Jeremy Siegel: This is GBH’s Morning Edition. Keeping a workforce happy is a good thing for workers and for businesses. But it’s easier said than done. My co-host, Paris Alston, discussed how a company can do that with Hem Patel, vice president of total rewards at the Cambridge-based Moderna.

Paris Alston: So first off, could you explain total rewards and how they contribute to employee well-being?

Hem Patel: Sure. So total rewards in its general sense covers all things compensation and benefits, but depending on the company and, certainly here, also spans across other elements, including equity compensation and recognition. So things like when employees share recognition and gratitude. There’s been a ton of studies showing that the more that people feel recognized and rewarded, and fairly rewarded, the more engaged they are. And that engagement obviously drives employee performance and therefore obviously has a direct impact on company performance. Really important to get the rewards right, so that people feel those things and feel the engagement and then the company gets the benefit from that.

Alston: Now we know that during the pandemic, Moderna was instrumental in creating one of the COVID-19 vaccines and keeping us all well. In that time and in the time since, what’s been needed to maintain and improve wellness in Moderna’s own workplace?

Patel: We have a high-performance culture and it’s because what we’re doing is so valuable and important and we believe we can really have a huge impact on patient health. And therefore it does require us to kind of come to work every day and give it our all. And in order to do that, we need to kind of make sure that we’re taking care of ourselves. And so, you know, I talked about composition and benefits, and people often think about things like medical programs or Bring Your Kid to Work Day, but that also includes things like when we have paid time off or when we do our recharge days. And I think those things are all really important in order for us all to kind of be able to maintain and pause and recharge so that we can bring our full selves to work and bring our best selves to work so that we can sustain performance.

Alston: Since compensation is part of this conversation, I do want to touch on executive pay for a bit because we know that this is something that’s garnered criticism from outsiders of the pharmaceutical industry. Just for instance, the CEO of Moderna, Stéphane Bancel, received $17 million in total compensation for the year 2023. And we know that not every employee there is making that kind of salary. So how do you make other workers feel just as valued?

Patel: The biggest moment I had when I joined Moderna in the role that I’m now in is actually that the compensation — you mentioned the CEO’s salary, it’s obviously made up of very different elements of compensation. But what I’ve found is that the things that are actually valued most by our employees are the benefits. They’re the things that kind of — people feel like they’re the things that we’re doing that go above and beyond, particularly when we’re customizing those programs to the needs of our employees. One of the programs that’s been particularly valued by our employees, it’s been a lifestyle spending account. And so that actually was born out of an exercise that we went through a couple of years ago where we asked employees what they would value most and the ability to spend on their own well-being in anything from a gym membership to buying sneakers or even what I personally use it for is actually just a home food delivery service.

Siegel: That was my co-host, Paris Alston, speaking with Hem Patel, vice president of total rewards at Moderna. They'll be in conversation at the From Day One conference in Boston this afternoon.

Keeping a workforce happy is a good thing for workers and for businesses. But it’s easier said than done.

At Cambridge-based Moderna, Hem Patel, vice president of total rewards, said the pharmaceutical company is looking at more than just compensation to keep its employees.

“Total rewards, in its general sense, covers all things compensation and benefits,” Patel said. “[It] also spans across other elements, including equity compensation and recognition. So things like when employees share recognition and gratitude.”

People who feel recognized and rewarded tend to stay more engaged in their work, he said. That recognition can come in the form of benefits like medical programs and paid time off, as well as bring your kid to work days and recharge days.

“It’s important to get the rewards right, so that people feel those things and feel the engagement and then the company gets the benefit from that,” he said. “That engagement obviously drives employee performance and therefore obviously has a direct impact on company performance.”

Patel described Moderna as a “high-performance culture.” In 2020, the company was instrumental in creating one of the COVID-19 vaccines.

“We believe we can really have a huge impact on patient health,” Patel said. “Therefore it does require us to kind of come to work every day and give it our all. And in order to do that, we need to kind of make sure that we’re taking care of ourselves.”

Of course, part of employee recognition involves pay. Executive salaries have garnered criticism from outsiders of the pharmaceutical industry: The CEO of Moderna, Stéphane Bancel, received $17 million in total compensation for 2023.

So how do companies keep every employee happy, even when lower-paid employees know they make a small portion of what the boss takes home?

“What I’ve found is that the things that are actually valued most by our employees are the benefits,” Patel said. “They’re the things that kind of — people feel like they’re the things that we’re doing that go above and beyond, particularly when we’re customizing those programs to the needs of our employees.”

Patel said Moderna’s most valued benefit is a lifestyle spending account — a pot of money they can spend on something that keeps them well.

“We asked employees what they would value most and [their response was] the ability to spend on their own well-being, in anything from a gym membership to buying sneakers or even what I personally use it for is actually just a home food delivery service,” Patel said.