Leaders that are seen as a valuable resource. A strong, healthy and aligned culture. A model of transparency. These are among the factors that led Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota to be named as a 2021 Top Workplace by the Star Tribune.

Each year, employees from companies across Minnesota are invited by the Star Tribune to respond to an annual survey, benchmarking workplace culture. Based on the employee responses, 175 companies across Minnesota were chosen as Top Workplaces.

Blue Cross is proud to have ranked as #30 in the large business category. The full 2021 list can be found at startribune.com.

“We aspire to be a best place to work and recognize that can only happen if our associates believe it to be such,” says Ruth Hafoka, senior vice president and chief human resources officer.

“Our associates’ open and honest feedback led to our placement on this list. We are incredibly proud to be here and will continue to work every day to ensure that Blue Cross remains one of the best places to work in Minnesota.”

"We are incredibly proud to be named a Top Workplace and will continue to work every day to ensure that Blue Cross remains one of the best places to work in Minnesota." -Ruth Hafoka, chief human resources officer

Listening and learning in pursuit of change

Blue Cross is committed to listen to feedback from our associates and implement meaningful change based on their responses.  Anne Losby, director of cultural transformation and change management, credits the company’s willingness to review and respond to previous surveys for the improvements made that led to Blue Cross becoming a 2021 Top Workplace.

“We remain committed to listening to our associates’ feedback, making continuous adjustments, improving the workplace experience and being a best place to work,” Anne says. “Our associates are the heart of our culture and make it possible to deliver on our mission to inspire change, transform care and improve health for the people we serve.”

"Our associates feel like they are making important contributions and therefore feel good about their work."- Anne Losby, director of cultural transformation and change management

Values in action

Anne believes that the company’s values in action are to be credited for the Top Workplace distinction.

“Our values and mission really drive our work. Our values—especially our encouragement for our associates to ‘own it’ when it comes to their work– really resonates with our team. Our associates feel like they are making important contributions and therefore feel good about their work.”

The six values are guided by Blue Cross’ mission “to inspire change, transform care and improve health for the people we serve”. They are:

• Put the customer first.
• Be remarkable.
• Succeed together.
• Own it.
• Find a better way.
• Do the right thing.

Learn how Blue Cross lives out our values every day on bluecrossmn.com

“This is an exciting time of transformation for our company,” Anne says. “With change often comes improvement. Our being named a top workplace shows that our cultural transformation has led to a more positive workplace experience for our associates and we aspire to continue to build on that success. Without a top-notch team, we couldn’t be named a Top Workplace and I believe we have some of the greatest talent in Minnesota at Blue Cross.”