T H E
W E L L N E S S
C O U N C I L
O F
A M E R I C A
P R E S E N T S
Case Study
A WELCOA
W ith Per formance pH
OPTIMIZING BUSINESS
PERFORMANCE
Building A High Per formance Culture
John Harris, Nik k i Duggan- Hudsmith,
Marc L eB aron, Hank Orme and David Hunnicut t
A WELCOA & PERFORMANCE pH CASE STUDY
ABOUT DAVID HUNNICUTT PhD
Dr. David Hunnicutt
is the President of the
Wellness Council of
America. As a leader
in the field of health
promotion, his vision has led to the
creation of numerous publications
designed to link health promotion
objectives to business outcomes.
Known for his ability to make complex
issues easier to understand, David
has a proven track record of publishing health and wellness material that
helps employees lead healthier life-
styles. David travels extensively advocating better health practices and
radically different thinking in organizations of all kinds.
ABOUT JOHN HARRIS M.Ed., FAWHP
John graduated from
Grand Valley State University with a double
major in health sciences and physical education and then went on to earn his
master’s degree in health education
from the University of Toledo. After
his first “real job” as a college assistant
wrestling coach, he became a successful entrepreneur, growing Harris
HealthTrends, Inc. to a sizable company before merging it with four others
to become Axia Health Management
and later selling to Healthways.
As a college wrestler, John was a twotime Collegiate All-American and a
U.S. Olympics Trials qualifier. He was
also inducted into the Grand Valley
State University Athletic Hall of Fame.
Today, he mountain bike races in the
summer and cross-country ski races in
the winter. He also enjoys road bicycling, downhill skiing, and kayaking.
Born and raised in Battle Creek, Michigan, John is a devout Michigander
with a home in northern Michigan
where he loves to play. He also serves
on a number of for-profit and nonprofit boards and is a lover of animals—his Vizsla in particular. Married
for 36 years, he and his wife have two
adult children, both of whom he delivered with the supervision of a doctor.
Twitter @johnhharris
ABOUT NIKKI HUDSMITH
Nikki graduated from
Tulane University with
a double major in finance and marketing, and then went
on to earn an MBA with a focus on
Healthcare Administration. She has
spent the majority of her career in
the healthcare sector and worked
with WebMD and Healthways before
helping form Performance pH in 2011.
With Healthways, Nikki worked with
organizations to develop measurable
strategies to improve well-being at
the organizational and individual lev-
els. She also led the research efforts
for the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being
Index, which were primarily focused
on the correlations between emotional, social, and physical health and
the role of organizational and cultural
support on health outcomes.
Born and raised in Little Rock, Arkansas, Nikki has been active from an
early age. She played competitive tennis in grade school and high school,
where she became state champion in
doubles. As an adult, she and a team
of 11 others ran 195 miles in a relay
from Chattanooga to Nashville. But
her favorite hobby is diving, particularly in Ambergris Caye, Belize.
An avid Razorback football fan, Nikki
spends her free time teaching her
6-year-old son about healthy eating,
exercise, and good health. She’s also
been learning Italian for the last three
years in hopes that she’ll get to spend
some time in Italy one day.
Twitter @performanceph
ABOUT MARC LEBARON
After graduating from
the University of Nebraska in 1974, Marc
joined Lincoln Industries. In 2001, he was
named chairman and CEO. During
his tenure, he initiated the company’s
nationally recognized wellness program. He has also been the recipient
2
w w w.per formph.com
of numerous industry awards. In 2011,
he formed the partnership that began
Performance pH.
An exercise enthusiast, Marc is an avid
runner and experienced mountain
climber. He’s a licensed pilot and patron of the arts who also enjoys racing
sports cars.
w w w.welcoa.org ©
Marc gives much of his time to help
local businesses thrive, sitting on
numerous private and public company boards. In addition, he’s the past
president of the Lincoln Chamber of
Commerce and past chairman of the
Nebraska Chamber of Commerce.
Twitter @performanceph
2013 Wellness Council of America
A WELCOA & PERFORMANCE pH CASE STUDY
ABOUT HANK ORME
Hank graduated from
Indiana University and
then worked for 33 years
for Whirlpool Corporation, where he led business units—including one in Shanghai,
China. He joined Lincoln Industries in
1999 and recently retired from his role
as president in 2012. In 2011, he began a
new venture, Performance pH, with his
colleagues.
Having played competitive basketball
until age 51 and competitive softball
until age 65, Hank has never been one
to sit on the sidelines. Today, he continues to compete in tennis and golf.
His new passion is climbing mountains. Having ascended 29 14,000-foot
summits already, he plans to achieve
50 before he turns 80. And when he
turns 80, he plans on topping this
achievement with one final climb.
who he describes as the finest people
he knows. In his spare time, he loves
watching college sports, particularly
basketball and football, and spending
time with his friends from all over the
world.
Twitter @performanceph
Hank married his high school sweetheart 47 years ago. Together, they
have two sons and five grandchildren,
ABOUT WELCOA
Wellness Council of
America
(WELCOA)
was established as a
national not-for-profit
organization in the mid
1980s through the efforts of a number of forward-thinking business and
health leaders. Drawing on the vision
originally set forth by William Kizer,
Sr., Chairman Emeritus of Central
States Indemnity, and WELCOA founding Directors that included Dr. Louis
Sullivan, former Secretary of Health
and Human Services, and Warren Buffet, Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway,
WELCOA has helped influence the
face of workplace wellness in the U.S.
Today, WELCOA has become one of
the most respected resources for
workplace wellness in America. With
a membership in excess of 5,000 organizations, WELCOA is dedicated to
improving the health and well-being
of all working Americans. Located in
America’s heartland, WELCOA makes
its national headquarters in one of
America’s healthiest business communities—Omaha, NE.
ABOUT PERFORMANCE PH
Find
the
balance.
Achieve Optimal Performance. Based in
Noblesville,
Indiana,
©
and founded in 2012, Performance
pH was formed to enable companies
to perform at their optimal potential.
The company is an innovative stra-
2013 Wellness Council of America w w w.welcoa.org
tegic advisory firm balancing operations and organizational foundation to
transform business. To learn more, visit
www.performph.com.
w w w.per formph.com
3
A WELCOA & PERFORMANCE pH CASE STUDY
Case Study
A WELCOA
W ith Per formance pH
OPTIMIZING BUSINESS
PERFORMANCE
Building A High Per formance Culture
Every company wants a high performing the actions they have chosen to take can be
culture – But only those companies that have accomplished in any company that has the
the energy, insight, and discipline have the courage to go from good to great as long
potential to achieve one. As a result, many as they also have a compelling and unique
companies simply remain average, occasionally business strategy. Conceptually, it is easy. The
peeking out the corners of their eyes in hope devil is in the details. The case studies in this
they will not see any competitors inching document tell the stories of some companies
ahead. But hope is not a strategy. Neither that have dared to be great, what they have in
is making a conscious (or unconscious) common, and how what they achieved can
decision to do nothing. The best companies be duplicated in any company regardless of
purposefully develop a high performing industry. The most impressive thing they all
culture through continuous effort, foresight, have in common is they blow the doors off
and commitment. What do these companies their competition in just about every way
have in common? A lot! The good news is performance can be measured.
