What Makes a Great Place to Work?

The American worker on average spends more than one-third of their lifetime working. With that much of our lives invested in our careers, where you choose to work is an important life decision. To that end, I often ask: What makes a great place to work?

When thinking about my 35 years serving in multiple roles at three Fortune 500 companies, from the insurance industry to the secondary mortgage market, what makes a great place to work is a combination of both the tangible and the intangible.

At Freddie Mac, it’s easy to spot the tangible, such as our outstanding benefits package and range of career opportunities. But it’s the intangible that stands out to me. It’s the aspect of work that feeds your professional interests and desires. It’s the why behind your decision to open your laptop every day. It’s why I choose to work at Freddie Mac.

Here at Freddie Mac, our work is grounded in a dedication to our mission and a commitment to employee well-being and growth.

Dedication to Mission

Our mission of making home possible is the core value that distinguishes Freddie Mac from other companies. Our mission guides our work every day, and the sum of our efforts is greater than our individual contributions. Last year alone, we helped more than 1.4 million families buy, refinance or rent a home. This includes putting hundreds of thousands of low- and moderate-income families into an affordable place to call home.

Our organization occupies a unique role in the housing industry that allows our employees to make a national economic and social impact on the U.S. housing market through a wide range of work roles. This factor is one reason I believe our employees are engaged.  

A national survey by McKinsey found that 70% of workers say they gain a sense of purpose from their work. Our latest engagement survey found that 81% of employees feel their work gives them a sense of personal accomplishment. What’s more, 85% reported being proud to work at Freddie Mac.

Commitment to Employee Growth

As a Fortune 50 company whose operations are central to the strength of the housing market, our career opportunities range in scope and skill set from the creative, to strategic and technical, just to name a few. This is typical for a large company like Freddie Mac that needs every type of employee, but it’s what we are doing to support our employees’ career growth that makes us unique.

At Freddie Mac, our development opportunities and leadership and mentorship programs include more than 10,000 professional learning courses. Employees can also take advantage of internal trainings, as well as external training and educational opportunities. Many courses have the option of asynchronous learning, expanding flexibility and allowing employees to learn at their own pace. 

Employee growth at our company isn’t limited to learning in the traditional sense — it also means tapping into the collective knowledge and shared experiences of fellow employees. Nearly half of our employees belong to one or more Business Resource Groups (BRGs), which are employee-led collectives united by a factor such as lifestyle, shared interest or cultural background. Last year, our BRGs hosted more than 40 cultural, professional development and housing programs.

This is the part of our business you can’t find in a position description, and it’s how we cultivate a human experience at Freddie Mac. I believe that is one of the reasons more than 50% of employees in our current workforce have more than five years of tenure with the company.

Building on our Benefits

As I noted earlier, one of the tangible ways Freddie Mac is a great place to work: our benefits.

We set high standards for our benefits package. This includes a willingness to observe national workplace trends and offer benefits based on research and employee recommendations. For example, this year, we increased leave coverage for caregiving and introduced counseling services for those experiencing loss.

In response to rising national health care costs, we worked to ensure our health care premiums increased below the industry average. Freddie Mac also added pet insurance coverage after researching and hearing from employees that it would be helpful. As our employees’ needs evolve, we are committed to listening and meeting as many of them as practical and possible.

In addition to mental, physical and financial wellness services, we offer abundant volunteer and community outreach initiatives including a matching gifts program. Plus, employees can access higher education support through our generous education assistance and student debt repayment programs.

Everything we offer is designed to help our employees feel and perform at their best.

Our Recognition

We work hard to attract and maintain top talent, and we have received numerous recognitions reflecting our commitment to a diverse, inclusive and welcoming workplace.

Each year, we receive numerous awards from respected publications and third-party groups for our career opportunities and workplace attributes. In the past two years, we’ve been recognized for our workplace diversity and inclusion, our company culture and the housing industry impact of individual employees as well.

As the senior leader of Human Capital at Freddie Mac, I am committed to keeping our company an employer of choice and a great place to work. Thank you for joining me in doing so.