Healthier Households, Healthier Employees
Healthy living is the foundation of this company, so it’s not surprising the company offers its workforce its immune-boosting products for free. Each employee receives a year’s supply of products (allocated on a biannual basis).
Complimentary or discounted product is common for organizations that offer consumer goods, but what’s interesting about Afexa’s policy—and what makes it stand out—is that there is a documented return on investment, something that can be tricky to track with perks or wellness initiatives.
At Afexa, the average employee sick day ratio is 0.79 days per year, per employee—astonishingly low compared with the national average of 7.8%, published by Statistics Canada. “I guess you could say we have some of the healthiest employees in Canada,” boasts Debra Wilson, senior director of HR and administration. “Statistically, we may have more young people than might be found at your average company and, therefore, may have a bias toward good health. Since we are committed to improving people’s health, we naturally attract people who are both personally and professionally committed to that goal. But,” she adds, “we suspect that our program of providing free products to employees is certainly helping them to stay healthy. The figures seem to suggest that they may be almost eight times healthier, or at least less sick, than the national average.”
As of January 2010, the company expanded the policy. Now it offers employees the ability to purchase discounted products for their families. “There may have been some inquiries with respect to [discounted products], but it was really a senior leadership initiative that we wanted to roll out,” she explains. “The goal was to make households healthier.”
Prior to the family discounts, the employee sick day ratio was 0.93 days per year. This number is still well below the national average, but by extending this benefit to family members, the company further reduced its sick days by 15%.
Engaged and Inspired
Despite the breadth of its brands, Afexa has only about 120 people on its payroll, which makes it difficult to implement the extensive employee programs that larger corporations offer. It provides healthcare benefits that are consistent with the market (and completely employer-paid), including the “must-have” employee assistance program, but Afexa doesn’t have a formal ongoing employee wellness program. Yet the employees are inspired to stay healthy with the support the organization provides for their personal activities. For example, this summer, when a group of employees decided to do the Weekend to End Women’s Cancers walk, the company stood behind them enabling them to fundraise on-site.
And, when the company does organize active-living initiatives—as it did during the Winter Olympics—employees don’t waver on signing up. As a sponsor for the Olympics, Afexa held its own version of the event that was really just as much about being healthy as it was about engaging employees and boosting company morale. During the “Go for Gold” events, employees participated in outdoor athletic activities and trivia games, and even had their pictures taken with Chandra Crawford, 2006 Olympic cross-country skiing gold medallist. In addition, two employees (one in Edmonton and one in Toronto) won the opportunity to be part of the torch run. As for event prizes, there was an official closing ceremony equipped with a podium, with an ounce of gold taking the place of a gold medal and extra vacation days for the silver and bronze finalists. “We are continually trying to create an upbeat and positive environment,” Wilson says.
Creating a work environment with these goals in mind not only resonates with employees, it also has great “FX” on the company’s bottom line. BC
April Scott-Clarke is associate editor of benefitscanada.com.
april.scottclarke@rci.rogers.com
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© Copyright 2010 Rogers Publishing Ltd. This article first appeared in the October 2010 edition of BENEFITS CANADA magazine.