4
w w w.per formph.com
w w w.welcoa.org ©
2013 Wellness Council of America
A WELCOA & PERFORMANCE pH CASE STUDY
Overview
The best companies in the world purposefully develop a high performing culture
through continuous effort, foresight, and commitment. Every company wants a high
performing culture, but only those companies with energy, insight and discipline
have the potential to achieve this goal. They must also have a unique and compelling
business strategy. Are there other factors a world-class business needs to optimize
business performance, strengthen the company beyond the competition and grow
top and bottom lines while nurturing employees?
Let’s start by better understanding performance. The best possible performance
occurs for any company when all unnecessary spending is avoided, the company is
performing with the best possible efficiency, the people are consistently performing
at or near their absolute best, suppliers are making their best possible contribution,
and customers are fully delighted. This results in the best possible financial top and
bottom line.
Accomplishing this optimal performance is not easy. It takes a long-term
commitment to better understand business opportunities and act upon them in a
well-planned and systematic way. Big ticket expenditures such as healthcare and
workers’ compensation must be controlled. Strategies must be in place so people
perform at their best, because they want to be at work and because they believe in
the company mission, knowing it is aligned with their goals.
EVERY COMPANY
WANTS A HIGH
PERFORMING
CULTURE, BUT ONLY
THOSE COMPANIES
WITH ENERGY, INSIGHT
AND DISCIPLINE HAVE
THE POTENTIAL TO
ACHIEVE THIS GOAL.
The business must be operating efficiently, avoiding unnecessary turnover and
other negative business disruptions. Leadership must be fully committed to
transformational change, and say it, mean it and live it every day. Suppliers must feel
part of the team, and thus perform as such. When these things happen, it will be
fully evident to existing and future customers, which drives customer loyalty.
Is this what we see in most American businesses today? Not often. Consider these
statistics:
• Workplace engagement is at an all-time low—70 percent
of employees “dream of having a different job”
—Families & Work Institute Research
• Global engagement scores are on the decline with the
recent drops being the largest in 15 years —Aon Hewitt
• Only 28 percent of American workers are engaged in
their work —Gallup Research
• One-fourth of high-potential people intend to
leave their employers in the next 12 months
—Price, Waters, Cooper
• Employee satisfaction is one of the
significant determinants of customer
satisfaction; it also indirectly influences
financial performance
—International Journal of Hospitality Management
©
2013 Wellness Council of America w w w.welcoa.org
w w w.per formph.com
5
A WELCOA & PERFORMANCE pH CASE STUDY
THE GOOD NEWS
IS THE ACTIONS
THESE AMAZINGLY
SUCCESSFUL
COMPANIES
HAVE TAKEN ARE
REPLICABLE, AND
CAN BE ACHIEVED IN
ANY COMPANY WITH
THE COURAGE TO GO
FROM GOOD
TO GREAT.
• People with higher levels of stress are generally less productive than those
with lower stress levels —Journal of Occupational and Environmental
Medicine
• 63 percent of companies do not even have measurements or ROI goals
associated with their culture-based programs —ADP HR / Benefits Survey
on Wellness
• Every year, unhealthy people cost employers over $153 billion in lost work
days and low performance —Gallup Research
• In 2012 the average health care cost per employee was $10,522, up from
$10,034 in 2011, and it is projected to increase to $11,188 in 2013.
—AON Hewitt
To make matters worse, current economic conditions are placing continued
pressures on supply chain relationships, potentially having a negative impact
on quality and productivity. Leaders have to do more with less, but often fail
to seek innovative ways to improve performance. Unfortunately, two out of
three corporate executives also say wellness programs are ineffective due to low
engagement (less than 20 percent on average).
These executives seem to feel the same about many other human resources
initiatives, viewing them as fluffy and extraneous to the overall performance of the
organization. But what came first, the chicken or the egg? What if companies could
build a high-performance culture where people were fully engaged and working
up to their full potential? We have found a business functions better—the wellness
program, engagement efforts, efficiency initiatives and ultimately top and bottom
line financial business performance—when a high performance culture is supported
and nurtured within the company, from senior management on down.
As we look at the grim statistics, there are two things for sure. First, it is people who
drive performance, not more aggressive operational management. Second, doing
nothing is not a strategy.
While optimizing performance is no small feat, it is doable, and the organizations
that have done it successfully have reaped the benefits. The good news is the actions
these amazingly successful companies have taken are replicable, and can be achieved
in any company with the courage to go from good to great.
FOR MORE
WELCOA CASE
STUDIES, VISIT:
http://www.welcoa.org/
freeresources/
6
w w w.per formph.com
w w w.welcoa.org ©
2013 Wellness Council of America
A WELCOA & PERFORMANCE pH CASE STUDY
What are the factors which make high-performing companies different? It can be
organized into three main categories, which we will call The Big 3:
• Organizational Foundation – Things like trust, open communication,
vision, work environment, and support and inclusion are central to a high
performing culture.
BALANCING PEOPLE
• Engagement – Superior recognition, opportunities for growth and
development, fair compensation, and benefits and a focus on safety result in
better products and services that delight customers, provide a competitive
advantage and a sense of pride for workers.
AND OPERATIONAL
• Vitality – People keenly understand their personal purposes in life, and how
they relate to the purpose of their employers. This helps ensure they want
to be at work and contributing. Furthermore, the physical, emotional, social,
and financial vitality of a workforce determines how it shows up each day.
This is a crucial, but an often overlooked variable in business performance,
which impacts far more than healthcare costs.
GIVING EACH EQUAL
Said differently, successfully balancing people and operational metrics, and giving
each equal importance and attention, can result in the establishment of a highperformance culture.
The case studies that follow tell the stories of some companies that have dared to
be great. As you read them, note what they have in common and how what they
achieved can be duplicated in any company regardless of industry.
Also, note their passion and conviction for the common good. Most impressively,
you will see these companies consistently out perform their competitors, in almost all
ways, year after year. Their unique and compelling business strategies combined with
their actions to establish a high performing culture make them special.
©
SUCCESSFULLY
2013 Wellness Council of America w w w.welcoa.org
METRICS, AND
IMPORTANCE AND
ATTENTION, CAN
RESULT IN THE
ESTABLISHMENT OF
HIGH-PERFORMANCE
CULTURE.
w w w.per formph.com
7
A WELCOA & PERFORMANCE pH CASE STUDY
“I BELIEVE THAT IF
PEOPLE EMBRACE
LIFESTYLES THAT
CREATE HIGHER
WELL-BEING, THAT
NATURALLY THOSE
PEOPLE WILL BE
HAPPIER, MORE
SATISFIED, AND
THEREFORE MORE
PRODUCTIVE
AT WORK.”
—Marc Le Baron
THE CASE STUDIES
Case Study #1
Company Name: Lincoln Industries
Headquarters Location: Lincoln, Nebraska
Number of People: ~600
Description of the Company: Named one of the 25 Best Medium Companies
to Work For in America five times, Lincoln Industries is a large-scale manufacturer
of finishing-intensive products and serves a national customer base. Its customers
include Harley-Davidson, PACCAR, John Deere, and Polaris.
