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Delta Dental of Kansas, Wichita, Kansas, United States: Jennifer Bauer, Chief People and Strategy Officer; General Counsel

Company: Delta Dental of Kansas, Wichita, KS
Company Description: Delta Dental of Kansas is the largest, most experienced dental benefits company in Kansas. We are passionate about providing benefits that meet the needs of our customers and educating Kansans about the importance of good oral health.
Nomination Category: Human Resources Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Human Resources Executive of the Year
2024 Stevie Winner Nomination Title: Jennifer Bauer
  1. Which will you submit for your nomination in this category, a video of up to five (5) minutes in length about the nominated human resources executive's achievements since the beginning of 2022, OR an essay of up to 650 words? (Choose one):
    An essay of up to 650 words
  2. If you are submitting a video of up to five (5) minutes in length, provide the URL of the nominated video here, OR attach it to your entry via the "Add Attachments, Videos, or Links to This Entry" link above, through which you may also upload a copy of your video:

     

  3. If you are providing an essay of up to 650 words, place it in the following space:

    Total 637 words used.

    Under Jennifer Bauer’s leadership, Delta Dental of Kansas (DDKS) has had a complete culture transformation, implemented a process for employee feedback, expanded our wellness program offerings, and has been named both nationally and locally as a Best Place to Work as well as one of the top 100 healthiest workplaces in America for two years in a row.

    Jennifer Bauer believes that a strong culture and employee engagement drives innovation and success. Bauer has prioritized providing a positive company culture through employee empowerment, transparent communication, encouraged collaboration and connection opportunities by working with company leadership in creating and following a 10-point culture engagement plan. Our company has created a culture that emphasizes winning and fun by celebrating success, encouraging all ideas, input and views to achieve the best result through weekly employee surveys, learning from our mistakes, and offering an environment where people enjoy their jobs. Under Bauer’s leadership a dedicated Culture Committee was created that provides resources, educational workshops and activities. These efforts transformed company culture, growing the employee Net Promoter Score (NPS) to double the national average. 

    Bauer deployed a mechanism for continuous feedback through Officevibe, an online employee survey tool that helps create and maintain engaged and successful teams through continuous feedback. All employees receive short anonymous survey each week. Through this survey implementation, employees are providing timely and valuable information - contributing directly to improving their work environment and the company’s success.

    Bauer implemented a comprehensive wellness program with 7 strategic elements:

    1. Leadership is committed to wellness
    2. A diverse employee-led collaborative team runs the program
    3. Employee feedback is used to shape initiatives, policies, and facility changes.
    4. A wellness roadmap maps out the program's plans and goals
    5. Initiatives are implemented that support the whole person following 6 pillars: Physical health/exercise, mental health, social, diversity, equity & inclusion, Community involvement and financial health.
    6. DDKS strives to provide Environment & Policies that promote wellbeing and a healthy work-life balance.
    7. DDKS looks to continuously evaluate and improve our wellness program and offerings

    Bauer has imbedded wellness into our culture that has led to DDKS being named one of the Top 100 Healthiest Employers in America, and as the Top Healthiest Employer in Kansas in 2022 and 2023. DDKS is committed to balancing work and life priorities by promoting and encouraging habits of health and wellness and inspiring and empowering individuals to take responsibility for their wellness. We also offer flexible and remote work options, an onsite fitness center, fitness reimbursements, biometric screenings, financial education and a robust 24/7 employee assistance program.  We also offer team volunteer opportunities throughout the year and provide paid time off for employees to support the organizations they are passionate about. 

    To support mental health, Bauer has provided opportunities for team building and physical activity as well as promoted mental health resources such as our employee assistance program (EAP). DDKS has brought in professional mental health speakers to specifically talk about anxiety, depression, healthy work/life balance, and much more. 

    Bauer was among a group of community and business leaders chosen by the Wichita Business Journal to address DEI initiatives for the community. Bauer is dedicated to having a positive and lasting impact on her community.

    Under Bauer’s leadership, Delta Dental of Kansas focus on embracing and celebrating the fact that 68% of our team are women and 67% of our Executives are women.  Bauer has spearheaded a focused effort on celebrating International Women’s Day through internal networking events, speed networking and providing the team an opportunity to learn from others.

    Under Jennifer’s leadership, In 2022 and 2023 we were recognized nationally as National Company of the Year for Insurance and were selected as a National and local “Best Places to Work.” We were also recognized as one of the Top 100 Healthiest Employers in America and the Top Healthiest Employer in Kansas.

  4. In bullet-list form, provide a brief summary (up to 150 words) of up to ten (10) of the chief accomplishments of the nominated human resources executive since the beginning of 2022:

    Total 130 words used.

    • Creation of a 10-point culture engagement plan
    • Creation of a diverse, cross-departmental Culture Committee
    • Deployed Officevibe, a mechanism for continuous feedback from employees
    • Implemented a comprehensive wellness program with 7 strategic elements
    • Provided specific resources to employees to combat the toll COVID-19 has had on mental health
    • DDKS recognized nationally and locally as a Best Place to Work
    • DDKS recognized as one of the top 100 healthiest workplaces in America
    • DDKS employee Net Promoter Score is double the national average.
    • Bauer a member of a group of community leaders addressing DEI initiatives in the community
    • DDKS’ Employee Engagement Scores well exceed the national benchmarking average on every measure. These measures include overall engagement, employee satisfaction, employee happiness, frequency and quality of recognition and feedback and relationship with managers and peers.
Attachments/Videos/Links:
Jennifer Bauer
PDF 2_DDKS_Employee_Testimonials.pdf
PDF 1_DDKS_10_Point_Culture_Engagement_Plan.pdf
PDF 3_DDKS_Live_Well_Wellness_Program_Playbook.pdf
URL Delta Dental of Kansas Careers