2021 Finalists
September 20, 2021
Each year, the Healthiest Employers® awards program honors the best and brightest in workplace wellness. Over the past year and a half, it has become apparent that when it comes to employees’ overall well-being, employers have an incredible opportunity to offer benefits that fit an employee’s unique needs – regardless of where they are in their health journey.
The Healthiest Employers assessment is scored Rubric style on a 1-100 scale. The assessment is made up of six categories with yes/no, multiple choice, and short answer questions, with each question totaling .25-3 points. A Healthiest Employers Index (HEI) is assigned to each applicant to help rank among companies of similar size.
The 6 categories evaluated:
- Culture and Leadership Commitment
- Foundational Components
- Strategic Planning
- Communications and Marketing
- Programming and Interventions
- Reporting and Analytics
The following organizations were named to the Healthiest Employers of the Triangle for the 2021 nomination period. Congratulations to our finalists!
Small
1st Clarkston Consulting – Durham
Clarkston Consulting is made up of leading industry-focused consultants that provide life sciences, consumer products, and retail business consulting services. Clarkston aims to address more than just physical health by also focusing heavily on mental health assistance throughout the pandemic and financial wellness resources. As many people were confined to their homes in 2020, Clarkston provided at-home biometric screening kits so that employees could track their health status without leaving their houses. With this, they saw a 40% increase in the number of biometric screenings completed and provided additional educational opportunities to go along with their scores.
“By encouraging our employees to support and learn from each other, we have flourished as a business and as individuals because our culture embraces bringing your authentic self to work. Our success is indicative of our people’s success – both personally and professionally.” – Kate Butts, Senior HR Generalist
2nd Storr Office Environments – Raleigh
3rd Stewart – Raleigh
4th WithersRavenel – Cary
5th Railinc – Cary
6th Workplace Options – Raleigh
7th LifeOmic – Indianapolis, Indiana (Local Office: Morrisville)
Midsize
1st Merz North America, Inc. – Raleigh
Merz North America, Inc. is a privately held, family-owned company that has dedicated more than 110 years to developing pharmaceutical innovations that meet patient and customer needs. Now with the vaccine available, Merz continues to provide flexible work from home policies and continued mental health resources. Even with the increased strain and anxiety of the previous year, Merz was able to keep premiums flat for all employees with a 0% renewal increase. Additionally, they offered a $0 copay for telemedicine, company-paid child, elder, and pet care, and pet insurance.
“We are proud of our Total Wellness Employee Value Proposition which currently offers over 43 programs to support the health of our employees mentally, physically, and financially. The pandemic underscored the critical importance of comprehensive benefit programs. We are very fortunate that we were well positioned with a variety of benefit offerings before the pandemic and were able to provide personalized resources to meet the needs of our employees and their families. We will continue to adapt and enhance our employee value proposition as the post pandemic needs will certainly change.” – Hyunna Coelho, Chief Administrative Officer
2nd City of Rocky Mount – Rocky Mount
3rd Builders Mutual Insurance Company – Raleigh
4th Coastal Credit Union – Raleigh
Large
1st Wake County Government – Raleigh
Wake County Government is a local government employer that employs approximately 4,200 employees to serve over 1 million citizens. Because of their emphasis on culture and employee health, they were able to decrease chronic conditions within their population by 5.4% during a year in which many employees were feeling increased amounts of stress and anxiety. Their telehealth utilization increased by 486%, highlighting their focus on total employee wellbeing.
“Wake County’s approach to the health and well-being of its employees is built on the philosophy that each employee is unique and valuable. I am proud that the County’s benefits program is designed to meet our diverse workforce where they are and how they are to achieve outcomes that ensure the employee is successful while on the job and in life.” – Emily Lucas, Chief Financial Officer
2nd Syngenta – Greensboro
3rd Cree, Inc. – Durham
4th Durham County – Durham
5th Research Triangle International – Research Triangle Park
Extra Large
1st Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina – Durham
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (Blue Cross NC) has been committed to making healthcare better, simpler, and more affordable since 1933. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Blue Cross NC allowed additional PTO days, temporary two-week paid sick leave for those affected by COVID, and provided a childcare subsidy for qualified employees. They understand the importance that family and homelife have on employee health and wellbeing, so they expanded their program incentives to include spouses and domestic partners. In the past year, their healthcare savings totaled approximately $380,000, capturing the success of their initiatives.
“I am proud of our workforce as we have managed through this difficult time, while most importantly, never losing sight of our customers, many of whom were also dealing with difficult health issues. Our purpose remains – we will not stop until healthcare is better for all.” – Fara Palumbo, Chief People Officer
2nd WakeMed Health and Hospitals – Raleigh
3rd Accenture – Raleigh
The Healthiest Employers® survey is scored and powered by Springbuk, a health intelligence platform that simplifies data-driven decision-making with an intuitive user experience, predictive modeling, and curated action steps. Since 2009, Healthiest Employers has been the leading recognition program for employee wellness. Today, we currently host award ceremonies in over 45 regions across the country and applicants are not only eligible for local recognition, but also have the chance to earn a spot on the Healthiest 100 Workplaces in America. This national award takes the highest scoring applicants from all locations, company sizes, and industries. To sign up for the Healthiest Employers newsletter and get more information on our events, join our mailing list today!
To see more of our 2021 winners and finalists in the Healthiest Employers program, click here!
