Baird

In 2022, the Milwaukee-based financial services firm welcomed staff to the city for a three-day Come Together event, free of charge. Activities included networking sessions, development workshops, and live music—including performances by the Steve Miller Band, Kelsea Ballerini, and Flo Rida. 
 

The firm has for years offered a one-time, no-repayment-needed hardship bonus to support associates when they experience catastrophic events.
 

Baird takes the training of its associates seriously, offering over 275 classes and up to $5,250 per year (the maximum amount allowed by the IRS) to support skill advancement, including courses that might be unrelated to an associate’s role. Baird has invested more than $3 million in the initiative over the past three years.
 

The firm recently began offering an Inclusive Leadership course to staff involved in hiring, educating them about unconscious bias and how to cultivate a more inclusive work environment.

• Baird offers its employees the opportunity to buy stocks in the company, and it recently shortened the length of tenure to become a shareholder from three years of employment to one. More than 70% of its associates are shareholders, according to company data.


• The firm improved its retirement fund program for lower-pay employees, contributing an additional $3,000 lump sum from profit-sharing into their 401(k)s in February.


• In 2020, the financial services firm created Advisory and Implementation Councils across the company’s many divisions, as a way for employees to discuss diversity and inclusion and offer recommendations on a local level, rather than solely relying on upper management to move the needle on these issues.


• “Baird gives me a sense of ownership,” says one employee. “I want to succeed because I know Baird wants me to succeed; for me, not for their bottom line.”