Maximus’ dedication to our employees keeps us on top of our game, delivering services to our customers. During the COVID-19 pandemic, our commitment to Maximus employees kept our retention rates strong despite increased employee turnover across the nation, notably termed "The Great Resignation."  

Fast Company recently highlighted Maximus in an article touting our success in retaining talent last year. While companies in some industries saw turnover rates jump 15 percent or more, we maintained steady employment levels while supporting individuals in the communities we serve.  

This recognition is fantastic and, I believe, reflects the great culture at Maximus. We have remained strong through the past couple of years because our employees connect with and understand our mission and its impact on our government and often on our neighbors and fellow citizens. At the start of the pandemic, many companies chose to lay off employees in preparation for the unknown. This was not part of our pandemic recovery plan because Maximus employees work hand-in-hand with many federal, state, and local government and health agencies.  

Maximus was proactive in its retention efforts even before the complication of a worldwide pandemic. In recent years, we implemented programs and process improvements to help us remain competitive, strengthen our culture and retain and support our most important assets – our employees. The result was a retention rate that remained close to pre-pandemic levels despite weathering the downstream effects of the pandemic and a looming economic recession.  

Some programs we've implemented include: 

• Establishing frequent Employee Engagement Surveys to better understand the sentiment and experiences among employees, provide leaders with insight, and give employees a voice.
• Building our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) program that began in late 2020.
• Updating our global compensation framework and regularly monitoring both internal and external pay trends. This includes maintaining merit increases even when a lot of the country paused their merit adjustments.
• Enhancing our Employee Value Proposition (EVP), which helps us remain competitive and helps position the company as a top place to work within our market.
• Initiating flexible, outside-of-the-box working solutions, including hybrid and remote work wherever our clients will allow for it.
• Launching wellness programs to address new and changing employee needs.
• Expanding our Employee Assistance Program (EAP) that provides free services to employees.
• Establishing an Employee Assistance Fund to help employees facing national disasters and encountering extreme personal hardships.
• Beginning our Get Stuff Done Day to help people mentally cope with a meeting intensive zoom culture. Once a month we have a day without internal meetings in order to give employees a chance to focus on catching up on important tasks and to decompress mentally from all of the meetings.

I believe our steady retention rate during the pandemic is a testament to the proactive measures we've taken to support our employees. We know one size doesn't fit all, and we must be flexible and listen to our workforce. Being responsive to their needs has made all the difference. With this understanding, we look toward the future as we implement programs and policies that keep our employees happy and talented applicants excited to join us.