses: 840 Mindful Leadership: 121 Change Mindset: 50
Mentor Program: 40
Insights Discovery (Colors): 66
Get Connected and Involved
ESOP Committee
DEI Committee Philanthropy
Danaya Bryant Business Analyst The van Halem Group
VGM Code
Women in Leadership Human Centric Cybersecurity Committee
Young Professionals
Women in Leadership “Being a part of Women in Leadership (WIL) has been rewarding to me. I’ve connected with other women who have created a space for ideas and points of view that I have not yet explored in my life. WIL has allowed me to tap into the confidence that I lacked in viewing myself as a leader.”
PROTECT OUR COMPANY “I considered myself to be pretty tech savvy before joining the team, but I’ve learned a lot in the last year. What I really like is the information and trainings we are sharing are not just applicable to work. It is easily applied to how we do things on our home devices as well, with the end result being the same: to keep us safe and protected.”
Jamie Schmitz Director of Claims VGM Insurance Services
CYBERSECURITY AMBASSAD R
Improving Quality of Life Through PROVIDE MEANINGFUL, MEMORABLE SERVICE What you do at VGM can make a significant impact for our customers, members, and patients who rely on us. The opportunity to provide Meaningful, Memorable Service to someone in need is in your hands. At HOMELINK, Ben Showalter put this principle into action with one of his patients. Ben worked with a patient who had outgrown their power wheelchair—a piece of equipment they’d been using for years. The patient needed an exact replacement, including custom parts, but larger. After two dedicated months of hard work, Ben was able to get a chair they could grow into. “His father and mother both said how excited he was, and by looking at the pictures, you can tell,” said Ben. “Seeing it from start to finish has helped me to know that what I do matters. And being able to see the pictures and the smile on his face, it sure brightens everybody’s day.”
Ben Showalter Patient Care Coordinator VGM HOMELINK
“ Seeing it from start to finish has helped me to know that what I do matters.”
h Quality Service We love receiving testimonials about how VGM employees go above and beyond. Brennah Weepie PCC Supervisor VGM HOMELINK
“This injured worker (IW) lives in Box Elder, South Dakota, which is such a hard area for our network. We knew this was going to be a tough referral. The IW was deaf and mute and could only communicate through text, and her English wasn’t always the greatest. Brennah texted the IW for two days prior to her trip taking place to ensure everything went to plan.”
Melissa Tabor Patient Care Coordinator VGM HOMELINK
Melissa worked with an ongoing patient for several months after an injury, providing translation services. With her help, they were able to return to an independent, normal life. HOMELINK received this message afterward: “I just wanted to reach out and THANK YOU for ALL of your help with this file. The patient saw the physician in clinic today and was released from care. THANK YOU again Melissa for everything you did to coordinate services on this file. It was a pleasure working with you!”
Employee Ownership As participants in an employee stock ownership plan, or ESOP, VGM is 100% employee owned. Employees typically meet participation requirements after a year of service, then receive an annual contribution to their ESOP retirement account.
OWN YOUR OWNERSHIP
VGM employee owners care deeply about the business, about our customers, and about each other. No one says it better than Francis Castro, Warehouse Supervisor, VGM Fulfillment, Nashville, and VGM award winner, in her acceptance speech.
During 2020, we created a video highlighting our VGM ESOP culture and won our first ever AACE Award from the national ESOP Association.
100%
VGM IS EMPLOYEE OWNED
Employees at ESOP companies:
Better retirement benefits
Higher wealth equality
More job satisfaction
Specifically at VGM Group: Significant wealth accumulation Average annual company contribution is 15% of wages PLUS a 3% match on your 401(k)
Average ESOP account balance for people who’ve worked at VGM for 10 years
their current annual wage.
What employee ownership means to … “Do what you can every day. It grows the company, it grows the ESOP, and most importantly, it grows YOU! I am proud to be a part of the VGM family and so proud that we are an ESOP company. How awesome is this that my employer cares about what is going to happen to me in the future? That they care that I will have money to be able to enjoy retirement? I don’t have to worry so much about Jessica Rindels putting money away now. PCC Supervisor I can count on my ESOP VGM HOMELINK plan for the future.” “Years ago, when we heard Van was going to transfer his ownership to an ESOP for employees, most of us had no idea what that meant. We now know it was one of the best decisions ever made for VGM. When you talk to fellow employees pretty much anywhere, you get the feeling of being part of a big family.”
Brad Werkmeister AVP, Freedom Link VGM & Associates
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion In June of 2020, VGM CEO Mike Mallaro hosted a town hall meeting with employees to discuss racial injustice and introduce new Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives in our company. This included renewed efforts for our DEI Committee. Wayne van Halem, President of The van Halem Group, a VGM company based in Atlanta, was no stranger to DEI. As a self-proclaimed “out and proud member of the LGBT community,” Wayne volunteered to help VGM’s DEI efforts. “I think of anyone who has had to fight for the right to do something, whether it’s equal rights, equal pay, or the right to marry the person you love, as someone who is diverse,” Wayne said. “So diversity has always been important to me, as someone who has had to fight for equal rights myself.” VGM acquired The van Halem Group in 2014. Even though he didn’t see a lot of diversity in VGM’s workforce, Wayne said he would not have been comfortable selling his company to a group that didn’t accept him or his diverse team. And while his VGM experience as a gay person has been overwhelmingly positive, he suspects that isn’t the case for everyone. “I guarantee you there are probably some young folks who are gay at VGM who may be struggling with it or haven’t come out, and their experience might be a little different,” Wayne said. “But that’s why I think it’s so important to have a DEI committee to show support to those folks, and that’s why I want to be part of it.”
