Employer Profile

If employees ask a question, they get an answer at this Chicago-based multibank holding company. Northern Trust's operations and technology business unit holds regular meetings in which the CEO gets together with small groups of managers and staffers. These one-hour sessions are primarily devoted to giving people a chance to ask questions on any topic of importance to them. The meetings involve different employees each time, so top executives get a broad view of what's on the minds of employees and are able to follow up. In the interest of encouraging candor, managers and their direct reports do not attend the same meetings. More mentoring: The company's long-standing mentoring program was enhanced with an online system called "Mentoring Matters," which was launched worldwide in March 2009. This upgrade added the company's fast-growing Asia-Pacific operations, offering all employees a wider range of virtual mentoring relationships. The goal of Mentoring Matters is to promote personal, professional and career development for all employees by giving them the opportunity to explore, share and learn from the perspectives and experiences of others. The program currently has 854 mentors globally, of which 706 are at the vice president level or above. Of the 854 mentors, nearly 30% of them are within the IT organization. Adoption aid: Since 1992, Northern Trust has offered assistance to more than 120 employees who have become adoptive parents. Currently, eligible employees who are planning to adopt can receive up to $7,000 per child to cover placement agency and legal fees and/or medical expenses of the birth mother and child that aren't covered by insurance. Also, adoptive parents are eligible for up to four weeks of paid leave, as long as it is taken within the first 12 months after the adoption date.