Transcript: How an HR Manager Developed a Successful Wellness Program

The following transcript is from an interview between Sheri Kuretich, HR Manager at Sunstone Circuits, and Brandon Laws, Marketing Manager at Xenium HR, on the podcast episode entitled: How an HR Manager Developed a Successful Wellness Program.
Brandon: Welcome to another podcast episode, my name is Brandon Laws and my guest today is Sheri Kuretich of Sunstone Circuits. She is their Human Resources manager. They have about 140 employees and are located in Mulino, which is about 30 miles southeast of Portland. Sheri, welcome to the program.
Sheri: Hi Brandon, it’s nice to be here.
Brandon: Sheri, today our conversation is going to be about wellness programs. I know your company has done quite a bit with wellness programs. Could you tell us what the original need was for a wellness program? Was it health-related, culture-related, or something else altogether?
Sheri: It was really a combination of both of those. About eight years ago, we started having little onsite Biggest Loser competitions and five day fruit and vegetable challenges. The employees were very receptive to it. We do an annual insurance renewal for our premiums. We often carry two plans, with Kaiser and Providence, and what we were finding was that our utilization declining year after year as time went on. Our premiums were going up but we were seeing a lot of activity, not only in just medical claims but also in prescriptions. Usually that’s a good indicator that things aren’t moving in the right direction, so it was obvious to us that our workforce was experiencing some health challenges. We were trying to get creative in the ways we could engage them in becoming healthier.
Brandon: So before you actually started focusing on the wellness activities and those sorts of things, you obviously saw the increase of utilization of healthcare, like doctor’s visits. I’m wondering, did you find a way to get the carriers to link the wellness program to a premium reduction or were you hoping for some sort of organic change in the overall health of the workforce?
Sheri: Once we had more formal wellness initiatives, we have gone back at renewal time and shown them what we have been doing and what results we’ve experienced in hopes that that would help offset some of the larger premium increases. More than that, I think it has really influenced the culture. You overhear a lot of conversations of people being engaged with the competitive events. It’s been a lot of fun.
Brandon: It’s beautiful when you get a chance to get people engaged and actually see the success of it for yourself. I imagine it wasn’t like that in the beginning, so how did you originally start the program? Did you personally start it? Did you have a team, or a committee? Can you give the listeners some insight as to how you even start a wellness program in the first place?
Sheri: We had talked about what we could do in terms of more activities, and in a conversation with our representative at Xenium, Kim O’Donnell, she had met Benjamin and a company called Kadalyst. Benjamin came out and met with myself and Rocky Catt, our COO, to talk about their program, what they could offer, and how we might be able to engage the employees and move in a direction of better health. So the decision and the brainstorming started with Rocky, Kadalyst, and Kim at Xenium, and together we formulated a program that has continued to evolve. We actually ended up partnering with Kadalyst and they’ve been with us over the past three years and have brought in health coaches.
It was a long decision in the making, though. We almost started in 2011 but not until 2012 did we make the commitment to implement a more formal wellness program.
Brandon: And what does a full wellness program look like? Is it a string of activities throughout the year or maybe is it at an individual level? Could you give an overview as to how it works?
Sheri: It’s a little bit of both of those. We have the biometric screening and the health risk assessments that we launch so we can do the year-to-year comparison to make sure we are seeing some results and that the program is being successful.
Brandon: In your mind, what is success? Is it everybody participating? Is it a decreased risk for something?
Sheri: The success for Sunstone is really seeing individuals take charge of their life in a healthier way. And we have testimony after testimony here where people have done that. I think the owners are very committed to seeing that. It lets them know that their investment in the employees in this capacity has been well worth it.
Brandon: That’s great. So what are some of the wellness programs that you’ve done? You mentioned Biggest Loser, maybe talk about that a little bit along with some of the other programs you’ve implemented.
Sheri: We’ve done five-a-day fruit and vegetable challenges, which we’ll do for four or five weeks. We’ve done “Rethink Your Drink” which was an educational challenge. It was more of an individual program and consisted of tests you’d take to test your knowledge of what items contained a lot of sugar around the things we drink. There were a lot of surprises, from Gatorade to chocolate milk, these things you wouldn’t think would have a lot of sugar but were actually loaded with sugar. So that was a lot of fun; we did that one this year. Around the holidays we do “Maintain, Not Gain.” We’ve had a company-wide walking trail challenge. We have a nice walking trail on our premises that gives us a huge advantage there. We also brought Cascade Centers EAP wellness seminars. We had them come in with a variety of topics, not just around nutrition or physical activity but also about mental health, getting proper sleep, financial wellness, and more. It’s all a wellness package, it isn’t always just about the activities. We’ve had Portland to Coast, Hood to Coast, Relays, Summer Solstice, and Warrior Dash, and we do sponsor a lot of those events to try to get employees out and about in that capacity as well.
Brandon: Now with all the activities you’re doing—and it sounds like a pretty robust program—I’m curious about whether you allow employees to do these activities on work time or if there’s a certain level of wellness that they need to do outside of work. How do you account for that as an HR person?
