Working across departments to create solutions, not silos, while showing empathy, and valuing the contributions of others. These are some of the themes shared by three engineering leaders who were recently featured in a spotlight at https://builtin.com/brand-studio/dfin-collaboration-yields-financial-solutions by Built In Chicago about cohesive collaboration. Collaboration is deeply embedded in DFIN’s culture.
Our transformation is real. Six years ago when we became a publicly traded company, we outlined our strategy of moving from a financial printer to a leading provider of innovative software and technology-enabled financial regulatory and compliance solutions. Employees see that we are executing on this strategy and are ahead of schedule in achieving our pursuit of “44 in 24” or deriving 44% of our revenue from software solutions by the year 2024. Employees trust the strategy and feel empowered to contribute to it.
Listening. The Chief Human Resources Officer hosted a series of “Candid Conversations” in which more than 200 employees shared their perspectives about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). The conversations led the company to form a Task Force that recommended the creation of the DEI Council. Since then, women employees formed a resource group. All employees were invited to self-identify and share their gender identity, sexual orientation, veteran status, and disability in our HR system. We celebrate DEI through a series of employee profiles tied to national observances and welcome any question during our quarterly townhalls and surveys.
Offering virtual, social, and self-directed learning, mentoring, coaching and career development opportunities. DFIN launched a career framework for U.S. employees that helps them make informed choices about their skill development and career growth. The framework includes a “Career Map” that shows every role in the company by level to help employees understand how their job fits into the overall structure and the various pathways for advancement. DFIN provides its employees with curated and targeted learning pathways for leadership, finance, and technical roles as well as safety, compliance, and equipment-related training.
We live our values every day through leadership behaviors. We view everyone as a leader, regardless of job title or level because we want to ensure that everything we do reflects who we are and what we believe. The values that underscore how we support our employees in their professional growth are Uncompromising Integrity, Collective Genius, Bold Action, and Purposeful Agility. DFIN has leadership development programs aligned to these values and launched a social recognition platform to engage employees around activities aligned with company values.
Incentive plans and performance bonuses, medical benefits and retirement programs, paid time off, career development, and much more. For their hard work and effort, employees want programs that are market-competitive, offer choice and financial protection, and provide predictability. Our Total Wellbeing strategy is designed around employee wellbeing in terms of Money, Time, Health, and Career. The past two years we have shared the company’s success through performance bonuses and increased 401(k) matches, wellbeing bonuses, and giving extra time off.
Creating a culture of trust and transparency. Our CEO aligns his words with his actions, e.g., he “walks his talk.” He has ushered the company through its continuing transformation by openly and consistently communicating with employees. He has extended the time for town halls to answer employee questions and does not shy away from the tough questions. He cultivates an open-door policy that employees feel empowered to use. He has built a reputation as hard working and humble, a servant leader whose primary goal is to make employees and thus the company better.
In 2021, we paid a 5% bonus to all employees not on a commission or bonus program and gave every employee in the company a $1000 wellbeing bonus. Due to company success, we paid a 7% bonus in 2022. We paid 333% of the first 3% 401k match in 2021 and have a bi-weekly match of 50 cents for every dollar an employee contributes up to 6% of eligible compensation, with additional discretionary contributions possible depending on financial results. DFIN cultivates a “pay for performance” culture in which when the company does well, the company shares those rewards with employees.
The wellbeing of employees is DFIN’s highest priority. In response to the global pandemic, we took swift action to transition non-essential employees to a work-from-home status. At the same time, we adopted heightened standards to keep essential production employees safe by providing additional personal protective equipment, on-site temperature scans, social distancing measures, and CDC-approved cleaning products and protocols. In the first months, we paid an additional 25% premium for our essential workers. We continue to operate within a flexible model that allows employees to work remotely, with the exception of essential employees whose roles require them to be on site.
DFIN is a leading global risk and compliance solutions company. We provide domain expertise, software and data analytics for every stage of our clients’ business and investment lifecycles. Markets fluctuate, regulations evolve, technology advances, and through it all, DFIN delivers confidence with the right solutions in moments that matter.
35 W. Wacker Dr. Chicago, IL 60601
Software and Tech-Enabled Solutions
Dan Leib
1001 - 10000
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