JOHN SIMMS
Vice President, HNI

Growing up we have been told over and over again that “Honesty is the Best Policy” and that the “The Truth is a Beautiful Thing”.  Yet when it comes to trucking, are these “Golden Rules” always applied in your organization?  I challenge you to take a walk around your office and listen to what your leaders are telling your most valuable assets. 

Here’s a jaw-dropping employment dispute: a diabetic Walgreens employee on the verge of a seizure was recently fired for eating a bag of chips to ward off a hypoglycemic seizure.  The on-duty employee paid for the $1.39 bag shortly thereafter, but was fired from her job under the zero-tolerance policy for shoplifting.

In our last blog post, we discussed social wellness models and their potential to motivate people to achieve personal health and fitness goals.  But rather than just “talk the talk,” we thought it would be interesting to tell you about a few of our employees who have decided to put one platform to the test.  At stake?  $10,000.

The advent of new technologies has opened up a host of new ways of communicating.  At this point, it’s pretty clear social media has moved beyond a fad stage – it is now a core element of the way we communicate with each other.   While you’re probably using social media in one way or another, have you considered leveraging social media to enhance your wellness efforts?

JEFF KARR
Risk Advisor, HNI

In a recent blog on driver retention, we focused on increasing communication – not only with your driver managers and department heads, but also by listening to your current drivers and their needs.  Another crucial aspect of driver retention is investing (and not just monetarily) in your driver fleet.  Sure, everyone would like to be paid more, but it goes beyond that.  By making an investment in your driver fleet, you are demonstrating respect and appreciation for your people, something that goes a long way when it comes to retaining drivers.

OSHA publishes counts of violations by company, as well as incidence rates by geography and industry.  Now, they’re publishing the safety & health incident rate of many individual companies.  Through a simple search engine, interested parties can type in a company’s name and access high level accident and injury data of many US-based business. 

Professional drivers already have one of the most hazardous jobs in the U.S., but health-related obstacles make the profession even more dangerous to the men and women who drive our nation’s trucks.   According to the FMCSA, the life expectancy for drivers is a whopping 16 years shorter than the national average.   

We’re proud to congratulate Goodwill of North Central Wisconsin for being recognized with the “Most Innovative Health & Benefits Plan” award by the Institute for HealthCare Consumerism!  This is a huge (and well deserved) honor.  Other companies recognized by the Institute (in other award categories) include large companies like Whole Foods, GE, Boeing and Chick-Fil-A.