Highlights of Their Culture: Lincoln Industries’ CEO Marc LeBaron has
no doubt why Lincoln Industries has been successful. “I believe that if people
embrace lifestyles that create higher well-being, that naturally those people will be
happier, more satisfied, and therefore more productive at work,” says LeBaron. This
philosophy is the cornerstone of the culture at Lincoln Industries, and the company
has the metrics to back their play. From substantially lower than average healthcare
and workers’ compensation costs to strikingly low turnover rates, Lincoln Industries’
culture has provided an atmosphere where people excel and has enabled the company
to optimize its performance.
Lincoln Industries’ culture is based on 6 key elements:
• Developing Talented Individuals – Lincoln Industries selects people
based on a fit-first methodology and is dedicated to providing ongoing
development and learning opportunities.
• Focusing on Wellness – Lincoln Industries encourages healthy lifestyle
choices and a good balance between work and home life.
• Ensuring Safety – Safety programs are in place to encourage
people to be actively involved in identifying, defining, and
measuring opportunities to improve safety in
the workplace.
• Maintaining Open Communication – Information
is shared in many ways, and people have the
opportunity to ask questions as well as share
information. They also put a priority on
communicating with customers and suppliers.
• Recognizing Excellence – Lincoln Industries
programs recognize achievements in all
aspects of a person’s position, including
safety, service, innovation, and growth.
• Community Connections – The
Community Connections Committee helps
Lincoln Industries and its people find
opportunities to give back to the
community.
8
w w w.per formph.com
w w w.welcoa.org ©
2013 Wellness Council of America
A WELCOA & PERFORMANCE pH CASE STUDY
Best in Class Business Practices: Lincoln Industries has received national
recognition for its comprehensive well-being programs, and its strategic vision for
organizational well-being gets stronger every year. 100% of the people at Lincoln
Industries have wellness as a performance category in their annual performance
review process. Lincoln Industries’ Go! Platinum well-being initiative includes
comprehensive programs for every aspect of a person’s well-being: Life Planning
classes for people who want to discover their individual purpose; the popular
annual Poker Walk which engages people in moving together and building
winning poker hands along a one mile course; stretching before each shift in
order to prevent injuries; the company also offers an onsite clinic and an onsite
workout facility. Based on their involvement in Go! Platinum, every employee is
eligible for one exceptional team experience: climbing to the top of a 14,000-foot
mountain in Colorado on a company-paid trip.
Another unique aspect of Lincoln Industries’ people-centric strategy is the
way it approaches relationships with its customers and suppliers. Lincoln
Industries’ belief is that collaboration must exist across the supply chain, and its
philosophy of treating vendors like partners yields successful relationships with
its customers. The company has developed a Supplier Advisory Committee that
helps to inform its business strategy by identifying market trends and efficiency
opportunities. Additionally, Lincoln Industries measures supplier and customer
satisfaction each year and uses the metrics and feedback from these assessments
to determine areas of opportunity and improve relationships.
LINCOLN INDUSTRIES’
CULTURE HAS
PROVIDED AN
ATMOSPHERE WHERE
PEOPLE EXCEL
AND HAS ENABLED
THE COMPANY
TO OPTIMIZE ITS
PERFORMANCE
Colleague conviction, or engagement as some refer to it, is a central component
of Lincoln Industries’ success. Lincoln Industries has created an environment
where its people are empowered to make the decisions needed and leadership
consistently reinforces personal responsibility as a key element of success.
Lincoln Industries has also focused on rewards and recognition as a part of its
overall strategy to strengthen colleague conviction. The company hosts monthly
Champions lunches which not only serve as a way to update colleagues on the
latest happenings in the business but also allow people to celebrate wins and
successes in a group setting.
Their Business Outcomes: Lincoln Industries has a consistent history of
profitable growth. The company’s revenues have grown by an average of 15% per
year for the last 10 years. Lincoln Industries’ average annual healthcare
cost is 40% lower than the industry average, and company’s
tobacco use has declined from 42% in 2004 to 16% in
2013. Additionally, Lincoln Industries’ commitment to
safety and well-being has resulted in the OSHA
Total Injury and Illness rate (IRR)
hitting an all-time low of 2.54,
which is approximately half of
the industry average at 4.9.
Annual voluntary turnover
at Lincoln Industries is 6.8%
—the industry average for
manufacturing is 10.6%.
©
2013 Wellness Council of America w w w.welcoa.org
w w w.per formph.com
9
A WELCOA & PERFORMANCE pH CASE STUDY
“WE DEVELOPED A
CULTURE WHERE
MEDICAL AND
ADMINISTRATIVE
PEOPLE ARE NOT
WARRING FRACTIONS.
FOR THE MOST PART
THEY’RE LOOKED AT
AS PARTNERS.”
—CEO Dr. Jeffrey Thompson
Case Study #2
Company Name: Gundersen Health System
Headquarters Location: La Crosse, Wisconsin
Number of People: ~6,300
Description of the Company: Consistently ranked as one of the top 100 health
systems in the country, Gundersen Health System is a physician-led, not-for profit
comprehensive healthcare network including one of the nation’s largest multispecialty group medical practices, regional community clinics, hospitals, behavioral
health services, vision centers, pharmacies, and air and ground ambulances.
Their services are located throughout western Wisconsin, northeastern Iowa and
southeastern Minnesota.
Highlights of Their Culture: Collaboration is a central component of Gundersen’s
culture, and when asked about how he helped to establish the hospital’s culture,
CEO Dr. Jeffrey Thompson said, “We developed a culture where the medical and
administrative people are not warring factions. For the most part they’re looked at as
partners.” This collaborative spirit is evident in every aspect of Gundersen’s culture,
and it is the catalyst for the exceptional outcomes that Gundersen achieves in quality,
safety, and patient satisfaction.
Gundersen’s patient-centered care focus would not be possible without fostering
collaboration between all areas of the organization. One of the ways that
Gundersen encourages collaboration among the physicians and administration
leaders is by creating teams of two (referred to as “dyads” by the Gundersen
leadership team) that include one administration leader and one physician
department leader. These dyads work together to solve conflicts, determine
strategic needs, and breakdown the “us versus them” barriers that can sometimes
exist between hospital administrators and the people delivering care to patients.
Best in Class Business Practices: People selection and development at
Gundersen are viewed as business imperatives that must be a clear part of the
hospital’s strategy and culture. Gundersen relies on a “Fit Tool” that uses a small
set of values in order to determine how a person will fit within the hospital’s
culture and patient-centered care strategy. At the center of the hiring process
are staff compacts which clearly define the expectation of both Gundersen and
the colleague and provide a framework for decision making, accountability, and
cultural alignment. There are three different types of compacts
that Gundersen uses in the hiring process: one for medical
staff, another for administrative leadership, and one for
support staff. Colleagues must sign the compact prior
to being hired and these compacts are used during the
performance review process in order to measure how all
team members are contributing to the patient-centered
care experience.
