SFM Mutual Insurance Co. announced today that the Star Tribune has ranked the workers’ compensation insurer as the eighth best place to work among midsize employers in Minnesota for 2024.

The Star Tribune’s Top 200 workplaces were chosen based on anonymous surveys of employees, which asked them to rank their employers in areas such as quality of leadership, cooperation between departments, meaningfulness of work, appreciation from coworkers, positivity of workplace, flexibility in scheduling, level of pay and quality of benefits.

“Our reputation as the work comp experts is directly related to the talent of our employees and their dedication to customer service,” said Terry Miller, President and CEO of SFM. “Our employees embody our culture. They are the primary reason SFM is a fantastic place to work and develop.”

The survey of SFM employees produced a workplace experience score of 4.92 out of 6. Themes that emerged from the survey include:

• The company’s vision, values and direction closely align with those of employees
• SFM employees feel empowered and able to grow in their careers
• Employees are engaged and committed, and advocate for SFM
• Pay, benefits and work-life balance are competitive compared to others in the industry
• Employees feel respected and supported

Also cited in the survey was an appreciation for SFM’s strong tradition of corporate philanthropy. In April 2024, the company became a member of the Minnesota Keystone Program, which promotes corporate philanthropy by recognizing and honoring companies that donate at least 2 percent of their pre-tax earnings to charitable organizations.

“It’s terrific to see how much employees enjoy working at SFM,” said Jody Rogers, Senior Vice President, Chief HR Officer. “It’s always been our philosophy to take excellent care of our employees, and our latest survey results confirm that our efforts are being realized.”

The Star Tribune Top Workplaces designation is awarded based on the results of a survey of employees conducted by Energage, a company that specializes in employee surveys and conducts more than 66,000 annually.

SFM has earned the accolade four out of the four times the company has participated.

View Star Tribune’s 2024 Top Workplaces webpage

View SFM’s Top Workplaces profile

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Children’s Minnesota has been recognized as one of the best hospital systems for kids in the U.S.

“Children’s is on the leading edge of advanced care for medically delicate situations, such as post-delivery for premature babies, childhood cancer and adolescent mental health,” said Amanda Aponte, CFO at SFM. “As a mother with small children, this cause is very close to my heart.”

Now, Aponte will bring her financial expertise to the nonprofit hospital group — she’s volunteering as a Community Member on the Children’s Minnesota Hospital investment subcommittee.

In her role, Aponte will collaborate with the Children’s investment team and subcommittee members on the Children’s Minnesota hospital and Children’s Minnesota Foundation investment portfolios. She started in May 2024, attending her first investment committee meeting. The group meets quarterly.

“I’m excited to step outside of workers’ compensation and use my experience to help a different worthy cause,” Aponte said. “I’m looking forward to learning more about nonprofit financials and investment strategies.”

Those investment strategies often center around environmental, social and governance matters, developing metrics to monitor asset managers’ progress toward goals.

“The mission at Children’s is to help kids specifically,” she said. “They do this not only in their operations but also in the way they invest, such as venture capital investments that bolster childhood medical advancements.”

An actuary by training, Aponte will bring the skills she has developed at SFM to the investment portfolio at Children’s Minnesota, notably her background in fixed income investing and enterprise risk management.

“I’m thrilled to be a small piece in Children’s greater community initiatives to lift up kids and families who are experiencing difficult medical situations.”

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