5 Ways to Make Axon Benefits Work For You
Sep 08, 2022
The future of work is “human first.” Harvard Business Review reports “Amidst rising inflation, crippling student debt, unaffordable housing, rounds of layoffs, a lingering pandemic, and a looming recession, many young workers have reached a breaking point” and argues that employers - specifically leaders and managers - do more to support employees during these volatile times.
At Axon, we believe our mission to Protect Life starts with our people. We understand that our team members are more than their 9-to-5 personas, and offer robust benefits to empower our employees to care for their whole selves. If they’re at their best, so are we.
Interim Chief Financial Officer, Jim Zito, says “Attracting, developing, motivating and retaining world-class talent is a critical element of our capital allocation strategy. We offer highly innovative rewards programs that create alignment for our people to win when our shareholders win.”
This month, we're exploring our U.S. employee benefits offerings. Check out these 5 ways to make Axon benefits work for you.
1. Sign up for a Health Savings Account and Axon will contribute to your medical expenses.
The National Center for Health Statistics reported that in 2018 annual national health expenditures totaled $11,172 per person.
If you choose to enroll in Axon’s high-deductible health plan (HDHP), you are also eligible to enroll in an Empower health savings account, or HSA. HSAs are tax-advantaged accounts that help employees save for current and future medical benefits. Unlike flexible spending accounts, unused HSA dollars roll over year-over-year. These pre-tax contributions can be used for qualified medical expenses, such as acupuncture, doctor’s visits, prescriptions, counseling and more.
Even better, in addition to paying a portion of the HDHP monthly costs, Axon will also contribute to your HSA. Axon contributes $720 per year for employee HSA accounts and up to $1,800 per year to qualified family plans. If you work for 5 years with Axon, that’s a potential to receive up to $9,000 in your health savings account!
Not sure an HDHP is the medical right plan for you? We have your back. Axon partners with myalex.com to provide our employees with customized and confidential guidance based off of your answers.
Not in the U.S? The team has some other items in store! Axon offers tailored and competitive medical plans based on your nation of employment. For example, we offer private medical stipends in Canada, all statutory insurances in Finland, and a personal accident & health insurance program for our employees in Vietnam. If you’re an applicant outside of the U.S., simply contact your recruiter for more information.
2. Complete your first triathlon.
At Axon, we Aim Far. We like to think big with a long-term view, and this means setting big goals and developing the strategies necessary to achieve them!
Build your fitness training plan with unlimited access to nationwide in-person and virtual gyms and studios, plus well being apps, with your discounted Gympass membership. Employees can also participate in our Healthy Measures program where they can earn up to $250 per year by logging your wellness activities and participating in company events.
Ok, so maybe you are not exactly interested in swimming, biking and running, but you still have goals to achieve. For example, maybe you are saving to buy your first home. We’re here to help with free 24/7 access to Ginger, a mental health and behavioral health coaching support app available from the privacy of your smartphone.
The coaches, available through text chatting, help you create a plan and hold you accountable so you can achieve your goals. Even more than goal setting, Ginger coaches can help you with anything you’re struggling with, including stress, anxiety, depression, issues with work, relationships, sleep and more. Axon employees can chat live with a coach immediately or schedule a session.
We mentioned volatile times above, and Axon is committed to supporting our employees by putting mental health front and center. The Ginger app benefit also offers employees and up to 4 loved ones (ages 18+) up to 12 private therapy sessions per year.
“The idea for Ginger came directly from an employee recommendation in our annual surveys,” recalls Elizabeth Hart, SVP for People Operations. “Ginger not only provides resources, it truly empowers employees to manage work-life integration and care for their whole selves.”
3. Learn Agile Project Management — or another new skill.
Global demand for Axon products means we are growing exponentially. We need our employees to grow with us. That's why we're building learning and development programs and investing in our amazing employees who help us each step of the way.
Axon recently hired Kathleen Horton, our new Director of Learning & Development and is expanding the team responsible for building instructional design programs for employees.
“Our first initiative was to redesign New Hire Orientation,” reports Kathleen. “Currently we offer a robust Day One experience, and we are expanding this program to create cohort learning groups that include 30, 60 and 90 day touchpoints to ensure new hires are learning the tools and information necessary to succeed in their roles.”
Additionally, Axon offers unlimited access to LinkedIn Learning, which boasts more than 8,000 free courses for employees to develop their creative, business, and technology skills. So whether you are tackling your Agile Project Management Certification or developing leadership skills for your first management role, Axon supports employees by not only offering them resources, but also by encouraging them to set aside time for training and development.
4. Coach your child’s little league team.
One of the most rewarding opportunities in life is the chance to become a parent. But balancing parenting and careers can lead to juggling responsibilities and competing. Forbes recommends companies build supportive programs and policies for working parents, and at Axon, parents never have to miss a field trip or school play.
Time off is critical to refresh and recharge. That's why we have unlimited, discretionary paid time off for salaried employees and we encourage our teams to take time for themselves and the ones they love. We encourage our employees to be there for all the moments that matter.
What does work flexibility really mean at Axon? Well, it can look different for each employee, whether it’s a later start to accommodate school drop-offs or ‘quiet weeks' when we encourage our teams to take time for themselves.
"At Axon, we support the whole person, not just their 9–5 persona. When employers see their workforce as individual humans, employees can feel it and retention and career growth thrive." — Gabrielle Mellon, Director, Talent Acquisition
We also know growing families need attention and care, so we provide paid leave to parents welcoming a new addition. We offer 10 weeks paid parental leave and up to an additional 10 weeks paid supplemental pregnancy leave. We also offer a range of fertility benefits to help with family planning.
5. Work from anywhere.
Do you dream of working from the beach or traveling cross-country in your RV? We are a remote-first company and many of our roles are eligible for telework.
What started as temporary flexibility has become a part of who we are. Our focus is to enable a thriving work environment no matter where you’re located. In fact, approximately 50% of 2022 hires year-to-date are fully remote.
Remote roles will be listed on the careers page job board with “remote” in the job title. However, some roles may be telework eligible though not explicitly listed as such. Therefore, if you are interested in remote work, it’s always best to check with the recruiter.
Remote workers receive their Axon laptop shipped directly to their address of record. Additionally, they may apply for expense reimbursements for their monitor, keyboard and mouse. Additionally, Axon provides $50 per month towards full time employees’ cell phone bills.
If you like to travel, one of our roadshow administrator positions or sales positions may be just the right fit!
Finally, we have three main office hubs. Our mission control in sunny Arizona guides our activity across the globe, from Sales to Manufacturing to People Ops. Our office in downtown Seattle nestled between mountains and Puget Sound is the heart of our software operations. And, we've built an engineering and AI powerhouse in bustling southern Vietnam, where we tackle AI's biggest challenges.
Axon Careers
We are on a mission to Protect Life. We’re building technology to change the world, pursuing society’s most formidable safety and justice issues with our ecosystem of devices and cloud software. If this sounds like a mission you would like to be a part of, check out our resources below:
- Follow us on LinkedIn.
- Read more about Axon Careers.
- Explore our benefits.
- Search for open positions.