Even to the most dedicated management team, implementing an effective, tailored health and wellness strategy that appeals to the majority of a large corporation’s employees can seem like a daunting task. If you manage a considerable number of employees, your approach to health and wellness will be the same as that of a smaller company; you’ll just have more people to manage. More people might even mean greater rewards.

Ken’s Foods is a manufacturer of approximately 400 varieties of salad dressings and sauces, and employs more than 800 people in 3 states. The company’s senior management team is passionate about promoting a healthy workplace culture, and was determined to overcome a set of interesting challenges in order to implement worksite health and wellness programs at all of its business locations.

Ken’s Foods’ employee population is multilingual (most employees are of Asian or Hispanic origin), and employees tend to hold diverse beliefs and opinions about personal health. Not only was communication an issue for management, but there was also no prior history of worksite health and wellness programs at the company, so employees’ reactions to new initiatives were unpredictable. To complicate matters, staff work in one of 3 daily shifts, so local managers had to ensure that any health and wellness initiative was equally available to those working on each shift.

The logistical concerns of implementing worksite health and wellness programs that would be meaningful to diverse populations in several locations were considerable. Their first step was to conduct environmental and cultural assessments through electronic and paper-based surveys at their facilities. From those surveys, management learned that a great number of their employees were regular tobacco smokers, which was supported by the top health risk issues identified by their Benefits Advisor. To address this health concern, Ken’s implemented a year-long smoking cessation program, and in consultation with their insurance carriers, managers formulated a tobacco-related premium differential that would see non-smokers rewarded for their commitment by year 3 of the plan.

Next, an employee wellness interest survey was distributed to gather information on employee preferences. The survey was available in 2 languages at each location, both in hard copy and on the Internet. A wellness committee, with representatives in each state, was formed, and HR professionals in each location became wellness team leaders. Senior management then partnered with their Benefits Advisor to get an actuarial consultant and a registered nurse to analyze the company’s medical and prescription claims. These consultants made customized recommendations in collaboration with insurance providers to help improve employee health, and thereby minimize claims resulting from poor lifestyle choices.

A plan for years 1 and 2 was then designed and finalized.