Kohler Co.

Kohler has the Women@Work network who mission is to cultivate an inclusive environment that supports and encourages women. This group shares similar and diverse experiences, perspectives and challenges to build community and contribute to the success of Kohler through focused member development, culture and consumer insights.

Unconscious bias training - Unconscious bias training around how unconscious bias impacts business decisions and hiring decisions with mitigation techniques that an individual can adopt to avoid the repercussions of unconscious bias. 

Internal employee networking - INK is a volunteer group which consists of individuals who are interested in building up a sense of community in Kohler Wisconsin and helping to foster relationships between associates outside of their traditional business/functional areas.  This group sponsors networking events around the Kohler campus area including leadership speed networking, social events and social groups. We also have a number of business resource groups. Along with our Women@Work we have our LGBTQ+ group called Kohler Pride and our veteran’s group which is called all of these groups collaborate for networking events and initiatives important to each specific group. 

Diversity initiatives - Kohler Company has adopted the two in the pool methodology for diverse candidate considerations. When recruiting for diversity on critical roles, hiring managers and recruiters ensure more than one qualified diverse candidates are present in the final selection pool of a candidate pool for a given position.

We know employee expectations for workplace culture continually evolves. Employees of all ages and backgrounds are seeking flexibility in their workplace to bring balance to their lives and achieve the goals of the organization. We work to think creatively about how we retain and recruit talent, ensure engagement remains strong and work in new and different ways. Formal and informal programs for flexibility in the workplace is a way for us to do that.

We believe that this flexibility will support our organization’s mission, ensuring our teams meet their objectives, while providing quality service and gracious experiences to our customers. We are committed to making flexible work a foundational part of the way we do business here. 

Parental Leave is available to fathers, mothers, and adoptive parents (including foster parents and surrogates) to help care for and bond with a newborn or newly adopted child. Ten days of paid Parental Leave are available to eligible associates. Birthing mothers can use their Parental Leave to extend their paid time off immediately following their paid maternity leave or use full days intermittently or consecutively after returning to work (leave must be used within six months of baby’s birth or placement). 

All parents have the option to take time off for the birth/adoption of a child. Kohler Co. offers six weeks full paid maternity leave for mothers following the birth of their child(ren). Additionally, we offer two full weeks parental leave for mothers (on top of 6 weeks maternity leave for 8 weeks total), fathers, and adoptive parents. Parents also have the option of taking additional time off (unpaid) up to 12 weeks total (inclusive of paid and unpaid) within 12 months of the birth/adoption.

Kohler Co. provides a supportive environment and complies with applicable laws enabling nursing mothers to express milk during work hours and we strive to provide comfortable, clean rooms that assist the needs of our associates and/or visitors to our work areas.    

• Standard requirements for the rooms provided are:
  •  Non-restroom, dedicated room with a door that can be closed 
  • As needed, additional space or the ability to separate the dedicated room into two or more private nursing mother areas with the use of well-constructed privacy curtains or screens
  • A room that includes:
    • A table and chair that are both comfortable and easy to clean
    • A dedicated electrical outlet, refrigerator, and if plumbing allows, a sink
    • Sanitary wipes and other clean environment supplies like dish soap and toweling
    • A schedule for use
    • A schedule for cleaning 

Mothers who travel for work can utilize the Milk Stork service which Kohler Co. will pay for as a travel expense. Milk Stork will either ship overnight or provide a personal tote to transport milk in a refrigerated container back to their child.

Phased-in post-maternity return - This is based on each mother’s return to work plan. They are able to use their 12 weeks of FML flexibly to suit their needs within 12 months of birth/adoption. This can be a combination of maternity, paternity and FML. Some choose to use it all at once and some choose to utilize a portion of it to ease in to their return to work.

Maternity leave coaching - We offer “starting a family resources” through our Employee Assistance Program (EAP) via Optum as well as the “Healthy Pregnancy” app via United Healthcare.

Fertility benefits - Kohler’s medical plans pay benefits for infertility services and associated expenses for the diagnosis and treatment of an underlying medical condition that causes infertility, when under the direction of a physician (except for a single location’s PPO plan). Benefits are provided for artificial insemination limited to ten courses of treatment during the entire time you are covered under a Kohler Co. medical plan.

On-Ramping/Off-Ramping before and after parental leave - We support a close relationship between associates and their managers to encourage collaboration on on-ramping and off-ramping.

Depending on location, some local daycare options offer varying discounts to Kohler associates.