10
w w w.per formph.com
w w w.welcoa.org ©
2013 Wellness Council of America
A WELCOA & PERFORMANCE pH CASE STUDY
Some examples of the items in the compact are:
GUNDERSEN LUTHERAN’S RESPONSIBILITIES
Achieve Excellence
GUNDERSEN’S
PATIENT-CENTERED
CARE FOCUS WOULD
• Recruit and Retain outstanding physicians and staff
• Support career development and enhance professional satisfaction
Communication
• Communicate information regarding organizational priorities, business decisions, and strategic plans
• Provide opportunities for constructive dialogue, clarity of goals, and
regular evaluation
Reward
• Provide competitive compensation consistent with market values and organizational goals of quality, service, and efficiency
Change
• Manage the inevitable rapid changes in healthcare so that the staff have an
opportunity for participation, for clarity of goals, and continuous
modification of the process as well as the outcomes
NOT BE POSSIBLE
WITHOUT FOSTERING
COLLABORATION
BETWEEN ALL
AREAS OF THE
ORGANIZATION.
M EDIC A L S TA F F ’S R E S P O N SIBIL I T IE S
Focus on Superior Patient Care
• Practice evidence-based, high-quality medicine
• Encourage increased patient understanding, involvement in care, and
treatment decisions
• Work in collaboration with other physicians, support staff, and management
across the system in both service and patient care improvements
Treat All People with Respect
• Listen and communicate both clinical and non-clinical information
in a clear, respectful, and timely manner
Take Ownership
• Provide leadership to improve outcomes quality and
service quality
• Steadily improve the efficiency and economic aspects
of your practice
Change
• Embrace innovation to continuously improve patient care,
service and organizational efficiency
©
2013 Wellness Council of America w w w.welcoa.org
w w w.per formph.com
11
A WELCOA & PERFORMANCE pH CASE STUDY
IN ADDITION TO THE
COMPACTS WHICH
GUIDE BEHAVIORS
AND PROVIDE
EXPECTATIONS
FOR COLLEAGUES,
EACH AREA OF THE
HOSPITAL DEVELOPS
OBJECTIVES AND
METRICS THAT ARE
Leadership accountability at Gundersen is fostered in several different ways. In
addition to the compacts which guide behaviors and provide expectations for
colleagues, each area of the hospital develops objectives and metrics that are
driven from the overarching objectives of the organization. Gundersen establishes
transparent standards and benchmarks for each unit or department and then
develops clear expectations by showing colleagues how they measure up within
their units. Leaders also compare their teams to others in the organization and set
competitive benchmarks from outside the organization in order to drive awareness of,
and improvement in departmental metrics.
Their Business Outcomes: Healthgrades® recently named Gundersen a recipient
of the 2013 Outstanding Patient Experience Award™ and the health system
consistently ranks in the top 5% of hospitals in the country. For the past two years,
the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has awarded Gundersen’s Senior
Preferred HMO plan an overall 5-star rating. Gundersen’s Health Plan was one
of only 11 health plans nationally to meet this high quality standard. Gundersen’s
nurse retention rate is 95%, while the industry average is just below 90%. In 2012,
special efforts to lower injuries in departments, units and clinics reduced lost work
time and restricted work time by over 24%. Additionally, Gundersen is well on
its way to its goal of being 100% energy independent by 2014 through the use of
renewable energy sources and energy conservation initiatives.
DRIVEN FROM THE
OVERARCHING
OBJECTIVES OF THE
ORGANIZATION.
12
w w w.per formph.com
w w w.welcoa.org ©
2013 Wellness Council of America
A WELCOA & PERFORMANCE pH CASE STUDY
Case Study #3
“WE MEASURE
Company Name: Barry-Wehmiller
SUCCESS BY THE WAY
Headquarters Location: St. Louis, Missouri
Number of People: ~5,600
Description of the Company: With 20 consecutive years of 18% compound
growth in share value, Barry-Wehmiller is a diversified global supplier of
manufacturing technology and services across a broad spectrum of industries.
The company’s four primary operating platforms are packaging automation,
corrugating, paper converting, and engineering and IT consulting.
Highlights of Their Culture: Over the past 20 years, Barry-Wehmiller
has successfully acquired and integrated more than 40 businesses. In many
organizations, this acquisition pace would challenge the core of the organizational
culture, but Barry Wehmiller’s culture continues to be stronger than ever. Over 11
years ago, Bob Chapman, CEO of Barry Wehmiller, asked 20 people from various
roles throughout the organization to participate in a two-day offsite planning session
aimed at understand the success of the company’s leadership techniques. What
emerged from that session was a set of beliefs that guide every leadership decision in
the organization—the Guiding Principles of Leadership.
At Barry-Wehmiller, the Guiding Principles of Leadership define the cultural
strategy for the entire organization. Barry-Wehmiller’s vision for their cultural
strategy reflects their people-centric culture: “We measure success by the way we
touch the lives of people.” The Guiding Principles foster the belief that leadership
is responsible for creating a dynamic environment that:
WE TOUCH THE LIVES
OF PEOPLE.”
—Guiding Principles
of Leadership
FOR MORE
INFORMATION
ABOUT
PERFORMANCE pH,
VISIT:
www.performph.com
• Is based on trust
• Brings out and celebrates the best in each individual
• Allows for teams and individuals to have a meaningful role
• Inspires a sense of pride
• Challenges individuals and teams
• Liberates everyone to realize “true success”
Best in Class Business Practices: Barry-Wehmiller has established
an exceptional way to ensure that the company’s people have many
opportunities for growth and development. In 2007, the company
created Barry-Wehmiller University (BWU), with the goal of creating a
place where people could find personal and professional development
opportunities. BWU offers three kinds of courses—Enterprise,
Divisional, and Virtual Learning. Enterprise courses have limited
capacity, are highly selective, and emphasize significant behavior
change. Divisional classes are taught at divisional locations and focus
on expanding a specific skill set. The virtual learning courses are
available on-demand and emphasize building understanding.
©
2013 Wellness Council of America w w w.welcoa.org
w w w.per formph.com
13
A WELCOA & PERFORMANCE pH CASE STUDY
BARRY-WEHMILLER
EMERGED FROM
THE TOUGH TIMES
STRONGER THAN
EVER, ITS CULTURE
STILL INTACT, AND
WITH A DEEPER LEVEL
OF TRUST BETWEEN
THE COMPANY AND
ITS PEOPLE.
FOR MORE
WELCOA CASE
STUDIES, VISIT:
14
Barry Wehmiller’s approach to compensation and benefits is summed up in one
of the company’s overarching business philosophies: “Treat people superbly and
compensate them fairly.” The compensation and benefits packages at
Barry-Wehmiller are competitive, and the values that underlie the offerings are
a direct reflection of the cultural and business strategies of the organization.
In addition to standard offerings like health, vision and dental coverage, the
company offers a wide array of well-being programs and a 401(k) retirement plan
with a company match and immediate vesting.
Barry-Wehmiller’s compensation and benefits strategy, coupled with the Guiding
Principles, has allowed the organization to successfully emerge from the toughest
struggles that the company has faced. In 2008, the leaders of Barry-Wehmiller,
like many others found themselves in the middle of a harsh economic downturn.
Many believed that they would have to initiate a lay-off in order to continue to
operate the business successfully. The Guiding Principles, however, steered the
leaders to make a different decision.
