RDO Equipment Company has been driving home the importance of worksite wellness for nearly a decade. Since 2016, its team culture and benefits focus on helping employees make healthy choices when it comes to their physical, emotional, social and financial well-being.
Recently, RDO Equipment Company worked with Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota (BCBSND) to develop its program further and kick it into high gear. Heidi Carlson, Benefits Manager at RDO, took some time to explain how things have been going.
How did worksite wellness become a focus at RDO Equipment Company?
Worksite wellness became a focus at RDO Equipment Company in 2016. It began as an initiative to promote a worksite culture that supports team members’ desires to make healthy lifestyle choices at work and at home, with a focus on the physical, emotional, social and financial well-being of all team members and their families.
Can you please provide examples of how you’ve implemented a culture of well-being?
We did this by developing activities and programs that empower team members to be responsible for their well-being and fulfillment of their personal and professional goals. This focus on wellness reflects RDO Equipment Company’s understanding that a healthy workforce is essential not only for the individual’s well-being but also for the overall success of the company.
Here are some things we’ve done:
- Formed a wellness committee
- Started promoting different wellness initiatives, such as stretching posters, and breast cancer awareness campaign (pink hat campaign) to promote screenings and raise funds for the National Breast Cancer Foundation
- Designated wellness champions in each location
- Established our wellness benefits as their own category within our greater benefits offerings
- Provided blood pressure cuffs, courtesy of BCBSND, to all locations
- Continually added and promoted new wellness benefits
- Leadership started talking about wellness
- Implemented BCBSND’s Elevate manager training for all managers
How does your organization concentrate on all aspects of employees’ health?
We offer a comprehensive benefits package that includes various wellness programs that can fit each person’s different needs. Also, we train management to take their own health and wellness seriously and to recognize challenges that their team members may be facing so that they can have open conversations and provide the resources that we have available.
What benefits have you seen across your organization that stem from focusing on wellness?
Since placing a greater focus on holistic wellness at RDO Equipment Company, we’ve seen several key benefits. There has been increased participation in all our workplace programs, both wellness and others. And we’ve gotten some great positive feedback and testimonials from team members at all levels.
Here is one anonymous testimonial we received:
“I have struggled my whole life—seen several therapists and tried different medications over the years. I’m happy to share that I am no longer on any meds and am feeling good. My therapist signed me up for a meditation and yoga class for stress. The meditation along with the therapy have really helped. I also spoke with a sleep coach, so I’m no longer taking sleep meds either. This is the real deal. Thanks for the extra benefits.”
Another great example of our well-being program in action happened in our Arizona office. BCBSND provided all our locations with blood pressure cuffs—two team members from Arizona used them, found that their blood pressure was high and made doctor appointments and were able to catch a problem before it became a serious health issue.
What resources do you direct employees to and how do you educate employees on what resources are available?
The Benefits and Wellness teams provide support and education to team members on our wellness benefits. We use printed materials, town hall meetings, digital screens, the company portal, Microsoft Teams groups, emails and webinars to promote our offerings.
We are constantly refreshing and updating content, and we choose a focus each month to promote more heavily.
What tips do you have for other employers looking to make worksite wellness part of their company culture?
It’s crucial to make wellness a regular topic of conversation, discussing it openly and frequently. Our leadership has started talking and sharing their wellness stories in our company-wide meetings. As a family-owned company, our unique culture is built on treating team members like family. Just as you are curious and care about your family’s health and wellness, being intentional and talking about wellness at work helps us connect person-to-person instead of just coworker-to-coworker. This strengthens our bond and creates a better place for all of us to work.
Can you briefly explain how RDO Equipment Company’s participation in the BCBSND Elevate program helped turn worksite wellness into more than just a concept?
Leadership demonstrated a strong commitment to wellness by launching the Elevate program to train nearly 700 managers across the company. This initiative emphasized the importance of integrating wellness into their personal lives and their team members' lives.
The Elevate program enhanced the understanding of wellness tools and resources, providing leaders with effective ways to share these with their teams. Managers were encouraged to take specific actions post-training to apply their new knowledge in practical ways.
As a result, they now have a clearer understanding of their role in supporting team members’ wellness and can identify opportunities to share resources within their teams.