Scoring big on wellness effort

STRIVING FOR FITNESS: Customer Service Representative-Operations Sheryl Watson, left, and Marketing Specialist Justine Richards take advantage of Banneker Industries' on-site gym, activities that helped the logistics service provider see a 3 percent reduction in insurance premiums. / PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY
STRIVING FOR FITNESS: Customer Service Representative-Operations Sheryl Watson, left, and Marketing Specialist Justine Richards take advantage of Banneker Industries' on-site gym, activities that helped the logistics service provider see a 3 percent reduction in insurance premiums. / PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY

CEO (or equivalent): Cheryl W. Snead, founder, CEO and president

Number of employees: 50

Despite its small employee base – 40 people in Rhode Island and another 10 in California and Alabama – Banneker Industries Inc. has a robust workplace wellness program. The employee-led STRIVE Committee initiates and coordinates health and wellness efforts for Banneker, a privately held provider of supply-chain management solutions. Co-chaired by Sheryl Watson, customer service associate, and Larry Lamothe, talent management representative, the committee employs nutrition, exercise, annual health and wellness fairs, and regular communications to help team members and their families live healthier lives.

“STRIVE is not an acronym. [We] strive to be better and [achieve] better wellness,” said Watson. “That’s what I like about [our wellness program]. We don’t offer financial incentives and we still get broad participation.”

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Banneker’s efforts have not gone unnoticed.

A two-time recipient of the American Heart Association’s Fit-Friendly Worksite, Banneker was named one of Providence Business News’ Healthiest Employers in Rhode Island last year and one of PBN’s Best Places to Work in Rhode Island in 2014, 2015 and 2016.

Team members have shed pounds, and Banneker’s bottom line has fattened. When UnitedHealthcare of New England proposed a 20 percent increase in insurance premiums, Lamothe said, “We shared our wellness initiatives with them. They … reduced [our premium costs] by 3 percent, a savings of $15,000 annually.”

By intermittently stocking break rooms at the North Smithfield corporate headquarters with fresh fruit and vegetable platters, the STRIVE Committee promotes healthy eating choices.

There was a recent company outing for team members and their families, Lamothe said.

“We had veggie burgers, grilled chicken and vegetarian items, and watermelon for dessert, rather than cookies and pastry,” he said.

Last year, each team member received generous holiday gifts – a salad bowl, a nutrition and fitness booklet and a Fitbit. Banneker President and CEO Cheryl W. Snead initiated these gift ideas, said Lamothe, evidence of her commitment to health and wellness initiatives.

With or without their Fitbits, members of the company walkers’ club get fresh air and exercise by walking outside around Banneker’s 500,000-square-foot building at break and lunch periods, said Watson. To motivate participation in a 10,000-steps-a-day challenge – an American Heart Association recommendation – UnitedHealthcare gave out 50 pedometers for team members and, for challenge participants, gym-themed raffle prizes, said Lamothe. Banneker’s on-site gym, with two treadmills, a stair-stepper, weights, a stability ball and showers are open before, during and after regular business hours.

One of the STRIVE Committee’s most ambitious projects, the annual half-day fair, has grown to include 14 exhibitors, said Lamothe. Team members are able to speak with knowledgeable representatives from the AHA, the American Diabetes Association, United Way and AARP, among others, and get flu shots and blood-pressure screenings. Last year, people visiting every exhibitor were entered into a raffle for fitness prizes, he said.

The STRIVE Committee sends monthly email blasts on nutrition, fitness and heart-healthy topics, said Watson, and distributes copies of the Rhode Island Health & Wellness magazine to team members. Lamothe explained that team members may request backpacks for their school-age children before the start of the school year, and donated backpacks are stuffed with school supplies and fliers offering age-appropriate information about healthy snacks and meals and exercise.

“We want to document all of the good things we’re doing around environment, health and safety programs and put them into [a] structure,” said Snead, “which we’ll roll out in October.”

“Team BEST addresses environmental issues, such as minimizing energy use; and the STRIVE Committee and health benefits ensure we continue to invest in our health, and that of our families and communities,” said Snead, who referenced the importance of safety, as well.

“It’s not just safety from slips, trips and falls … we’re also looking at [societal problems],” said Snead. After training team members in evacuation techniques, Banneker held a simulated emergency evacuation to respond to a mock shooting. One day later, Snead said, a nearby bank was robbed.

“It got our team members to think about safety from a larger societal perspective,” she said. •

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