When POMCO was formed nearly 30 years ago, Robert Pomfrey and his father, Maurice, had fewer than 10 employees. Today, POMCO is one of the nation's largest independent professional benefits administrators, with 340 employees across its seven offices in New York state, including 270 employees at its newly-renovated Eastwood corporate headquarters. Unlike other major businesses in Central New York, POMCO continues to grow its workforce and is expecting to add 15 to 20 more mid-level jobs in several of its departments during first quarter 2008.

POMCO's growth, largely due to significant client additions in 2007 and anticipated additions in first quarter 2008, comes as the company works to define itself as an employer of choice in New York state. POMCO underscored this commitment by recently hiring Claudia St. John as the company's new Vice President for People. The purpose of this new position is to stress the importance that employees are the key to POMCO's success.

According to Robert Pomfrey, POMCO president & CEO, the Vice President for People position was created to ensure POMCO employees at all levels of the organization have the necessary tools, technology, information, work environment and other support needed to do their jobs to the best of their abilities.

In addition to overseeing POMCO's Human Resources Department, the Vice President for People is responsible for employee development, training, internal communications, workplace flexibility and overall employee satisfaction.

"A company is only as successful as its people, which is why we place the highest value on this most valued resource," Pomfrey said. "It just serves to reason that employees who are happy and enjoy coming to work for their company are going to be more loyal to that organization and willing to go the extra mile to serve their clients. That's why we work so hard to make this a great place to work."

This past summer, POMCO conducted an independent survey of its entire workforce to determine employees' satisfaction with the company. Participants were asked to provide confidential feedback on 30 broad categories of survey questions, with an ultimate goal of POMCO to be recognized among the "Best Places to Work."

More than 85 percent of POMCO employees participated in the survey. Two-thirds of respondents rated POMCO an "8" or higher (out of "10") as a desired place to work - and one-third rated POMCO a "9" or higher in the same category.

"Our recruiters continuously hear positive feedback about POMCO from individuals they work with," said Meg Sherman, vice president of Sales for Contemporary Personnel Staffing & Professionals, Inc. "The comments we hear from our candidates indicate they view POMCO as an attractive place to work, with a solid reputation in the community."

One survey topic that elicited much positive survey feedback was work flexibility. More than 80 percent of respondents said they are happy with the flexibility of work hours and family/work balance POMCO provides. The company's telecommuting option, in particular, is very popular.

Employees also cited the company's success, client growth, work environment and family atmosphere as sources of satisfaction. "Being responsible for employee satisfaction can be a daunting task, but POMCO is truly committed to its employees - and they enjoy working here, which makes my job easier," St. John said.

St. John added that many projects are slated at POMCO for 2008, including implementing a major internal training program, a new communications strategy and many employee development programs.

A resident of Cazenovia, St. John previously was a management and benefits consultant with St. John Communications, LLC. She also served as a senior consultant with Mercer Human Resources Consulting in Geneva, Switzerland and Washington, DC.