Schwarz Partners

Schwarz Partners, a second-generation business, has grown from a corrugated sheet feeder to a provider, through its acquired companies and startups, of operations that span the corrugated industry—from paper mill to delivery. “We have the full spectrum of everything paper,” notes Joe Kennedy, vice president of human resources, at the company’s headquarters, in Carmel, Indiana.

That growth, needless to say, is reflected in the company’s workforce. “When I started, 19 years ago, we had 460 employees,” Kennedy says. “Today, with all of our various companies, we have over 7,200 employees in 21 states.”

The expansion has also increased the complexity of administering the retirement plan. The company currently has 67 pay groups across 48 operations. Until 2021, it had separate payroll services at each location. Some divisions are collectively bargained.

Schwarz Partners selected SageView Advisory Group as its plan adviser in 2008, then searched for a new recordkeeper. “Because of our ambitious growth, we outgrew some of our vendor partners,” Kennedy says. The recordkeeper the company had chosen in 2010 ultimately could not do everything needed, and in 2016 SageView helped its client perform a request for proposals. Schwarz Partners selected John Hancock. “They’ve been a great partner,” Kennedy observes.

The company created a 401(k) administrative committee, separate from the 401(k) investment committee, to focus on streamlining and improving the diverse plans. In 2022, it partnered with one payroll provider to manage payroll for most of its divisions and locations, which helped it make plan improvements across the board.

“We wanted to build a plan to help people help themselves,” Kennedy says. Previously, Schwarz had 3% automatic enrollment and a company match that was 50% of 6%. “People were missing out on that because they weren’t changing their contribution from automatic enrollment,” he says. The plan now automatically enrolls employees at 6% and performs an annual automatic increase and re-enrollment for all nonparticipants. “We’ve had great success at retaining people at those levels.” The plan continues to grow, now with more than $187 million in assets, a 96% participation rate, and an average deferral rate of 8.8%. The sponsor says it is about to add a Roth component.

Improving plan design was the first step, but the company says it also wanted to do more to increase employees’ retirement security. “Effective plan design is critical to building a successful retirement program, but, without strong employee engagement, many may not achieve successful retirement outcomes,” says Joe Connor, strategic relationship manager with John Hancock. “Schwarz is very active in getting employees to understand the benefits of the retirement program and how it can lead to a more secure financial future,” he says.

Recently, the company began helping employees deal with post-pandemic uncertainties, volatile financial markets and the related financial stress. In 2022, Schwarz’s HR staff partnered with John Hancock to hold 46 in-person education meetings over 20 days to show participants how they could stay on track for retirement during difficult financial times.

“That’s tough to do with a manufacturing client; shifts and schedules are pretty rigid, but Schwarz’s plant managers are flexible and understand the importance of getting people engaged,” Connor says. The company set up meetings during multiple shifts and often had someone who is bilingual help.

For participants nearing retirement, the sponsor also offers group and one-on-one meetings, with certified advisers from SageView. “We’ll set up a meeting at one of our manufacturing facilities, and anybody 60 or older is eligible to attend,” Kennedy says. “Our location managers will shut down a shift or have people come in early to attend. They see it as an investment in their people.”

Schwarz additionally holds a biennial HR summit, bringing together the HR staff from all of its locations to discuss topics such as benefits and how to support employees. The company’s benefit partners are also invited, to help present materials and information on any upcoming plan changes. With this “train-the-trainer” program, the sponsor prepares the HR people at all 40 locations to answer participant questions about the plan and resources.

“Our team at John Hancock loves working with Schwarz,” says Connor. “They’re serious about what they do, and they’re focused, the same as we are.”

—Kimberly Lankford