Big buy-in, documented results, serious changes

Taryn Plumb
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
When walking into any Dave’s Marketplace, shoppers are immediately met with a bounty of produce, much of it locally sourced. The colorful welcome is a way to remind customers about how important it is to integrate fruits and vegetables into their daily diet, according to the family-owned company.
But this health-conscious philosophy goes far beyond the supermarket shelves. It permeates the independent grocery chain to the point where it’s now firmly ingrained in its culture – from rewards for health checkups to friendly, competitive fitness challenges and a regular rotation of themed health seminars and events.
“They’re very generous as to how they incentivize their employees,” said Kevin Lovett, senior vice president of employee benefits at Gencorp Insurance Group, who helps facilitate Dave’s wellness effort.
The impetus came about five years ago, when Dave’s – which was started in 1969 by family patriarch David Cesario as a simple roadside stand, and has since grown to nine grocery stores around the state and a full-service catering element – became self-insured. At that time, the company made a commitment to prioritize the physical and mental health and well-being of its employees, both to improve morale and provide savings for the company and its workforce.
“There’s been an enormous amount of return on investment with this approach,” said Lovett. And, as he explained, the program eventually took on a life of its own and “has just built out year over year, become bigger, better, more strategic.”
First and foremost, the East Greenwich-based company motivates its workers to take command of their own health. All employees, as well as their dependents over age 19 enrolled in the health program, are prompted to get routine physicals, eye exams and biometric screenings. Once they provide proof that they have done so, they are rewarded with a subsidy of half the deductible on their plan.
Compliance with this element of the wellness program is 90-plus percent, Lovett said. “It has grown steadily because it’s a very generous payback,” he said.
And ultimately – in more ways than one – employees also are reaping the rewards of improved health and knowledge of potential risk factors.
For example, there’s been an uptick in pre-diabetes and early-onset diabetes diagnoses in “folks who probably didn’t even know they had the precursor to diabetes,” Lovett said, and compliance in taking medication for hypertension is “through the roof,” or just about 99 percent.
In addition to blood panels and regular checkups, eye exams can be crucial in detecting diabetes and brain tumors, he said.
Ultimately, it’s a significant requirement, but a simple and a logical one.
“People need to know their numbers,” said Lovett. “It helps the employee, it informs them, and informs us about how we can best tailor this wellness program to their particular needs.”
But Dave’s Marketplace wellness initiatives go far beyond visits to the doctor. The company’s wellness committee – comprised of employees, management and insurance company representatives – regularly convenes to collaborate and establish a calendar year’s worth of programming.
As a means to reinforce and expand awareness of critical health issues, numerous events are tailored around national campaigns such as Breast Cancer Awareness Month, American Heart Month, Men’s Health Month and the Great American Smokeout. A four-week workshop, “Beat the Pack,” was held to help smokers do just that. In a similar effort that employed some tongue-in-cheek yet serious symbolism, employees were given cold turkey sandwiches from their store’s deli in exchange for a pack of cigarettes.
So far, the company has taken a “preventative approach” to smoking (it’s banned on premises, but there is no firm requirement yet for employees to quit completely), and cessation methods such as patches and gums are also covered 100 percent by the company.
“There should be no impediment, financially at least, for them to stop smoking,” Lovett said.
In addition, the grocery chain hosts regular nutritional seminars, health clinics and companywide events.
One particular success is an annual “Biggest Loser” weight challenge. Over a period of eight to 12 weeks, workers at all nine stores strive to drop weight and get fit, working on individual goals, but also rallying as teams. The grand prize for the best personal results is $1,000, and the team that loses the most collective weight is treated to an all-expenses-paid night out, complete with a healthy dinner and a limo ride. Over the four years it’s been held, the participation rate has been 70 percent, Lovett said. In just the first year alone, workers companywide lost 1,000 collective pounds.
A similar effort launched this summer was a six-week “Walking to the Grand Canyon” challenge – virtually, of course. Participants are eligible for a raffle of one of five FitBits, wireless-enabled wristbands that track daily activity, such as calories burned, number of steps taken and sleeping habits.
“It’s been very well-received,” Lovett said. “People don’t begrudgingly do it, they enjoy it. It brings out the competitive spirit in them.”
Ultimately, the group dynamic is conducive to these kinds of fitness rallies, Lovett said, with workers supporting and inspiring each other, and engaging in friendly competition.
All told, the wellness program has been a success on numerous fronts – savings for employees and the company, a boost in company spirit, increased productivity and “presenteeism” and less absenteeism.
“They’re seeing a direct correlation to the way in which they’re approaching wellness,” Lovett said, “and their bottom line.”

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