PLANSPONSOR - August/September 2020 - 26

2020 PLAN SPONSOR OF THE YEAR WINNERS
Corporate 401(k) >$50mm - $100mm
Novaspect, Inc.
Schaumburg, Illinois
I
n August 2018, Novaspect, Inc., unveiled its
student loan repayment program: For each
employee with an eligible loan, it would contribute
$100 a month, up to a maximum of $10,000,
to help eliminate that debt.
This is only one benefit the engineering
firm offers its workforce. Others include a 401(k)
with 6% match, an employee stock ownership
plan (ESOP) and unlimited paid family leave.
Asked what are the strengths of the retirement
benefits, Kelly Mutuc, vice president, talent
management, says, " It's our automatic enrollment,
our match and our annual resolicitation
for folks to join the plan. We really are focused
on our employees' long-term financial stability. "
The Need for an Adviser
Rita Fiumara, senior retirement plan consultant
and senior vice president at UBS in Chicago, has
been the plan's adviser since 2016. She recommended
automatically enrolling participants
at 6% so they would take full advantage of the
company's generous match.
" The company had grown up with a large
recordkeeper, but the executives started to
recognize they wanted more of a financial planning
and coaching expert on-site to kick up the
level of holistic planning, " Fiumara says.
Plus, many workers had 401(k) balances
as high as $500,000, as the average tenure had
reached 15 years, she notes. The employer needed
an adviser to help with its expanding benefits.
Novaspect became employee-owned in
2016 and is in its fourth round of distributing
shares to its employees. " In any given year,
employees receive 2% to 4% of their salary [in
company stock], " Mutuc says. " Our goal is to
give them an opportunity to amass money they
wouldn't get anywhere else. "
Mike Franz, chief financial officer (CFO)
at Novaspect, says one reason they offer an
ESOP is to stay competitive. " Benefits are a
key component of our overall compensation
package. Many of our hires come from Fortune
26 PLANSPONSOR.COM August - September 2020
100 companies and large consulting firms. "
The sponsor wanted to ensure its workforce
understood these changes. It knew employee
communications could be valuable, so to produce
them, it formed its " culture committee. "
" For the size of our company, 340 people,
we're fairly spread out, across 10 locations and
seven states, " Mutuc says. " This causes communication
and education challenges. Additionally,
we have a wide range of employees, including
technicians, welders, assemblers, system and
application engineers, information systems,
and many more. "
The culture committee, " a team representing
the entire territory and various business
units, " creates educational materials,
events and communications that target the
various segments of Novaspect's workers across
its geography, Mutuc says. UBS, too, provides
education and supports the team by holding
one-on-one and group education events.
Competitive Benefits
The student loan repayment program has
proved especially popular with employees-
none have left the company since enrolling in
it, Mutuc says. The program fulfills several
objectives for Novaspect. The firm wanted to
attract new graduates. As many have significant
student loan debt, the program could serve to
gain and build their worker loyalty, reduce turnover
and boost productivity, Franz says.
To further heighten its competitiveness,
the firm now offers unlimited personal time
off related to personal or family emergencies,
illness or personal situations, Mutuc says.
Eligible employees are paid at 100% of their
base pay. This includes a fully paid parental
leave for the birth or adoption of a child.
This is a " robust benefits program, " Fiumara
says. " That and Novaspect's commitment to its
employees 'speak to how it is as a company' and
makes working with it and its employees a pleasure. "
-Lee Barney
Kelly Mutuc, vice president talent
management, Novaspect, Inc.
" Our goal is to
give them an
opportunity to
amass money
they wouldn't
get anywhere
else. "
Finalists
AB Mauri Food Inc.
St. Louis, Missouri
Citation Oil & Gas Corp.
Houston, Texas
Rumberger, Kirk &
Caldwell, P.A.
Orlando, Florida
More on PLANSPONSOR.com/
awards/2020-plan-sponsor-year
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PLANSPONSOR - August/September 2020

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