Team leads wellness charge

TAKING CHARGE: IGT employees have driven the company's wellness initiatives over the years, including getting well-equipped workout rooms in company facilities. Here Russell Lavoie, an intern who is a student at Rhode Island College, uses a treadmill at the company's Providence offices. / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO
TAKING CHARGE: IGT employees have driven the company's wellness initiatives over the years, including getting well-equipped workout rooms in company facilities. Here Russell Lavoie, an intern who is a student at Rhode Island College, uses a treadmill at the company's Providence offices. / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO

With thousands of employees across the world, one of International Game Technology PLC’s greatest assets is the thought and expertise it can draw upon to creatively address the needs of the government-sponsored and commercial gaming industries. Luckily for those same employees, the brainpower is equally invested in the company’s health and wellness initiatives.

“It’s so employee-driven,” said Angela Wiczek, vice president of corporate communications. “That’s … one of the things I think people really love about [the programs]. It’s not somebody telling you what you have to do. It’s employees saying what they want to do.”

According to Susan Eikinas, senior benefits manager, the framework for the strategy and implementation of the company’s programs – which run the gamut from wellness coaching to health insurance premium reductions, from flu shots to farm shares – is built around that collaborative, open ethos. IGT’s Wellness Committee, a 37-person panel drawn from employees across the country, meets once a month to brainstorm programs and share information. Called Wellness Champions, the group members are drawn from all levels and all corners of the organization.

“The Wellness Champions help motivate the employees in their particular facility, and then we share the stories throughout the organization,” said Eikinas.

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Those stories are as triumphant as they are varied: men and women who have utilized the considerable tools IGT makes available in the office (such as state-of-the-art fitness centers) and on the go (company-gifted pedometers, online assessment and educational tools) to make a difference in their lives.

Take Matthew Whalen for example, senior VP and chief technology officer for lottery, a 21-year employee who has participated in wellness initiatives for the past five years. Whalen has made use of periodic health fairs and on-site fitness perks like weight-training circuits; treadmills; and most recently, the company’s new Peloton spin bikes.

Whalen reported that over the five-year period, he was able to lose more than 20 pounds, bringing his weight in line with his target BMI. “My cardiovascular conditioning is the best it’s ever been,” he added.

Wiczek and Eikinas both pointed out that the impact of these programs become kind of an echo chamber throughout the organization, with each success advertising itself across the 1,000 employees in the Providence office (60 percent of whom, according to Eikinas, participate in the wellness programs) and beyond.

Wiczek, who frequently finds herself reminded to get to the gym and to stay active by watching her co-workers make time for fitness programs despite hectic schedules, said that IGT has been at the leading edge of wellness initiatives for going on 20 years. During her 16 years with the company, Wiczek has watched the programs grow, again largely pushed along by employee feedback.

“The cafeteria lists how many calories are in certain items, for example, and this was a result of employee feedback,” she said.

But whole health is about much more than weight loss or cardio maintenance, and the impressive list of health-related promotions sponsored by IGT speaks to an understanding and commitment to a holistic approach. Partnering with Farm Fresh Rhode Island, employees have access to fresh, organic, local produce at competitive prices each week. Motivational quotes, tips and information are peppered across plasma screens around the building and fitness center. Stretch breaks are encouraged.

The aims and incentives of the wellness programs stretch off campus, too. The company sponsors health insurance premium reduction plans for employees up to $130 a year per individual, and for employees who are on consumer-driven plans, Eikinas said that the company will contribute to health savings accounts up to $600 per family, depending on the plan and the amount of wellness activities the employee participates in.

In any business, numbers are important – one could argue this case even more so for the likes of IGT. Its wellness programs are no exception, and by all accounts, those numbers are trending in amazing directions. According to data spanning IGT employees as a whole provided to Providence Business News, health-assessment participation has increased dramatically over the past few years, topping at 1,172 participants in 2014. Participants’ wellness scores, generated from aggregate data on mortality risk, health risk and preventative-service compliance, also have seen an increase.

“[Health] is something that is so obviously important,” said Wiczek. “And for us as a company, it’s growing. We were just told that our team in Nevada received an award from the American Heart Association. … As long as we keep listening to employees, this is just going to get better over time.” n

A Healthy Thought:

‘It’s not somebody telling you what you have to do. It’s employees saying what they want to do.’

Angela Wiczek, vice president of corporate communications, IGT

Number of Employees: 3,143

CEO (or equivalent): Michael Chambrello, CEO, North America Lottery

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