More Than a Paycheck: Why Aldevra Invests in Our Employees

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At Aldevra, we believe a job should provide more than a paycheck.

Since 2019, we have intentionally invested in employee benefits designed to support our employees’ health, financial security, families, professional growth and lives outside of work.

For a small business, providing comprehensive benefits is a significant investment. We make that investment deliberately because our employees are the people who serve our customers, solve problems, support one another and make it possible for Aldevra to deliver on our commitments every day.

Our philosophy is straightforward:

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Support employees as people, not simply as workers.

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Making Health Care More Affordable

Health insurance is valuable only if employees can reasonably afford it.

That’s why Aldevra pays a substantial portion of the employee cost of health insurance rather than passing the full premium on to our employees.

Employees also have access to dental and vision coverage, with options to obtain eligible coverage for family members and significant others.

We consider these contributions part of total compensation. Salary matters, but compensation is bigger than the number on a paycheck. Employer contributions toward health care, retirement, insurance protection, paid leave and other benefits all have real value.

More importantly, they can provide security when employees and their families need it.

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Protecting a Paycheck When Someone Can’t Work

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Health insurance helps address medical expenses. But we’ve also considered another important question:

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What happens to an employee’s income if they suddenly cannot work?

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An unexpected illness, injury or medical condition can affect much more than someone’s health. It can interrupt the income a household depends on for housing, groceries, utilities and everyday expenses.

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That’s why Aldevra provides short-term and long-term disability insurance.

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We hope our employees never need either one. But that’s precisely the purpose of insurance—putting protection in place before you know you’re going to need it.

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For us, protecting an employee’s ability to earn an income is an important part of a comprehensive benefits program.

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Protecting the People Who Depend on Our Employees

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Aldevra also pays for group life insurance and accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) coverage for our employees.

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Again, these are benefits we hope employees and their families never have to use. But we believe thinking about employees also means thinking about the people who depend on them.

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We have expanded the voluntary benefits available to employees as well, including options such as pet insurance and cyber protection insurance.

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Today’s households face risks that traditional employee benefits didn’t always contemplate. Our goal is to continue providing employees with choices that reflect the realities of their lives.

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Helping Employees Build Financial Security

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Taking care of employees isn’t only about protecting against something going wrong. It should also include helping people prepare for what’s ahead.

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Aldevra offers a 401(k) retirement plan with employer matching contributions.

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When our employees invest in their future, we believe Aldevra should invest alongside them.

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But retirement savings are only one part of financial wellness. Employees also have free access to professional financial guidance, providing another resource for understanding financial planning and making informed decisions about their financial future.

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We don’t want to make those decisions for our employees. We want to give them access to resources that can help them make informed decisions for themselves.

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Supporting Veterans Beyond Employment

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As a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business, supporting veterans has particular meaning to Aldevra.

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We have a VA-accredited claims agent on staff who can help veterans understand and navigate VA benefits and claims.

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The VA benefits process can be complicated. Veterans may not always know what benefits are available to them, what documentation they need or how to navigate the process.

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Having access to an accredited professional who understands that system can be a valuable resource.

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For Aldevra, hiring veterans is only one part of supporting the veteran community. We also want veterans on our team to have knowledgeable assistance in understanding and accessing the benefits they earned through their service.

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Investing in Professional Growth

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Benefits shouldn’t only protect employees today. We believe they should also help employees build toward tomorrow.

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Aldevra provides professional-development and educational assistance to eligible employees. That support can help employees pursue opportunities such as job-related certifications and licensing, continuing education, training, professional memberships and other resources that strengthen their skills and knowledge.

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There’s a simple reason we make that investment:

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When our employees grow, Aldevra grows with them.

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We want employees to develop new skills, expand their knowledge, earn credentials and prepare themselves for new opportunities.

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Professional development benefits Aldevra, but the knowledge, experience and credentials employees gain also become part of their own professional journey.