The company created a furlough program which required everyone, including both
hourly and salaried colleagues, to take four weeks of unpaid time off, and they
suspended their 401(k) program. Moreover, the leaders committed to transparently
communicate business updates regularly in order to keep people informed of the
state of the business. The response to the furlough was true to the culture that
Barry-Wehmiller worked to create over many years. People took care of each other.
Some who could better afford it took more time off than others who were not able
to afford as much time. Even one of the union groups, who were contractually
exempted from the actions taken, offered to participate in the suspension of the
401(k). At the end of the day, Barry-Wehmiller emerged from the tough times
stronger than ever, its culture still intact, and with a deeper level of trust between
the company and its people.
http://www.welcoa.org/
freeresources/
Their Business Outcomes: Barry-Wehmiller has enjoyed 20 years of 18%
annual growth in revenue. The company’s workers’ compensation costs are half of
the industry average. As a result of the organization’s Living Legacy of Leadership
(L3) initiative, Barry-Wehmiller has been able to double its inventory turns and has
increased customer on-time performance from 50% to 90% on time.
w w w.per formph.com
w w w.welcoa.org ©
2013 Wellness Council of America
A WELCOA & PERFORMANCE pH CASE STUDY
Case Study #4
RAVEN INDUSTRIES IS
Company Name: Raven Industries
AN ORGANIZATION
Headquarters Location: Sioux Falls, South Dakota
THAT IS IN THE
Number of People: ~1,400
Description of the Company: Named to Forbes “America’s Best Small
Companies List” for the last seven consecutive years, Raven Industries is a
diversified technology company that embraces an integrated approach, where all
operations support each other, sharing knowledge and best practices. Raven has
three primary divisions: Applied Technology, Engineered Films, and Aerostar.
Highlights of Their Culture: Caring, innovative, goal-oriented, and driven:
these are the words that come to mind when people at Raven Industries
are asked to describe their organizational culture. Raven Industries is an
organization that is in the business of solving some of the world’s most complex
challenges. Raven knows that in order to achieve sustainable success, it must
have a strong foundational culture that is fueled by team members who are
motivated by the values and vision of the organization, and who are empowered
to achieve the highest levels of success.
BUSINESS OF
SOLVING SOME
OF THE WORLD’S
MOST COMPLEX
CHALLENGES.
“The Raven Way” is Raven Industries’ guide to the organization’s business
strategy, and this document clearly illustrates the connection between Raven’s
business performance and organizational foundation. Raven’s culture is guided
by two sets of values: Corporate Values and Team Member Values:
C O R P O R AT E VA L U E S
• We achieve performance with integrity.
• We treat each other with dignity and respect.
• Our team members are valued as individuals and challenged to grow and
perform at their peak.
• Our customers and suppliers are considered business partners
and treated that way.
• We are competitive and aim to win.
• We support diversity, team member involvement, and a climate of inclusiveness.
• Our profitability ensures the viability.
TE AM MEMBER VALUES
• Integrity: Doing what you say you are going to do.
• Authenticity: Genuine and trustworthy.
• Courage: Willing to stand up for what is right.
• Drive: Bold and thoughtful action with a clear sense of purpose.
• Humility: Listens to and empowers others.
• Service: Meeting the needs of others.
©
2013 Wellness Council of America w w w.welcoa.org
w w w.per formph.com
15
A WELCOA & PERFORMANCE pH CASE STUDY
RAVEN INDUSTRIES’
ORGANIZATIONAL
PURPOSE IS ROOTED
IN DECADES OF
EXPERIENCE AND
KNOWLEDGE
AND IS SIMPLE,
YET POWERFUL:
WE SOLVE GREAT
CHALLENGES.
Best in Class Business Practices: Raven Industries’ organizational purpose is
rooted in decades of experience and knowledge and is simple, yet powerful: We Solve
Great Challenges. For a company that started in 1956 to develop high-altitude
research balloons for the purpose of better understanding science, space and the
universe, the purpose statement is certainly appropriate.
What’s more intriguing is that, throughout the company’s history, Raven
has developed purpose statements for each of its divisions. For the Applied
Technology Division, which focuses on agricultural solutions, the purpose is:
“to help farmers feed the world.” The purpose of the Engineered Films Division,
which manufactures high performance plastic films and sheeting, is: “to help
protect and conserve earth’s resources.” For the Aerostar division, which makes
the high altitude research balloons and other surveillance systems for military
support, the purpose is: “to help save lives.”
Raven Industries has dedicated significant attention to making its work environment
a place where people can do their best work. The company’s campus is smoke-free,
and it works with its vendors to have healthy options in vending machines and at
meetings. Raven has also invested in an onsite fitness center which offers a variety
of classes, and the company’s onsite clinic makes it more convenient for people
to receive the medical care they need. Additionally, Raven participates in several
initiatives which provide the opportunity for their people to serve the community.
Communications is a central component of the culture at Raven Industries,
and leaders work diligently to ensure that people have a consistent flow of the
information they need in order to do their jobs effectively and to stay connected
to the mission of the company. The CEO, Dan Rykhus, holds monthly
roundtable meetings in which people are encouraged to share their feedback and
ask any questions they have. Each division has a quarterly meeting that provides
the forum for giving information about the state of the business, and the
company also uses newsletters and daily meetings with leaders in order to keep
communications flowing.
Their Business Outcomes: During the past five years, Raven Industries
has enjoyed an annual average of 15% in revenue growth, and the company’s
Earnings per Share remains consistently strong, averaging 17% growth over
the last five years. Additionally, Raven Industries ranking as one of America’s
Best Small Companies is driven, in part, by the company’s strong return on
equity, which has topped 25% for the last five years. Raven Industries’ average
annual attrition rate is 11.7%, and the company’s annual healthcare costs are
approximately $6,800 per enrollee.
16
w w w.per formph.com
w w w.welcoa.org ©
2013 Wellness Council of America
A WELCOA & PERFORMANCE pH CASE STUDY
A Model For Success
The case studies above highlight organizations which have established some of the
best high performance cultures in the world. Although the case studies vary by
industry, size, location, centralization and many other factors, they have many things
in common, including:
• None were overnight successes—a high performance culture was the result of a
purposeful journey and steadfast investment, even through difficult times.
• There is a leadership commitment at the highest levels.
• Strong measurements are in place to prove successes and redirect the organization
to new areas of opportunity.
• Peer-influenced accountability drove systemic change.
NONE WERE
OVERNIGHT
SUCCESSES—
A HIGH
PERFORMANCE
CULTURE WAS
• There is a strong emphasis on selecting and developing people, including the clear
belief that people are the most valuable resource in the organization.
THE RESULT OF
• There is a continual innovative and strategic focus on improving operations and
culture.
A PURPOSEFUL
• Both customers and suppliers are highly valued and viewed as strategic partners.
JOURNEY AND
STEADFAST
INVESTMENT,
EVEN THROUGH
DIFFICULT TIMES
©
2013 Wellness Council of America w w w.welcoa.org
w w w.per formph.com
17
A WELCOA & PERFORMANCE pH CASE STUDY
BOTH PEOPLE
INITIATIVES AND A
HIGH PERFORMANCE
CULTURE ARE
Assessment and Measurement
As you read the case studies, a model for success begins to emerge. But before we
talk about the business transformation process further, let’s make one thing perfectly
clear: Both people initiatives and a high performance culture are measurable. The
companies featured in the case studies knew exactly where they stood with their
objective to create and maintain a high performing culture. This can be attributed
to their regular assessment of culture, tracked metrics and actions in the spirit of
continuous quality improvement.
