what’s working
lean for life
tracking changes, protecting employee privacy
Those kinds of anecdotes are common at Trident and other
Many wellness programs include health screenings for
companies that have set up wellness programs. A recent survey
employees. From testing cholesterol, blood pressure and a few
of more than 1,300 businesses and nearly 10,000 employees by
other baselines, a picture emerges that becomes dynamic and
Workforce Management magazine found that 70 percent of
three-dimensional over time.
workers say health and wellness programs positively influence
At both Trident and Pearson, screenings are optional, but
the culture at work.
financial incentives sweeten the deal to entice workers. Those
Machelle Johnson, director of human resources at Pearson
who take the screenings and make positive life changes get a
Packaging Systems in Spokane, says her company’s wellness
rebate as well as lower health premiums for the coming year.
program changes lives.
The company never has access to individual medical records;
“I have had employees who have either chewed tobacco,
outside firms that fully comply with medical privacy laws do
smoked, drank, or didn’t exercise prior to Lean for Life, and
the number crunching and give general overall reports back to
now one individual can bike over 100 miles in a day and
the companies.
another employee recently completed an Iron Man,” Johnson
Trident uses an outside company to manage the wellness
said. “It has truly been a transformation of lifestyle.”
programs. Trident pays for on-site health screenings while the
Pearson, a family-owned company with 160 employees,
vendor keeps the records and produces a report that complies
is several years into a wellness program that was born
with all medical privacy rules. Trident never knows employees’
from incorporating Lean processes into their factory. The
BMI or cholesterol levels — only whether specific workers
ideas of measurement, individual accountability, constant
qualify for a rebate.
improvement and elimination of
waste seemed to apply just as much to
health as to manufacturing, she said.
The wellness program, “Lean for
Life,” starts with biometric testing, sets
— Joe Misenti, Vice President, Trident Seafoods,
a future goal and brings in resources —
administration/risk management and assistant general counsel
nutritionists, trainers, wellness consultants — to help employees get and
stay healthy. They offer incentives for
improvement and engage their bluefive tips for a top-notch wellness program
collar workforce by explaining that
hunting excursions in the woods and
Companies with successful wellness programs offer a few lessons:
walki