HR Brings Their Heart to Everything They Do

Most of you know your HR department as the people who hired you and make you fill out all kinds of paperwork. But did you know that your HR team does a lot more than that? We care about our employees, their well-being and their success within the company. That is why we are always working on ways to help our leadership team improve the OTA experience, engage employees and create a caring, enjoyable and fulfilling working environment and company culture. 

Every year we are layering in new things, and it’s always fun to do a recap and review. Here are the things we are doing for our employees:

1. Living up to our #1 core value of Love and bringing our hearts to work with us every day.

Our most important purpose in everything we do is to make sure everyone feels valued and loved at OTA. To convey this message of love, we provide a myriad of benefits to our employees. We offer a weekly car wash, 24 Hour Fitness discounts, a monthly newsletter we call Whole LOTA Love, and other services and events that keep employees in the loop, help them maintain a healthy work/life balance, and increase overall happiness and well-being. We even have a free and healthy breakfast and lunch brought in daily. To make things fun, our executive team decided to kick it up a notch and serve a pancake breakfasts to everyone.

And that’s not all, this last year we added dry cleaning services, an in house Pilates class,  Lunch with our President, continuing education such as Dale Carnegie Training and Lunch & Learns and changed the caterer (per the request of our employees); all of these in service to our relentless commitment for employee success and well-being.

2. Helping our team members always be learning and growing through continuous education classes and training.

We want our employees to succeed. That is why this last year we added continuous education opportunities from Dale Carnegie Leadership Training, to our groundbreaking CliK Core Strategy & Futures Courses, OTA’s new trading platform revolutionizing the way our students and now employees learn to master their trading skills.

HR has also made available a Personal Finance Essentials Program designed to provide employees with important information, tips, and practical steps when it comes to budgeting and managing credit score as well as helping employees explore ways to save money on taxes, insurance, retirement, home ownership and more.

3. We provide support to you and your family. 

Although we are not therapists, clergy or legal counsel, we know the laws, and we can offer help and suggestions for the best plan of action to help you not only achieve your professional goals, but provide support for you and/or your family members, especially during times of need. We have an amazing Employee Assistance Program (EAP) that offers free and confidential counseling services to employees, and their immediate family members who are experiencing problems of a personal nature. The program allows for unlimited phone or online access 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

4. And let’s not forget about fun.

As humans, we are social creatures and need a little fun in our lives from time to time. Fun times not only help us cope with the daily stressors of life, but enjoyable and entertaining activities can help reduce burn-out, strengthen relationships with co-workers, and contribute to both the physical and mental health of employees.

With that being said, OTA knows how to have fun. This last year, we added all kinds of events for the pure enjoyment of it. From ice cream and frozen yogurt socials, juice day, holiday cupcakes, and an Ugly Sweater Competition, to recognizing and celebrating birthdays, work anniversaries and our core values at our monthly celebrations, participating in our employee appreciation programs Duckonomy and Impressions, flowers handed out on “National Do Something Nice Day”, special candies passed out on “Employee Appreciation Day”, and our yearly holiday party, and interdepartmental competitions at our annual summer BBQ, both spearheaded by the OTA social committee, there is always something fun to do at OTA.

5. HR also cares about our community and the world in which we belong.

That is why in addition to everything HR does, and with the help of our incredible B-Corp team, we drive corporate sustainability initiatives which focus on the ethical, social, environmental, cultural and economic dimensions of doing business through community giving, e-waste recycling, Red Cross Blood Drives, Charity Miles, Project Hope Alliance, Blankets of Love, Rise Against Hunger, Making Strides Against Cancer, Cans4Cures, a Salvation Army Event, and so much more.

As a certified B Corporation, we are purpose-led and care most about our impact on our employees, students, franchises, community and beyond. You can see this attention in everything we do from our culture of love, community giving, and environmental initiatives to being a force for inclusiveness in the financial markets and lowering the educational barriers to entry. The spirit of B-Corp is thriving here at OTA, and we are proud to be part of a community helping to build a sustainable economy that works for everyone.

Some more things HR has been working on this last year includes:

• Streamlining the hiring process to online onboarding and benefits package through Synergy
• Implementing new competencies and initiatives such as DTO and harassment prevention training
• Simplifying everyday payroll and HR tasks
• Expanding benefits
• Helping employees with career planning and leadership
• And making available an Employee Assistant Program (EAP)

Plus, there are quite a few new ideas in the planning stages including a new in-house library, mentoring and wellness programs, more community giving events, and…well, we don’t want to give it all away now. Part of the fun is in the surprise.

OTA is truly proud to serve you and our community.

“Nothing thrills the senior executive team more than seeing our employees thriving and loving their work and workplace. I am so pleased with the increasing level of investment we have made over the past few years in our team members’ well-being and satisfaction, and the tremendous culture we have created. Many thanks to our wonderful HR team, led by Anita Atias, who have tremendous hearts for their mission to promote and support a great company culture!” says OTA’s Chief Operating Officer Gene Longobardi.

If you have any ideas or suggestions on how to bring more fun, community, and corporate social responsibility to OTA, please come by HR and share your suggestions. For it takes not just a village, but a village with heart. That is the OTA way.