In addition, these successful companies gave equal attention to both people/cultural
metrics and operational metrics on the company performance dashboard. There
was nothing soft about how culture was measured and managed as compared
to operations. Successful companies know both are completely interrelated and
mutually crucial.
MEASURABLE
Figure 1 provides an example of a balanced dashboard.
FIGURE 1
Metric
Definition
2013
Goal
2013
Actual YTD
Rating
Culture & People
Assessment Score - Culture
Aggregate Assessment score of 5 areas of culture
75%
76%
Assessment Score - Engagement
Aggregate Assessment score of 6 areas of engagement
75%
78%
Assessment Score - Well-Being
Aggregate Assessment score of 5 areas of well-being
75%
72%
Compensation & Benefits
% Satisfied with benefits offered
80%
72%
People Selection
Total Turn-Over (Voluntary + Involuntary)
12%
10%
Communications
Weekly communications sent to all people
52
1
Well-Being Participation
Participation in 3+ events/classes
85%
51%
Growth & Development
Training Evaluations - measure effectiveness of training
97% Positive
99%
Sales/People Cost - Ratio of sales generated to cost of people
4.08
3.91
OP/People Cost - Ratio of profit generated to cost of people
0.53
0.48
OSHA injuly/illness rate (industry average is 4.9)
4.3
3.9
Human Capital
Injury/Illness Rate
Sales & Operations
18
Revenue
Total Sales versus budget
$139.4M
$18.55M
Close Business
Annual value of projects closed during the year
$21.0M
$3.5M
Funnel Value
Weighted value of sales funnel
$42M
$33.5M
New Strategic Initiatives
Number of new initiatives w/ sales potential of $5mm
2
1
Customer Stability
Weight retention of customers at 90% of 2011 sales
100%
100%
Customer Loyalty Index
Avg. of “Recommend” on Customer/Supplier survey questions
4
3.51
Customer On-Time Delivery (Effectiveness)
% of Shipments Delivered On-Time to our Customers
99.00%
99.20%
Productivity Improvement (Efficiency)
Year over Year improvement in Conversion Costs
0% Variance
to Budget
2.50%
Supplier Delivery Compliance
% On-Time Deliveries
99%
99.18%
w w w.per formph.com
w w w.welcoa.org ©
2013 Wellness Council of America
A WELCOA & PERFORMANCE pH CASE STUDY
The Levers
All of the case study companies have an effective organizational foundation, with
engaged workers exhibiting high vitality. In other words, they have The Big 3 in order.
But on a more granular level, there were actions taken within each of these three areas
that resulted in high performance. We refer to these actions as the 10 Levers.
Think of the 10 Levers as the keys to unlocking the highest performing culture
possible for your organization. All of the 10 levers are measurable and can be
tied to outcomes, which ultimately determine the business performance of the
organization. These levers are presented in Figure 2 and further explained below.
FIGURE 2
Work
Environment
Optimization
Colleague
Conviction
Compensation &
Benefits Syngery
People
Development
Optimal
Business
Performance
Effective People
Selection
Leadership
Accountability
Colleague
Well-Being
Communications
Customer
& Supplier
Collaboration
Organizational
Purpose
1. Organizational Purpose
The journey to find the optimal culture for your organization begins here.
Developing organizational purpose can involve establishing foundational beliefs
and drivers, defining organizational mission and, most importantly, determining
what makes people want to be a part of/work with your organization. An
important part of this process is to help people clarify their own purpose in life
and identify how it aligns with the organizational purpose.
Most workers are not clear on their own personal purpose in life, let alone the
purpose of the company. Helping each worker discover his or her own purpose,
and how that purpose relates to the company purpose, can vastly change work
dynamics. Colleagues perform for a greater good and see work as more fulfilling.
As a result they do it with more enthusiasm, care and commitment.
©
2013 Wellness Council of America w w w.welcoa.org
w w w.per formph.com
19
A WELCOA & PERFORMANCE pH CASE STUDY
2. Communications
COMMUNICATING
TO YOUR PEOPLE IS
MISSION CRITICAL,
AND YET MOST
ORGANIZATIONS
STRUGGLE TO
FIND THE RIGHT
BALANCE OF
TIMING, TYPES AND
RESOURCES NEEDED
FOR OPTIMAL
COMMUNICATIONS.
Communicating to your people is mission critical, and yet most organizations
struggle to find the right balance of timing, types and resources needed for
optimal communications. Most organizations have many opportunities to
improve communications, and all of these should be pursued. However, only
great companies drive communication down to the colleague-to-colleague level.
With an effective communications strategy, many actions are taken at the lowest
possible level, allowing management to focus on the important tasks required to
successfully operate the company.
3. Effective People Selection
Effective hiring reduces turnover and overall employment costs, boosts morale
and optimizes performance. Establishing a process that helps you determine
the best fit, talent, and skills (in that order) of your people and identifying the
characteristics of top performers will help you find people who will become
stewards of your culture and the fuel of the performance of your organization.
Most companies hire primarily on the credentials of the candidate pool. A
better approach is fit first. If a person is not a good cultural fit, once hired both
the candidate and the company suffer. This is not to say that a company should
have a homogenized workforce. Quite to the contrary, diversity is invaluable.
However, the most productive environment is established when workers believe
in the company mission, and see that it aligns with their personal mission and
goals, allowing them to thrive in their roles.
4. Compensation and Benefits Synergy
Your compensation and benefits plans can be major tools to recruit and
retain the highest caliber of talent. Going beyond your health care plan, it is
important to create a well-rounded compensation and benefits package aligned
with culture, business strategy and desired outcomes. Recent research has
demonstrated that when the compensation and benefit plan is consistent with a
high-performance culture, workers are better custodians of the benefits.
20
w w w.per formph.com
w w w.welcoa.org ©
2013 Wellness Council of America
A WELCOA & PERFORMANCE pH CASE STUDY
5. Colleague Conviction
Getting your people fully committed is the key to reaching your goals and a
primary challenge for many businesses. From finding the right rewards and
recognition for your people, to helping find new opportunities to learn and grow,
strong colleague conviction will be key to optimizing your business performance.
You will know you have optimized engagement if your people are excited to
come to work four out of five days of the week (five out of five is unrealistic).
A highly convicted workforce is essential for optimal business performance.
Unfortunately, workplace engagement is at an all-time low. There are many ways
to measure colleague conviction and many more ways to improve and optimize
it. You will know you have optimized engagement if your people are excited to
come to work and go home fulfilled four out of five days of the week (five out of
five is unrealistic).
6. Work Environment Optimization
This is about more than just workspace layout and ergonomics. Work environment
optimization is about creating an environment aligned with your cultural and
operational objectives, where people feel comfortable and inspired to produce
exceptional work. Optimizing work environment can be as simple as developing
policies that uphold your cultural objectives.
