Ecolab is a multinational company with nearly 50,000 employees.
When the pandemic hit, Chief Human Resources Officer Laurie Marsh says her team took a hard look at their benefits offerings to ensure they were still adding value.
In our first installment of the CHRO Corner, “The Balancing Act” sat down with Marsh to discuss her decision to add new benefits during the pandemic, and why she feels it’s important to offer solutions for every age and stage of an employee’s career.
Listen to highlights from Marsh’s conversation with “The Balancing Act” here:
Balancing Act:
How did the pandemic inform your benefits decisions?
Marsh:
“It really brought into an even tighter focus the importance of an employer and the trust employees placed in employers. We felt we played a really important role in making sure that families continued to thrive while they were sheltering in place. And in doing so, we were able to use our buying power to really influence some pretty cool offerings, trying to hit every phase and stage of life. What we discovered as a consequence of the pandemic was something that we’re choosing to continue onward with, which is an enduring set of offerings that people really appreciate.”
Balancing Act:
Ecolab has a very tenured workforce. How does that impact the kinds of benefits you’ve decided to offer?
Marsh:
“You need to have a set of offerings that address the seasonality of a career and the seasonality of people’s lives. Acknowledging that long tenure means supporting the ‘sandwich generation,’ where you’re still raising kids and you’re grappling with seniors in your life.”
Balancing Act:
One benefit you introduced to your team this year was Dari by Homethrive. What drew you to Dari and how has it benefited your team to reduce their work, worry, and stress?
Marsh:
“It just felt like the perfect additive menu to the already robust menu of offerings we have for our associates here at the company. The time savings is probably not even quantifiable. It was a huge relief…to be able to take all that worry off the table in the moment was just such a gift. The hours and hours of time saved as a consequence was massive.”
Balancing Act:
What’s your message to other CHROs who don’t think they’ll see a return on investment in offering a caregiving benefit?
Marsh:
“They probably have not been close enough to somebody who’s been either in the sandwich generation or navigating senior support services. My challenge to them would be to get close to a couple of those use cases, and then understand the impact and the value delivered by providing this level of support. It pays back probably tenfold, maybe more, in very unexpected ways, but also in unexpected ways; inclusion or empathy and just a culture of caring. It’s really amplified that culture of caring for us at Ecolab.”
We’d love to partner with your organization to provide (much needed) family caregiving support. To learn more about supporting family caregivers, check out more resources on our website. To receive insights delivered straight to your inbox, sign up for our weekly newsletter!