OCT. 2024 UPDATE: KVC’s Work Wellbeing score continued rising after this article was published, and is now at 81. New employee feedback may continue to raise the number. See KVC’s current rating and employee reviews on Indeed here.

“What everyone in the world wants is a good job,” says Jim Clifton, Chairman and CEO of Gallup. His company knows this for a fact; Gallup has surveyed 35 million employees worldwide on work wellbeing. 

But what exactly is a good job? “Gallup defines a good job as one with 30+ hours of work a week with a consistent paycheck from an employer,” Clifton elaborates. “A great job is a job in which you believe your boss cares about your development, you can use your strengths every day at work, and you believe your work makes a contribution to something. So your job matters and, subsequently, your life matters.” 

It’s this ethos that led KVC Health Systems, a family of child- and family-serving nonprofits, to partner with Gallup in 2018. This began a shift to reclaim the values-driven culture of KVC’s early days, creating a highly engaged, exceptional place to work. The time and energy invested in creating a culture of employee engagement have paid off, and the results show in everything from KVC’s employee engagement rate to its employee retention rate to even its customer experience scores. 

Now, a new metric is further proof that KVC really is an exceptional place to work. In April 2023, the world’s #1 jobs website Indeed launched an enhanced Work Wellbeing Score for employers. KVC Health Systems debuted with a 77 Work Wellbeing score, a rating so high and rare that it places it among the top 1% of employers nationally. 

Learn more about work wellbeing and engagement, how KVC has created a positive, supportive culture, and how that culture benefits employees, clients, and supporters alike.  

What is Work Wellbeing and Why Does It Matter? 

According to Indeed, fair pay and flexibility are now considered foundational needs for workers. New expectations are on the rise with people seeking more wellbeing at work.  

In short, the way people feel at work matters. Stress, lack of satisfaction, and lack of happiness are key reasons that drive people to find better work. 

That’s why Indeed developed the Work Wellbeing Score in partnership with leading happiness and wellbeing academic experts.  

The Work Wellbeing Score is based on how employees rate four key indicators: happiness, purpose, satisfaction, and stress. 

In addition to these four, Indeed also measures 11 other key drivers that lead to wellbeing at work: accomplishment, appreciation, belonging, energy, fair pay, flexibility, inclusion and respect, learning, support and encouragement, trust, and being well-managed. 

These insights allow job seekers to find companies where they can thrive and employers can build better work cultures that attract, nurture, and retain talent. 

The Work Wellbeing score scale shows what each score means. For example, scores of 69-71 are Average, 72-75 are Above Average, and 76 or higher are High.  

As of July 2023, KVC Health Systems ranks High or Above Average in 14 of the 15 categories. This means KVC is outperforming its peers in child welfare and mental health, its peers in healthcare more broadly, and even most for-profit companies across all sectors. 

KVC Health Systems’ Work Wellbeing: 

• 84 (High) – Purpose 
• 78 (High) – Satisfaction 
• 77 (High) – Happiness 
• 69 (Average) – Stress-free 
• 77 (High) – Overall Work Wellbeing Score 

KVC Health Systems on the Other 11 Key Drivers: 

• 83 (High) – Learning 
• 83 (High) – Appreciation 
• 82 (High) – Flexibility 
• 82 (High) – Support  
• 81 (High) – Management 
• 81 (High) – Inclusion 
• 81 (High) – Achievement 
• 78 (High) – Belonging 
• 78 (High) – Trust 
• 77 (High) – Energy 
• 74 (Above Average) – Compensation 

KVC Health Systems in the Words of Our Team Members

Hear from employees from different states and hundreds of positions such as case manager, therapist, and behavioral health technician. Below are just some of the nearly 700 reviews KVC team members have shared. 

“KVC Health Systems has a great DEI+B initiative, a great work-life balance, and an amazing work culture. As a new employee, I felt recognized and encouraged to be myself and contribute to a team. The managers really set you up for success and are very encouraging.” 

“I’ve felt more welcomed and wanted on my team than I felt for a long time at my previous company! The work life balance is amazing and being able to remote work and work what I need to for my family is an added benefit and one that I’ve never been able to experience. My supervisor takes time to ensure I’m understanding my role, ensures that I’m ready for the next step in the process and my coworkers are more than willing to answer any questions I have. Great place to be!” 

“KVC is a caring, compassionate, people-focused company. From the workers to the families we work with, KVC seems to genuinely care. As an employee I feel like my ideas and opinions matter and KVC has great training and leadership in place.” 

Employee Engagement Has Powered Wellbeing

Work wellbeing at KVC follows naturally after a multi-year strategy to support and increase employee engagement. By partnering with Gallup and executing a robust change management strategy, KVC’s employee engagement has gone from 35% to more than 57% as of January 2023. Renny Arensberg, Executive Vice President of Employee Engagement, has led this initiative by partnering with a team of internal Engagement Champions as well as a broad KVC Experience Team consisting of the leaders of Human Resources; Marketing & Communications; Diversity, Equity, Inclusion + Belonging; and Clinical Best Practices. Each leader and their teams have made significant contributions to KVC’s unique culture and positive impact.

In April 2023, the KVC team experienced a big change when St. Louis-based nonprofit Great Circle’s nearly 800 employees became part of KVC Missouri. These new team members are now part of KVC’s biannual engagement survey, and the results show the natural ebbs and flows that happen when two teams begin the massive process of becoming one.  

With 60 locations nationwide, engagement certainly varies greatly by office, manager, and role. However, with a spirit of humility and continual improvement, KVC managers continue to work on supporting each employee so can do their best work and love working at KVC. 

In the June 2023 survey, when people were asked if they plan on working at KVC one year from now, an astounding 90% responded yes. 

More About KVC & Why It’s an Exceptional Place to Work 

KVC Health Systems is a family of private, nonprofit 501(c)3 organizations that strengthen families, prevent child abuse and neglect, and help people achieve mental health wellness. The KVC team makes a positive impact in the lives of more than 80,000 people each year. For example, KVC and its supporters care for thousands of children in foster care, help hundreds of children either to be adopted or to safely reunify with their families, and provide life-changing treatment at its children’s mental health hospitals.  

Employee participation in the national Q12 survey from Gallup shows that KVC’s 2,400 team members across five states are significantly more engaged and satisfied than the average worker due to KVC’s inspiring mission, tremendous flexibility, inclusive culture, and robust compensation and benefits. KVC team members find Purpose, Appreciation, Growth and Flexibility at KVC. Employee wellbeing is a KVC priority, and it’s reflected in these top drivers.  

At KVC, employees belong to a close-knit team and feel the deep sense of meaning that comes from providing life-changing help to children and families. They also enjoy great medical and dental insurance, a retirement savings match, paid time off, a parental leave plan, wellness support, and professional growth. Join a values-driven team that is passionate about transforming people’s experience of child welfare and mental health services.  

Combining an inspiring mission with a great culture is having a ripple effect in all areas. By having a more engaged, stable team, KVC can provide higher quality services to children and families. The results are beginning to be seen in higher client experience scores as well as improved outcomes.  

Good News – KVC Is Hiring Nationwide 

Big dreams inspire the KVC team to keep moving forward, helping one child at a time. For example, the organization aims to partner with other national and state leaders to safely reduce the number of children in foster care nationally by 50% and wants to be a catalyst for helping to end suicide in our communities. 

KVC is hiring now for dozens of positions that will help fulfill this vision. Join our team of 2,400 professionals across Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, and West Virginia. Find your purpose at KVC! Learn more at www.kvc.org/careers.