Sheri: We partner with Kadalyst and we do have health coaches that come out a couple times a week to meet with employees for about twenty minutes. So not everybody needs it monthly, but we do put that on the clock so the employees don’t have to punch out or anything. It’s an investment Sunstone has made in allowing those employees to meet with the coaches. During a session they could be talking about anything, from nutrition to fitness to financial, and the health coaches help connect them with resources out there in the community or through their medical insurance, or our EAP, Cascade Centers, in helping them find what they’re needing.
Brandon: I’ve found that for a lot of companies, when they start a wellness program, they build a plan, they implement it, and then they kind of just let it go and hope for the best. It sounds like with the coaches’ involvement there’s probably a deeper level of engagement than it would be otherwise if you didn’t have the coaches. So, from your perspective, how have the coaches played a role and do you think it has created a successful program?
Sheri: I think it has. The employees build rapport and connection and trust with the health coach. We incentivized our participation also, which is one thing I probably could have mentioned sooner, is that participation is linked to our medical premium. So you can opt in or opt out. If you opt in, Sunstone will pay 100% of the medical premium for the employee. If you opt out, you would pay a percentage. Currently this year if you opt out you would pay $75 a month for your medical insurance.
Brandon: Still very generous!
Sheri: We have a BINGO game with 24 squares, and participants must complete eight of those squares in a 12-month period. I don’t have a copy of one here with me, but the squares contain things like volunteering, giving blood, taking a class, doing a competitive event, and numerous other things on there that qualify. We ask employees to complete two of those per quarter. If you end up doing more, your name goes in a drawing. So we have really incentivized the program in a variety of ways, because no one thing fits all.
Brandon: When you look at the course of the whole program, what would you say your biggest success might be? I don’t know if you’re measuring as you do the biometric screenings or just participation, but what would you say is your biggest success?
Sheri: That we have grown. The wellness membership or the number of people participating is currently at 85%, and it’s grown each year. I think the biggest successes included an employee who took first place this year with the American Heart Association for the Lifestyle Change Award in Portland. He was one who was really driven. It’s one thing for leadership and managers to get up there and talk about the program but when it’s a person out on the floor that a lot of the employees can relate to and trust it’s different. They made it clear that they only signed up for the $50 that first year, when it was a monthly $50 you’d have to pay if you opted out. And now this person has made major changes. So there have been a lot of those individual successes throughout.
Brandon: What about failures, would you do anything different? Or maybe have there not been any failures?
Sheri: We have had a few people who opted in to the program and then for various reasons have opted out. Every year I go back out there and talk to them one-on-one. We’ve had a few who have gone ahead and given it a try and found that there are a lot of good things they could walk away with and stay at an opt in. So we just keep having the conversation and the thought is that healthy people are usually healthier and aren’t going to miss as much work. They’re also more fun to be around. So that’s the goal.
Brandon: Do you find that some of your employees get really excited about wellness? You mentioned that some have made life-altering changes. Is that an overall sentiment among a group of employees—that they’re really excited about wellness and making a change in their life?
Sheri: Yes there is, and our wellness committee has really tried to utilize those employees as cheerleaders for the program and put them in charge of things or give them things to do that can help inspire and create excitement throughout. There are some out there who are doing what they need to do and keep that incentive happening. In the meantime, they’re becoming educated, and that’s really what it’s about: making better choices for ourselves.
Brandon: Has the wellness program organically changed? You’ve explained how your committee would create the plan, develop programs, and launch programs at different times, but with the excitement and engagement of your employees, have they come to you with suggestions for new programs or activities?
Sheri: Actually there is a BINGO square to come up with a wellness idea. Just having the idea gets you a BINGO square, but if you implement it you can get another one. We do a survey each year to look for ideas. We actually just rolled that one out and I sent out that paperwork this week, today actually, to get feedback. We ask, “What do you want this program to look like?” and “What’s going to help you stay engaged?” and “Where do you see yourself needing some assistance?” We really want it to be meaningful and to inspire people in a fun and meaningful way as well.
Brandon: People listening are probably thinking, ‘Ok, I don’t have a wellness program, or maybe I do, but I don’t have a big budget, I just have X amount of dollars to do something like this.’ Did you find yourself in a similar position with a limited budget? What was the thought process like? Where do you sit today as far as budget?
Sheri: It has evolved. We have a number in mind and we do incentivize a lot of the events, but you can do that in a lot of different ways, whether it’s through recognition or a gift card or an afternoon off. There are ways to do this without it being too costly. Sunstone does throw some decent dollars at it with all these events we’re doing and getting people engaged and the health coaches. But the hope is that people will become healthier and we will see less utilization through the medical costs and prescription costs. There have been people who have shared with us that they no longer take their high blood pressure medicine or their heart medicine. I do believe that there’s a return on the investment through the attendance. Some of it is softer and harder to quantify.
