Our goal is to create a safe, diverse and inclusive workplace where individuals are valued, feel free to express themselves, are empowered to succeed and are able to grow both personally and professionally. We believe that our employees are our greatest asset and vital to our success. As such, we seek to hire and retain the best candidate for each position, without regard to age, gender, ethnicity, or other protected trait, but with an appreciation for a diversity of perspectives and experience.
At December 31, 2023, we had 1,588 full-time employees and 28 part-time employees. Approximately 56% of our workforce was female. The following chart further illustrates the diversity of our workforce at December 31, 2023:
Diversity at BankUnited
Benefits – Wellness, Work-Life and Financial
At BankUnited our benefit programs are designed to provide our employees and their family members with quality of life – including a full range of affordable health, dental and vision benefits, and a free employee assistance program. We also offer programs to help employees attain financial security and reach their financial goals.
Safety and Wellness
The safety and wellness of our employees is fundamental to the success of our company. Our award-winning Wellness Program was developed using a gold standard of benchmarking that focuses on employee health and incorporates wellness initiatives focused on mental, physical, intellectual, occupational, social, emotional, financial and spiritual components of wellness. The BankUnited Corporate Center has an on-site fitness facility and we provide our employees with on-site health screenings, eye exams, dental exams, mammograms, and vaccine clinics. Employees can choose to participate in nutrition counseling, music and art therapy, live and streaming fitness classes, meditation sessions and live and virtual learning opportunities with area wellness experts. We offer safety programs including first aid and CPR courses.
For participation in our Wellness Program, we offer our team members a reduced premium rate for medical coverage. Of our medically covered team members (including spouses and domestic partners), we have 84% who completed all requirements in 2023 to receive the reduced premium benefit.
In recognition of our employee wellness programs, BankUnited received the Healthiest Employer Award from the South Florida Business Journal in 2020, 2021 and 2022. In 2023, BankUnited was listed as number one among America's Top 100 Healthiest Employers by Springbuk HR Technology and was recognized by Newsweek as one of America’s Greatest Workplaces.
BankUnited offers the following safety and wellness programs for our employees:
- Comprehensive Medical, Dental and Vision Insurance
- Employee Assistance Program
- AFLAC Supplemental Plans
- Healthcare Concierge Services
Work-Life Balance
BankUnited offers the following programs to help our employees maintain a healthy work-life balance:
- Paid Time Off
- Paid Time Off for Volunteering
- Paid Parental Leave for Male and Female Employees
- Paid Holidays
- Flexible Work Schedules, where possible
- Flexible Hybrid and Remote Job Opportunities, where possible
Financial
BankUnited offers the following programs to help our employees reach their financial goals:
- Employee Banking
- 401(k) Retirement Savings Program with Company Match
- Tuition Reimbursement Program
- Flexible Spending Accounts
- Short- and Long-Term Disability
- Bank-Paid Life Insurance with Supplemental Life Insurance available
- Other Voluntary Benefits such as pet insurance and prepaid legal assistance programs
- Health Savings Accounts with Company contributions
- Financial Wellness Webinars
Learning and Development Opportunities
Our Go for MoreTM Academy provides employees with training and resources that support our entrepreneurial spirit. Through a broad array of online learning resources provided by our Go for MoreTM Academy Learning Portal, Udemy for Business and Mind Tools, employees participate in education covering a myriad of banking topics, increase their skillset, build their product knowledge, promote collaboration and career development. Through our Discover Coaching program, we offer personalized approach where employees meet one-on-one with internal coaches to promote individual growth, skill development, leadership development, and problem solving. A total of 204 employees participated and completed these programs in 2023.
We also further career development with leadership training and mentoring programs. Our Rising Leaders, Situational Leadership and EXCELerate programs provide our employees the opportunity to reach their full potential so we can reach ours. We have a variety of mentoring programs for new hires and professional development. We pair participants with an experienced team member to guide them in developing the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in their professional growth.
In 2023, 280 team members enrolled in the mentoring programs and a total of 1,247 mentoring hours were reported. Our employees rated their overall mentorship program satisfaction with a score of 4.7 out of 5 stars.
Communication and Engagement
We strongly believe that communication is a key factor in employee engagement, and that having engaged employees is a benefit to fellow employees, our customers, our communities, and our shareholders. We think it is important to measure employee engagement; our most recent employee engagement survey was conducted by an outside firm in September 2022. Survey results reported an increase in overall engagement, defined as employees who responded favorably, from 73% in 2020 to 81% in 2022. The 81% overall engagement score in 2022 favorably compared to an industry benchmark of 76%. Survey results also reported that 93% of our team members feel that they are treated with respect at BankUnited and 91% feel that BankUnited employees are treated equally regardless of race, ethnicity, age, gender disability, religious beliefs, and sexual orientation.
Survey results help us not only to measure engagement, but to initiate actions to further facilitate open and direct communication. We encourage managers to meet with their employees regularly and maintain an open-door policy. We have regular CEO update video calls and town hall meetings. Our mentorship program, focus and affinity groups, group exercise and wellness programs, community volunteer opportunities, on-site fitness facility, employee café and seminars also promote employee engagement. In 2023, we launched the Leadership Chat Series, a live and interactive webinar with BankUnited executives and our employees. Our Kudos Employee Recognition platform encourages employees to recognize one another’s contributions and accomplishments.