Horace Mann's mission of helping educators achieve lifelong financial success resonates strongly with the company's
more than 1,700 employees. In interactions with customers, each other and all stakeholders, we aim to reflect the
core values at the heart of who we are: compassionate, trustworthy, straightforward, approachable, respectful, and
knowledgeable. We believe that an engaged employee base is critical to deliver on our commitment to educators and
achieve our business objectives.
We design our policies and practices with the goal of attracting and retaining top talent, while maximizing the
employee experience.
Competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits
In addition to competitive base salaries, every Horace Mann employee is eligible for an annual bonus program based
on company performance and annual merit increases based on individual performance. We regularly review highly
skilled and hard-to-fill positions to ensure market competitiveness, to both attract and retain employees.
All full and part-time employees and employee agents who work a minimum of 20 hours per week are eligible for
benefits. There is no waiting period for employees to access benefits.
In addition to providing major medical coverage, group life and disability insurance, dental and vision insurance, we
contribute up to $1,000 to employee health savings accounts annually. We contribute 3% of every employee’s eligible
earnings to their 401(k), regardless of their contribution status. We then match up to an additional 5% of each
employee’s eligible earnings annually. We offer new employees four weeks’ paid time off annually, which increases
with years of service, as well as recognize 10 holidays annually.
Work/life flexibility
At Horace Mann, our hybrid workforce model allows for more than 70% of our employees the opportunity to work remotely
as part of their regular weekly schedule. In addition to paid company holidays, we also provide one paid floating
“Unplugged Day” each year for employees to rest and rejuvenate.
New parents receive up to two weeks of paid parental leave to employees following the birth or adoption of their
child. In 2022, 37 employees (22 women, 15 men) took parental leave. Eighteen women (82%) returned to work after
maternity leave.
To support employee wellness, employees based at our Springfield headquarters can access free or reduced-cost
preventive, diagnostic and medical care through our local partnership with HSHS St. John’s Hospital LeadWell health
and wellness clinic. Our employee assistance program provides support for employees addressing mental and physical
health issues, such as navigating major life changes, grief counseling and smoking cessation. In addition, all
employees are eligible for a wellness cost reimbursement up to $200 each year for fitness or weight-loss programs.
We also partner with a local yoga studio to offer free weekly virtual classes to anyone across the organization. In
2022, we hosted a corporate-wide book study encouraging peer and cross-functional conversations about mental health
in the workplace.
Employee training and development
Horace Mann has a comprehensive employee training and development program consisting of instructor-led classes,
peer-to-peer learning opportunities and support for self-directed learning, such as access to an eLearning library.
Topics include leadership development, career skills and process improvement. In 2022, employees averaged 24 hours
of training.
The company’s intensive Emerging Leaders program is a five-month, 100-hour class that comprises employees across all
areas of the company and country. The group works to improve communication, emotional intelligence, and
organizational influence skills while developing relationships across the company. The program ends with a capstone
project that has proven to contribute to lasting organizational change. Peer-to-peer learning includes “Ask the
Expert” sessions and opportunities to discuss Distinctive Service, a key corporate initiative.
Employees and leaders have performance discussions as often as quarterly to benchmark progress and identify
developmental opportunities, including potential career paths. In 2022, 98% of employees received at least one
formally documented performance review.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
We have long strived to foster an inclusive culture in which individual differences are recognized, respected and
appreciated. In 2023, we formalized these aspirations in our corporate Diversity, Equity and Inclusion strategy statement. Importantly, the statement underscores Horace Mann’s
commitment to incorporate DEI considerations in everything we do — from how we serve our educator market to
how we build our workforce, practices, and processes.
We have a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council focused on building steps toward action and accountability; being
committed to promoting equitable practices and fostering a culture of inclusivity. We host DEI educational events
and quarterly corporate-wide book studies, with participants including senior leadership and Board members. In 2022,
8% of managers completed unconscious bias training; 34% of managers have completed the training overall. In late
2022, we launched Employee Resource Groups aligned with employee identity, inclusion and wellness.
For the past five years, Horace Mann has been named to the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index, which recognizes corporate commitment to transparency in gender data reporting and advancing women’s equality.
As of Dec. 31, 2022
In 2022, Horace Mann hired 538 employees: 334 women (62%) and 204 men (38%). The ethnicities of the new hires were 299 Caucasian/white (55%), 143 African American/Black, (27%) 29 Hispanic/Latino (5%), and 21 (4%) Asian. Forty-six hires (9%) chose not to self-identify or did not feel the ethnicities listed included them. The company’s voluntary turnover rate in 2022 was 18%.
Employee Engagement
As part of our ongoing employee listening strategy, we regularly solicit employee feedback through pulse surveys on
both specific items and broader topics. Since 2020, we completed six employee pulse surveys, with generally about
50% participation.
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Employee participation
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Survey #1
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59%
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Survey #2
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59%
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Survey #3
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53%
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Survey #4
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32%
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Survey #5
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44%
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Survey #6
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47%
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Overall, in the pulse surveys employees rated Horace Mann favorably on providing retirement vehicles that help them
save adequately for retirement, keeping employees informed about company goals, and providing an inclusive
environment. Employees identified competitive pay and benefits, support for physical and mental health, and more
information on career development as potential areas of opportunity.
Pulse survey results are shared with senior leadership, who take them into consideration when making strategic
decisions and operational plans. For example, employee feedback on the benefits of work flexibility helped influence
the company decision to implement a hybrid workforce model. Subsequent surveys have confirmed work/life flexibility
continues to be a leading factor in maintaining engagement from our employees.
In late 2022, we partnered with Willis Towers Watson to complete a comprehensive employee experience survey, with
74% of employees participating. In 2023, as part of our ongoing employee listening strategy, we plan to cascade
discussions of survey results throughout the organization, build on opportunities for areas of focus, and solicit
additional employee feedback.
In addition to “listening” through our surveys, we also promote a robust “stay interview” process and tool to ensure
we are staying connected to our employees.
Supporting causes important to employees
Due to the mission-centricity of our organization, we find that many of our employees are active in their
communities and committed to charitable causes. To support employees and the causes important to them, the Horace
Mann Educators Foundation matches employee donations up to $1,000 to qualified nonprofits annually.