Brandon: I’m totally with you. I come from the marketing world and it’s funny because a lot of the time you’re wanting to throw a certain amount of dollars at something, and there’s no way you’re going to see a return on that investment immediately. In most cases I’ve found that to be true. I’ve sat on a wellness committee at our company, Xenium, and I have found that if there’s any ROI it’s probably going to be a tail to it, whether that’s two or three years from now. Only time will tell if there’s truly a change within the group.
I don’t know how long your programs been in place, maybe two years, but in general terms have you seen a return on investment at this point?
Sheri: I think it’s more in the culture.
Brandon: I was about to say that, too.
Sheri: It’s creating a culture where people have a sense of belonging; they recognize that the owners do care about their wellbeing. The partners put in a walking trail and a fitness gym with really nice equipment. It’s all very genuine. So I think the return is employees who are engaged and committed. They feel like they’re really a part of something. As far as our medical premiums we haven’t really seen a flat renewal or anything like that. We have seen some that are single digits which we’re always really happy about, because there was a time when it was looking pretty scary. Keeping the medical premiums consistent was part of the original conversation.
Brandon: With medical premiums, if the market is doing a 25% increase year over year and you’re doing 5%, to me that seems like an ROI. Because otherwise you would have been at the same rate of the market. It’s hard to look past those increases, but for me, that’s how I view it.
Sheri: With the increases, sometimes it can just be one claim, too. It could be any one of us any day with something really awful happening, not because we aren’t taking care of ourselves but just because of something unfortunate. If you look over our entire history it really comes down to three claims, these unfortunate things that occurred, that drive the premium. The insurance companies know this and can see it, but still the bottom line is utilization, whether it’s one person, two people, or ten.
It’s challenging, but I think for us the return is the commitment and what we’re seeing with the help of our employees.
Brandon: Absolutely. Doing right by your employees is just the right thing to do. And to your point earlier on culture, that’s really what it’s all about. If you can make a lasting impact on the culture, then it’s going to make all the difference in the world. It’s going to affect a lot of different things besides the health and wellness of your employees.
So where do you see wellness going in your organization? And for other companies too, where do you see it going altogether?
Sheri: These last couple years, and this last year in particular it’s been mostly focused on activity. There are a lot of conversations out there as our program grows about it becoming more of an outcome-based model. That’s where you take those five key metrics, the BMI, LDL, cholesterol, glucose, things the biometric checks for, and you can actually aim to have those be in a certain range. At Sunstone we’re just starting to look at that because we’re already testing all those factors. If an employee can maintain or improve, then to us that’s a success, not so much that they have to be in that green zone. We don’t want people going and doing things that would be unhealthy just to get their waist circumference to a certain size, per se. To us it’s a success if they aren’t going in the wrong direction. I think looking to move to tobacco free in the year 2016 is something we’re currently looking at as well. We haven’t made that step. We do have a tobacco policy, so it’s limited where you can use it. As an organization we’ve started to look at this and there are a lot of statistics out there about the harmfulness of tobacco use and how it drives up a lot of health issues and of course affects medical premiums. I can’t think for other companies, but one thing I’d put out there for a company that has wellness would be to do a challenge with another company, such as a walking challenge, and get some companies going back and forth with some friendly challenges. Our own walking challenge was very well received and it can get pretty competitive.
Brandon: I think that’s a great idea! The challenges I see in wellness programs have to do with technology and tracking and those sorts of resources that you have between two companies. You’d need some sort of technology platform where you can track together and it’s all aggregated. Maybe some company will come out with that, if it doesn’t already exist, to help companies like us compete against each other.
So thinking back to when you started this program, what would you tell somebody in your shoes?
Sheri: Start small. Really communicate the reasons behind it. I think that really saved us. At our company meetings we started talking about it in September of 2011, and we rolled it out in January 2012. So in 2011 we talked about how we were moving in this direction and we didn’t know what it would look like and why. There was definitely some hesitation and some conversations that had to occur. We rolled it out with leadership first and asked for all their questions to make sure that we could all be more of a unified front and make sure the message was clear and that we were clear on what the message is. There’s nothing worse than trying to roll something out and have those who are explaining it not understand it. So just be patient with it and very clear on your intent as to why you’re doing it and be genuine about that when you communicate it.
Brandon: I think you hit the nail on the head. It’s really all about the purpose statement and communicating that to the employees, I totally agree with you on that.
I really appreciate you coming on to the podcast! Are there any resources you can think of that listeners might enjoy, whether it’s any blog posts or companies that have resources. I know you mentioned Kadalyst, another Portland-based business that provides some great resources. Is there anything else you’ve run across that might be helpful?
Sheri: The internet. There’s so much information out there. We went to the Portland Business Journal’s Oregon’s Healthiest Employers awards ceremony and there are a lot of companies out there doing a lot of great things. Just pick up the phone and give their HR manager a call, I’ve done that several times myself and I’ve also helped other companies with ideas by sharing how we rolled it out. There’s a lot of information out there.
Brandon: Our guest today has been Sheri Kuretich, Human Resources Manager at Sunstone Circuits. Thanks again Sheri for being part of the podcast, we really appreciate it.
Sheri: You’re welcome Brandon, it was fun.