The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index reported that 31 percent of workers who
said they worked in a neutral to poor work environment also said they were “angry
most of yesterday.” Interestingly, people living in the poorest 100 counties in the US,
as well as countries like Sierra Leone and Haiti, report a similar amount of anger.
What is the moral of the story? A poor work environment is as anger producing as
living in poverty. There are many opportunities for the typical employer to improve
the work environment. For instance, if you encourage your people to eat better, make
sure there is nutritious food in the cafeteria and vending machines. If you encourage
your workers to exercise, make sure there is flexibility in the daily work schedule and
a safe place around the worksite. Often enormous impact on performance can be
gained with simple, inexpensive modifications to work environment.
FROM FINDING THE
RIGHT REWARDS
AND RECOGNITION
FOR YOUR PEOPLE,
TO HELPING FIND
NEW OPPORTUNITIES
TO LEARN AND
GROW, OPTIMIZING
ENGAGEMENT
WILL BE KEY TO
OPTIMIZING
YOUR BUSINESS
PERFORMANCE.
7. People Development
It takes great leaders at every level to establish a high performance culture. The
best organizations find ways to ensure everyone is involved in the leadership
of the organization. Succession planning, developing your people’s strengths,
helping people find different ways to contribute to your organization—all
of these things are a part of showing your people that they are, by far, your
organization’s most important resource.
Most companies do a pretty good job of helping management improve. Often
the missed opportunity is at the rank and file level. For instance, how do you
help line workers in a manufacturing organization grow? Often the answer is
by teaching them life skills such as planning for retirement, hobby building,
behavior change programs and community service.
©
2013 Wellness Council of America w w w.welcoa.org
w w w.per formph.com
21
A WELCOA & PERFORMANCE pH CASE STUDY
LEADERS MUST BE
HELD JUST AS
ACCOUNTABLE
FOR THEIR PEOPLE
METRICS AS THEY
ARE TO OPERATIONAL
METRICS.
The companies that continually develop their people both professionally and
personally have the best retention, the most committed people, and the highest
colleague conviction. The desire for personal growth is a basic human need
companies can facilitate to optimize business performance.
8. Leadership Accountability
It is important for your leaders to have a single source of truth for key
performance indicators. For most organizations, key performance indicators are
heavily skewed towards operational metrics. Therefore, leaders are more focused
on operations, instead of having a more balanced approach that includes culture.
Finding cultural key performance indicators that can be elevated to the same
importance as operational metrics will help your leaders find a better balance
that will improve all objectives.
In the case study companies, all of the leadership was fully committed, actively
engaged and supportive of their people. Leaders must be held just as accountable
for their people metrics as they are to operational metrics. Leaders who are not
impeccable in supporting the high performance culture are detrimental and
must evolve or be replaced.
9. Colleague Well-Being
FOR MORE
WELCOA CASE
STUDIES, VISIT:
http://www.welcoa.org/
freeresources/
Well-being is where many companies struggle the most. Well-being initiatives
can impact health outcomes, control costs and optimize the vitality of your
people. Unfortunately, well-being programs are often plagued with apathetic
leadership support and low participation.
Emotional, social, physical, and financial well-being plays an enormous role in
how workers perform. Research has correlated workers’ well-being levels to worker
annual performance score, healthcare cost, unscheduled PTO use, engagement,
intention to stay with their current employers, and leadership scores.
Furthermore, the aggregate well-being scores of groups of
workers have been correlated with how they perform, both
physically and financially, as a work unit. Overall
well-being can be improved at work, which
after all is where people spend a majority of
their waking hours. The well-being of the
workforce is within the control of every
employer and improving it is an important
part of creating a high performance culture,
as evidenced in the case study companies.
22
w w w.per formph.com
w w w.welcoa.org ©
2013 Wellness Council of America
A WELCOA & PERFORMANCE pH CASE STUDY
10. Customer and Supplier Collaboration
Your relationships with customers and suppliers are just as vital to your
organization as those with your people. The best organizations use their
cultural strategies to guide their relationships with both their customers and
their suppliers.
Most companies maintain a good relationship with their customers. Great
companies even measure it. This avoids unpleasant surprises. Great companies
also measure their relationships with their suppliers. High performing companies
see their suppliers as an extension of their own workforces and endeavor to make
those relationships symbiotic. They also have a continuous effort in place to keep
those relationships with customers and supplies productive.
Each of the 10 Levers map to one of the Big 3, which provides the starting point
for the strategies which can be deployed in every organization. This mapping is
presented in Figure 3.
FIGURE 3
Vitality
THE BEST
ORGANIZATIONS
USE THEIR CULTURAL
STRATEGIES TO GUIDE
THEIR RELATIONSHIPS
WITH BOTH THEIR
CUSTOMERS AND
THEIR SUPPLIERS.
Colleague Well-Being
• Physical
• Emotional
• Social
• Financial
• Personal Purpose
• People Selection
• Compensation & Benefits Synergy
Engagement
• Colleague Conviction
• People Development
• Customer & Supplier Collaboration
• Organizational Purpose
Organizational
Foundation
©
• Communication
• Work Environment Optimization
• Leadership Accountability
2013 Wellness Council of America w w w.welcoa.org
23
A WELCOA & PERFORMANCE pH CASE STUDY
AS CAN BE SEEN
FROM THE CASE
STUDIES, SUCCESSFUL
ORGANIZATIONS
HAVE A STRATEGIC
Taking Action To
Improve Performance
As can be seen from the case studies, successful organizations have a strategic
plan in place to drive performance. Much of the focus is on pulling the 10 Levers
continually. How can this be achieved? Figure 4 shows the actions which must
be taken to effectively pull the levers, and examples of how each lever impacted
one or more of the case study organizations.
PLAN IN PLACE TO
DRIVE PERFORMANCE.
FIGURE 4
Big 3 Lever
Possible Actions
Case Study Examples
Organizational Foundation
Organizational Purpose
• Develop clearly defined set of
beliefs/drives/values
Life Planning Classes at Lincoln Industries help people
examine their lives from different aspects in order to define
their purpose.
• Conduct individual purpose/life
planning classes
Raven Industries has developed purpose statements for each
of the organization’s business units in order to help people
better identify purpose with daily work activities.
• Conduct leadership purpose exercises
• Align individual purpose with
organizational purpose through the talent Gundersen facilitates alignment with purpose as part of the
selection process by utilizing hiring compacts.
selection process
• Purpose marketing/communication
campaign development
• Carry purpose into the community
Communication
• Develop an internal
communication strategy
•
•
•
•
•
24
w w w.per formph.com
All four of the case study companies have a clearly defined
roundtable process that enables colleagues to talk to
Develop communication cadence/calendar leadership about emerging issues on a regular basis.
Raven Industries offers several avenues of communications
Develop forum for colleagues to
and feedback sharing, including quarterly meetings with all
effectively communicate
team members, the annual colleague opinion survey, and
ideas/suggestions
monthly newsletters.
Determine existing/needed media
Gundersen recently completed a communications audit.