“ Diversity has always been important to me, as someone who has had to fight for rights.”
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion The purpose of VGM’s DEI Committee is to support corporate initiatives to create positive change and become a more diverse company. The committee is made up of approximately 20 volunteers representing all levels, several business units, and various VGM locations. It meets monthly and devotes a portion of each meeting to DEI education for committee members.
VGM’s DEI Initiatives • DEI policies added to employee owner handbook • DEI training modules added to online training portal • DEI resource library added to company intranet • 150 VGM leaders participated in multiple DEI trainings • Floating holiday policy instituted • Relationships with local multicultural college student organizations established • Relationships with area high schools established • Diversity demographics tracking and measurement initiated • DEI onboarding video for new hires in progress • Targeted diversity recruitment initiated
Who is welcome?
EVERYONE!
Want to know what DEI is all about? Click here to learn more.
“I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the new floating holiday. I’ve usually had to burn through vacation time for Jewish holidays, but this year, I was able to take off on Yom Kippur without using PTO. It might not seem like a big deal, but it means a lot to me.” Jen Gilbert Senior Copywriter Moxie
Marta Bailey Follow-Up Coordinator VGM HOMELINK
“ I believe in love for all and hatred for none. That’s why I joined the DEI Committee.”
Accountability Metrics
Workforce by Gender
34% 34%
66% 66%
Workforce Workforce
Non-White
14%
Non-White
14%
43% 43%
57% 57%
Female
70% 30%
Male Female
Leadership
70% VP or Higher
Leadership
VP or Higher
Male
6% Workforce4% by Race and Ethnicity 4%
86%
30%
96%
6% 94%
86% Workforce
96% Leadership
94% VP or Higher
Workforce
Leadership
VP or Higher
White Non-White White Non-White
VGM has made progress toward diversity and equality of opportunity in recent years, but there’s more work to do. Our journey to make improvements on how we educate, communicate, and monitor our efforts to become a more inclusive and welcoming workplace continues.
Giving With #VGMLove MAKE A DIFFERENCE At VGM, helping others is what we do every day. It’s that desire to serve and care for those around us that makes VGM employees so good at what they do. Our 2020 Be the Change charity partner was Peoples Health Clinic, a nonprofit clinic that continued to provide affordable healthcare throughout the pandemic.
This year we also made mas healthcare workers, cleaned a tornado in Nashville, and p holiday gifts for 200 foster k Here’s how Peoples Clinic responded to our gifts: “Behavioral health is experiencing a shortage across the nation, leaving some of our most vulnerable without the mental health care they need,” stated Christine Kemp, CEO of Peoples Community Health Clinic. “VGM’s contribution will play a big role in expanding the certification of our behavioral health staff.”
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Employee Well-being FINDING BALANCE VGM Group’s Power of One Principle, Welcome Change, was a theme throughout 2020, guiding not only employee owners but corporate decisions as well. Shifting to a mostly remote workforce combined with fluctuating school and daycare arrangements compounded the year’s difficulties for parents with children at home. To help parents juggle responsibilities at work and home, while prioritizing the wellbeing of employee owners and their families, VGM offered some employee owners the option to modify their work hours.
Flexible Hours for Parents For Samantha Valle, a HOMELINK Patient Care Coordinator, flexible hours solved a child care crisis early in the pandemic. Spreading her work hours across early morning, nap time, and post-bedtime has allowed Samantha to not only spend more time with her 18-month-old son, but also improve her job performance. “I definitely feel a boost in productivity while working some of the nontraditional hours, as it allows work to be done without all of the normal day-to-day interruptions we face,” she said. “I am forever grateful for the support that my leadership gave me in allowing this to happen!” Samantha Valle Patient Care Coordinator VGM HOMELINK
“Having all my kids home while trying to work full time was tough, but my leaders understood that my position allowed for the flexibility, and they took a chance on me. Since those first two weeks in June/July, I have had multiple changes to my schedule. Each time, my leaders have listened and supported the transitions. They trust me and know that my 40 hours online is quality work.” Jennifer Ambrose Reauthorization Coordinator VGM HOMELINK
“My flex schedule gave me the time I needed to ensure my six kids were still participating in their education while not letting my team down. I love the quote, ‘Teamwork makes the dream work.’ I say that to my children almost every day and use it while at work. I am very thankful to VGM for recognizing that this year has thrown us so many curveballs and accommodating their employees.”
Kayla Tanner Patient Care Coordinator VGM HOMELINK
Finding Fun FIND THE FUN IN YOUR DAY Employee ownership impacts every aspect of our company culture. Because when you’re in charge, there’s an opportunity to make your place of work more than just a place to work. You get to make it fun. If you’ve met Kyle Brown of the Human Capital team, you know what we mean.
“ I love all that VGM has to offer employee owners. Being a connection point is my favorite part of the job.” Kyle is often the first impression people get of VGM when they visit, and they take notice of the pride and joy he takes in his work. “Kyle has such a welcoming and friendly approach—even when things get thrown at him unexpectedly,” said Kelsey Burke, HR Business Partner, Human Capital. “He is always willing to help and provides excellent customer service.” Take a cue from Kyle. Find the Fun in Your Day. There’s plenty of opportunity to smile thanks to employee ownership.
Thank you for a great 2020 of opportunity. We know 2021 will be even better.
After all, our future depends on it.
careers.vgmgroup.com