Credit Acceptance’s Wendy Rummler on Supporting Employee Well-Being

Roula Amire
2025-10-02T17:53:38-04:00
Podcast
Great Place To Work

Wendy Rummler, chief people officer at Credit Acceptance, wants mental health and well-being to be a regular topic of conversation in the workplace. She joined the “Better” podcast to discuss the importance of mental health, well-being, and connection in the workplace. She shared her personal journey with mental health and well-being, and how it shaped her leadership style.

During the pandemic, she experienced anxiety and panic attacks, initially thinking they were physical health issues. She said, “I was trying to prove to myself over and over that it was actually physical, and it wasn't.”

Realizing her struggles were mental health-related was a turning point. “Once I admitted that, it was like, how are people not talking about this? How can this happen to you and you can't control it? …. So I wanted to scream it from the rooftops: ‘This is what people are going through. Why are we not talking about this?’”

She shared her story at a sales leadership event with 700 people and discovered that many others were facing similar challenges.

Helping dreams come true

Credit Acceptance is committed to supporting workplace well-being through its program “Unburying Your Dreams.” Inspired by Ben Nemtin, a former athlete who overcame depression, this program encourages employees to rediscover their passions and achieve their bucket-list goals. The company has launched workshops, provided journals for tracking dreams, and helped employees make their wishes come true.

Maintaining company culture in a remote world

The company introduced regular “coffee chats,” one-on-one meetings, regional roundtables, and virtual meetups. About 70% of employees meet weekly with their leaders, and 90% at least bi-weekly. These conversations go beyond work, focusing on genuine care and well-being. “To me, meaningful is not just that we're talking about work priorities. It's, do you care about me? Are you checking in with me?”

As employee trust scores improved, so did the stock price

Credit Acceptance’s recognition as a great place to work didn’t happen overnight.

It was the result of intentional changes initiated in 2001 by its CEO when the company’s stock was $9. This transformation was driven by listening to employees. “We started talking to our team members. What do you want? We have a methodology for feedback. If you listen to your team members, you have to respond in one of three ways... Our leaders all know that.”

This led to significant improvements in employee trust scores and landed the company on the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For? list since 2014. The company’s stock has reached as high as $614.

“This is not a, oh, we'll be a great place to work. Flip the switch. It took a lot of time.”