Case Studies

Securian Financial Group, Inc.

In 1996 Securian Financial Group hired its first Lifeworks client as a messenger. Since then, Securian has hired people with disabilities in many areas of the company.

At first, the decision to hire someone with a developmental disability was based on doing the right thing and being community-minded. Previously, Securian had used temps for its messenger services which was not only costly but required constant training. Securian soon realized its Lifeworks client was not only productive but was reliable and—most importantly—wanted to do the job.

“Our spending on human resources hiring costs was $60,000 a year. We reduced that to $3,000 a year and Lifeworks is a big part of that change,” said Kraig Rule, mail center supervisor, Securian.

The following year another Lifeworks client was hired for an administrative position in Group Insurance Services Support. Today Securian employs ten individuals with developmental disabilities. Their jobs include filing, document preparation and messenger services.

“Lifeworks clients work for 90 days as contract associates to see if the position is a good match. If it is, the company hires the person as a full-time associate. This partnership brings us good, reliable employees and that ultimately affects the bottom line. We’ve had great success with converting contract associates to a full-time basis and will look to do so in the future,” said Theresa Jones, employment specialist at Securian.

All but one of the employees are full-time Securian employees, but all receive on-the-job support and training by two Lifeworks job coaches. The coaches supervise and schedule all work performed by our clients to meet the company’s standards. The job coaches also act as liaisons between Lifeworks clients and Securian to troubleshoot problems and answer questions.

Filling positions for mundane work has been traditionally difficult for most companies. Lifeworks’ ability to provide reliable workers who enjoy their work has increased productivity and freed up other staff to concentrate on other job duties.

“With Lifeworks, we have reduced turnover because we have people who love their jobs. When we have openings we have a good source for candidates. It has definitely affected our bottom line,” said Kraig Rule.

“Our spending on human resources hiring costs was $60,000 a year. We reduced that to $3,000 a year and Lifeworks is a big part of that change.”

–Kraig Rule
Mail Center Supervisor,
Securian Financial Group, Inc.