|
A caring culture and a commitment
to excellence are the prescription
for a healthy, productive work
environment at the Massachusetts
Medical Society, ranked No. 16 among the
Best Medium Companies to Work for in
America.
Founded in
1781, the society
is the nation’s
oldest medical
association and
publisher of the
prestigious New England Journal of
Medicine. The 200,000-circulation
weekly is the flagship of the society’s
extensive print and online publishing
operations that employ more than half of
its 410 staff members.
Vice President for Human Resources
Theresa Sciarappa prides herself on the
employee relations efforts of her sevenperson
department. “Making that one-on-one difference with employees is really
rewarding for them....People feel they
can go to HR and talk about anything.”
While senior management sets high
expectations for employees, “I think they
have a real commitment to the person
behind that job position....They have an
understanding that there is a personal
life as well,” says Susan Webb, director of
public health and education.
Employees like the “culture of respect
for both people and the work they’re
doing,” agrees newsletter editor Catherine
Ryan. “The leadership appreciates
us as individual people.”
A crown jewel of the society’s family-friendly
atmosphere is its wellequipped
backup day care center.
With a capacity of 12 children up to
age 12, the center is available for a $15
co-pay when illnesses, school closings
or other problems interrupt normal
day care arrangements. A “maternity
transition” program allows mothers
returning from maternity leave to
bring their infants to the center for up
to another eight weeks. The benefit is
“so popular that people reserve a space
as soon as their pregnancy test turns
blue,” says Melissa Hennessey, manager
of training and employee communications.
Other benefits include 90 percent
reimbursement of health insurance premiums,
tuition reimbursement, an onsite
exercise facility, dental insurance,
401(k) and defined benefit pension plans,
and generous vacation time. The benefits
package helps make up for nonprofit
compensation levels that are somewhat
less than market amid the Boston area’s
high-paying high-tech industry.
But employees often cite their appreciation
for the organization’s “sense of mission”
and “high standards.” There is a “culture
of excellence put on every product,”
says Daniel Muller, a medical illustrator.
“There’s a huge attention to detail.”
“I’m amazed by my colleagues on a
daily basis—not only the knowledge
that they bring to the job but their love
of it, their willingness to share,” says
Ryan.
All that good karma contributes to
long tenure -- 240 employees have worked
there at least six years. The average tenure
is 10 years, and annual turnover is a low 6
percent. A quarter of openings were filled
internally in the 2005–06 fiscal year, and
many employees are rehires, like Joe
Curro Jr., a senior IT developer who
returned to the society twice after leaving
for ill-fated dot-com jobs.
The staff’s long tenure and professional
growth especially contributes to
providing the association’s conference,
advocacy and educational services to its
18,000 members, most of whom are
physicians and have a 92 percent renewal
rate, says Executive Vice President
Corinne Broderick. “This is a very complex
organization; it’s not an easy place
to understand.”
But it is an easy place to find motivation
from its mission to advance medical
knowledge and promote good health care.
Sciarappa quotes a former president who
told the staff: “At some point in your life,
you or someone you love will be sick and
you’ll realize the value of what you do.”
|