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That’s one way we put real meaning behind an important part of our vision: Grow together.

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Time Away From Work Matters, Too

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A good benefits program shouldn’t focus exclusively on insurance, finances and retirement.

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People need time away from work.

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Aldevra provides paid time off and 11 paid federal holidays each year.

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Some holidays are offered as floating holidays, providing employees greater flexibility in deciding when to use that paid time.

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We do that intentionally.

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Not every employee celebrates the same holidays, follows the same traditions or places the same importance on the same days. Providing floating holidays gives employees greater flexibility to observe cultural, religious or personal occasions that are meaningful to them.

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We believe that’s a practical way to recognize that our employees have different backgrounds, families and traditions.

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Some Life Events Shouldn’t Have to Come Out of Vacation

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We also provide bereavement leave and parental leave because there are moments in life that deserve to be treated differently from an ordinary day off.

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When an employee loses someone close to them, we believe they should have time to grieve and attend to their family without their first concern being how much vacation time they have remaining.

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Likewise, welcoming a child is a significant life event. Parental leave gives employees time to focus on their growing family during an important transition.

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Vacation time should be available for vacation.

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Employees shouldn’t necessarily have to exhaust the time they’ve saved for rest and personal time because they experience a major life event.

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Our policies also recognize circumstances such as military service, jury duty, voting responsibilities and other situations when employees may legitimately need time away from work.

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Resources for Life Beyond Work

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Not every challenge fits neatly under health insurance, retirement or paid leave.

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Aldevra also provides employees access to an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) as another resource when employees need support navigating personal or work-life challenges.

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That’s an important part of our overall approach.

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We cannot anticipate every circumstance an employee or family will encounter. We can, however, try to put resources in place before they’re needed.

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Why We’ve Made These Investments Since 2019

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None of these benefits are free to provide.

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For a small business, health insurance contributions, retirement matching, disability coverage, life insurance, paid holidays, paid leave, professional development and other employee programs represent a meaningful financial commitment.

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We choose to make that commitment.

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And we’ve been intentionally building this approach to employee benefits since 2019.

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We didn’t start because benefits became a popular recruiting topic or because we wanted a longer list to put on a job posting. We did it because we had to decide what kind of company we wanted Aldevra to become as we grew.

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We decided that investing in our people needed to be part of it.

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Today, that means thinking about employees from several different perspectives:

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• Their health: Medical, dental and vision benefits.
• Their income: Short-term and long-term disability protection.
• Their families: Life and AD&D insurance, family coverage options, parental leave and bereavement leave.
• Their future: A 401(k) retirement plan with employer matching and access to professional financial guidance.
• Their careers: Professional-development and educational assistance.
• Their time: Paid time off, paid federal holidays and the flexibility of floating holidays.
• Our veterans: Access to an on-staff VA-accredited claims agent for assistance navigating VA benefits and claims.
• Their individual needs: An Employee Assistance Program and voluntary benefits such as pet and cyber protection insurance.

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No benefits package can eliminate life’s uncertainties.

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But employers can decide whether they want to help their employees prepare for them.

‍We do.

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Benefits Are Part of the Company We Want to Be

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Aldevra’s mission is to act with integrity, operate with grit, and deliver results that matter.

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Our vision is to Deliver more. Grow together. Give back.

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Those words aren’t intended to apply only to how we serve our customers. They should also influence how we operate as an employer.

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We want talented people to build careers here.

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We want employees to have resources to care for themselves and the people important to them. We want them to have opportunities to grow professionally and prepare financially for their future. We want veterans on our team to have knowledgeable assistance accessing the benefits they’ve earned. We want employees to have time to rest, celebrate, welcome a new family member and grieve when they experience a loss.

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And when life doesn’t go according to plan, we want meaningful protections already in place.

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For Aldevra, benefits aren’t just perks. They’re part of our commitment to the people who make Aldevra possible.

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