Taking care of Chimers: How we think about benefits and rewards at Chime
“The reality is, there are so many things that go into giving someone what they need to come to work and thrive other than just a paycheck,” explains Kristen Jordan, the Benefits and Wellness Partner on our People Operations team. “Benefits can make a huge difference in an employee’s life both at work and at home,” she adds.
Kristen recently joined Chime to work alongside Cory McGonigle Rose, our Senior Director of People Operations, Total Rewards, and HRIS. The two partner on the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of our benefits offering to Chimers. They worked together previously and are back at it, this time helping Chimers become the best versions of themselves. Here’s a look at how.
Leading with empathy
Cory and Kristen both got a look at ‘the other side of the bench’ when they became mothers three months apart from each other. “I never truly understood what it was like to be a working mom before becoming a mother — it opened my eyes to how life can change and how imperative it is that companies support their employees through those changes,” says Kristen. Cory echoes Kristen’s sentiment: “Once you’re on the other side of the bench, you understand that benefits really make a difference.”
Seeing what life is like ‘on the other side of the bench’ has always been a leading principle for the two women, who have relied on leading with empathy through their entire careers. By understanding the wide variety of experiences that Chimers might have and stepping into others’ shoes, they’re able to best plan for and provide benefits that cater to the broad range of Chimers’ needs at work and at home.
Because whether Cory, Kristen, or their team has had an experience or not, they know that the success of their work comes down to their ability to empathize with others and offer a benefits program that supports everyone, no matter which bench they’re sitting on.
Why benefits matter
“Empathy is the first step towards developing a benefits program that serves a diverse range of needs,” Cory says. “Step two is understanding what success of that program looks like.”
Benefits and rewards matter for a variety of reasons which can be boiled down to two: hiring Chimers — and keeping them. “Every benefit can be a differentiator for a candidate considering a company because they can cater to their individual situation and needs,” explains Cory. Once someone is hired, benefits and rewards help keep them engaged, happy, and productive by supporting them at work and at home. In fact, benefits can raise productivity at work by lowering stress levels at home: “When employees have to pay for something out of pocket, like special health treatments, it can end up costing them more than it would the company through a benefits program and causing added stress for the employee,” Cory says.
So when it comes to benefits and rewards at Chime, Cory and Kristen think about the success of their work in terms of helping individual Chimers. “If we can reach one Chimer by catering to their needs or helping them solve a crisis or issue, that’s success,” Kristen says. “Because the number of benefits we offer is so broad, not every benefit program will benefit everyone — if we are impacting individuals with our programs, that’s a win.”
Benefits and rewards at Chime
Cory and Kristen have developed a program that strives to support Chimers’ wellbeing in 4 key areas: Physical, Emotional, Financial, and Social. “Our emphasis is on the individual first — we want Chimers to come to work and be their best selves, and we know that their ability to do so relies on multiple facets of their lives,” Cory says.
When deciding which benefits to offer, Cory and Kristen start with empathy and lead with diversity to ensure that every person knows there’s a benefit, program, or Slack group to support them. For example, they recently rolled out Maven, a perk to help people starting families, including those in the LGBTQIA+ community who might encounter additional challenges when starting or growing their families. “It wasn’t just about offering family planning support, it was about leading with equity in mind and meeting Chimers where they need support,” Kristen says. “Taking into consideration the diverse range of realities we all face greatly informs our benefits offerings.”
Offering one-off benefits might be enough for some, but at Chime, the team has worked hard to develop a cohesive program of benefits that stitch together to bridge the needs across Chimers’ lives. “For example, someone using the Origin financial planning tool might decide that they’d like to write a will, at which point they can lean on RocketLawyer, another perk, for support,” Cory explains. “We think about adding benefits to our program that play well together and support Chimers throughout their entire story—including their mental health and wellness, too (through Modern Health, for example),” she adds.
Cory and Kristen recently overhauled Chime’s benefits to include a host of new offerings because they’ve realized that change is the only constant, especially as Chime grows and changes as a company. In 2021, their priority is finding even more inclusive benefits to make sure every individual Chimer feels supported. “As the world evolves, we want to stay ahead of the curve using our community and access to technology,” Cory says, “So that we’re seeing our blindspots and addressing them before they become an issue for Chimers.”
Helping Chimers achieve our mission
“Chime is a company that believes in protecting and furthering the financial health of our members — we care about them. In order to deliver on our mission and be there for our members, we must first care about our employees — that’s where our benefits and rewards programs come in,” Cory explains.
When Chimers can thrive, bring their full and authentic selves to work, feel supported, and do the best work of our careers, we’ll be that much closer to achieving our goals as an organization.
Interested in joining our team or learning more about our benefits? Visit our careers page — we’d love to hear from you!