Identify the communications
The company looked at all of its communications outlets,
people/resources needed
determined which were the most effective, and determined
how to best leverage social media outlets in order to
Develop advanced
communicate its messages. One of the most popular
communication strategies
communications methods is GundU Views, which are short
videos (must be 6 minutes or less in length) that concisely
give the information needed in a format that is simple to
digest and easily accessible on the intranet.
w w w.welcoa.org ©
2013 Wellness Council of America
A WELCOA & PERFORMANCE pH CASE STUDY
FIGURE 4 (continued)
Big 3 Lever
Possible Actions
Case Study Examples
Organizational Foundation (continued)
Work Environment
• Environmental and safety audit
• Safety initiatives developed
and communicated
• Environment and work flexibility
friendly policies
• Develop initiatives aimed at improving
physical workspace
• Determine small investment, big
impact work environment improvement
opportunities
Leadership Accountability
• Establish/confirm leadership model
• Develop roles/responsibilities structure
• Determine how leaders will have
high visibility in driving the
high-performance culture
• Individual and organizational best
practices capture and benchmarking
• 360 degree evaluation process
Raven Industries has leveraged the company’s workspace
in order to provide colleagues with an onsite clinic, onsite
fitness classes, and healthy options in vending machines.
Barry-Wehmiller has developed a Safety Covenant
that clearly spells out the safety responsibilities of the
organization and its colleagues.
As part of a safety and prevention initiative, Gundersen
installed bed lifts in order to make it easier for staff to lift
patients – this initiative reduced workers’ compensation
costs by 48%.
Gundersen’s compacts, which are an integral part of the
hospital’s selection process, help colleagues understand
roles, responsibilities and expectations.
Lincoln Industries develops a monthly dashboard that
includes both operational and cultural metrics in order to
drive change and ensure visibility.
Barry-Wehmiller has developed a set of leadership principles
that help guide the decisions and behavior of all leaders in
the organization.
• Balanced scorecard with equal focus on
people and operational metrics
Engagement
People Selection
• Develop talent pool process for auditing
talent in the organization
• Develop talent profile for each position
• Train for hiring on fit, talent and skill
• Determine appropriate interviewing style
for each position
• Develop recruitment materials
• Develop visible and vibrant internal
posting and promotion process
Compensation And Benefits Synergy
Lincoln Industries also utilizes a fit first model for selection.
Additionally, Lincoln Industries has developed a comprehensive
internal posting process that keeps colleagues informed on
opportunities company-wide.
Gundersen screens all candidates on their ability for service
and caring, which aligns with their culture objectives, and all
candidates are given a fit assessment at the time of hire.
• Establish a written compensation and
benefit philosophy (e.g., personal
ownership, results, etc.)
•
•
•
•
•
©
Raven Industries utilizes a fit first model for people selection. The
company determines cultural fit by analyzing 16 values that they
look for in a person throughout the selection process.
While Barry-Wehmiller has a consumer driven health plan
(CDHP), and this is consistent with the company’s philosophy
of spending less on healthcare benefits and instead putting
Audit compensation and benefit structure it toward a people-centric culture that enables people to
thrive and find their optimal well-being. The overarching
Develop a communication
compensation and benefits strategy is to pay people fairly,
plan for compensation and
but to treat them exceptionally.
benefits/personal responsibility
Lincoln Industries offers a competitive compensation and
Establish initiatives that reduce cost,
benefits structure, and the company has utilized outcomespromote prevention, and increase
based incentives for metabolic syndrome and smoking risk
colleague commitment
factors. Keeping consistent with the company’s beliefs and
drivers that define accountability and a results-based culture,
Identify potential non-traditional
every colleague at Lincoln Industries is eligible for the
compensation and benefits
annual profit sharing, which keeps colleagues engaged and
Develop an absence prevention strategy
constantly driving the business forward.
2013 Wellness Council of America w w w.welcoa.org
w w w.per formph.com
25
A WELCOA & PERFORMANCE pH CASE STUDY
FIGURE 4 (continued)
Big 3 Lever
Possible Actions
Case Study Examples
Engagement (continued)
Colleague Conviction
• Identify team building
activities/launch actions
Raven Industries CEO has purposefully created an
entrepreneurial atmosphere in which colleagues are
encouraged to celebrate successes and find the joy in
winning as a team each day. The company’s lofty vision
statement enables colleagues to find innovative and
challenging ways to engage colleagues.
• Develop action team process aimed at
organizational improvements
• Recognize and reinforce empowerment
throughout the organization
Lincoln Industries has a monthly meeting called Champions
• Intrinsic and extrinsic rewards/recognition during which colleagues are encouraged to share success
initiatives tailored to the population
stories, celebrate wins, and reveal new ideas and innovations
that are the future of the organization. Additionally,
• Identify supervisor roles in
empowerment is a central theme of the company’s
optimizing conviction
overarching purpose and is reflected in the company’s beliefs
• Improve leadership as a
and drivers.
face-to-face activity
People Development
• Train on how to lead a high performing
culture
Barry-Wehmiller University delivers professional growth and
development opportunities to colleagues in several different
ways, including classroom, online, and hands-on training. Some
of the course subjects include communications, people-centric
leadership, and Lean principles.
• Create formal and informal mentoring
programs
• Develop rotational options for all-stars
• Establish/enhance comprehensive
professional development planning
• Establish/enhance comprehensive
performance review process
• Development focused on understanding
the business, continuing education, etc.
Customer And Supplier Collaboration
• Establish strategy to treat suppliers as an
extension of the organization
• Regular cadence of customer visits by
senior executives
• Create customer and supplier advisory
council
Gundersen has established a comprehensive approach to
people development. The hospital utilizes internal and external
resources in its people development processes. Development
opportunities such as online learning courses, outside speakers
brought in for specific topics, tuition reimbursement and even
nursing emotional health/nurturing programs are available
Barry-Wehmiller has developed a “Culture of Service” course
aimed at helping people understand how they can better
serve internal and external customers. The company is also
currently developing a Customer Experience School for
colleagues in customer facing roles to have more training on
customer fundamentals.
Lincoln Industries utilizes a Supplier Advisory Council to keep
• Develop customized surveys for customers the business connected to the needs of suppliers and the
and suppliers
trends in the supply chain industries. The Supplier Advisory
Council also provides a unique perspective on areas where
• Conduct “learning conferences”
Lincoln Industries can optimize its supply chain.
• Host open houses for customers
and suppliers
26
w w w.per formph.com
w w w.welcoa.org ©
2013 Wellness Council of America
A WELCOA & PERFORMANCE pH CASE STUDY
FIGURE 4 (continued)
Big 3 Lever
Possible Actions
Case Study Examples
Vitality
Physical, Emotional, Social, and Financial
Well-Being; Personal Purpose
• Determine how well-being will
be resourced
• Create an internal well-being brand
with communications
• Make corporate policies/practices
well-being friendly
• Training/ accountability for maintaining
a well-being culture
• Create a well-being incentive program
• Provide state-of-the-art well-being
programs in all focus areas
• Provide opportunities to get involved in
the community
©
2013 Wellness Council of America The primary goal of the well-being programs at Raven
Industries is help the company achieve its purpose. This goal
is a key guiding principle in the types of programs that
are offered.
Lincoln Industries has created a tiered incentive program
to help drive participation in well-being activities and
programs. The company offers programs for every realm of
well-being, and the colleagues who achieve the highest level
in the incentive structure are eligible for a company paid trip
to climb a 14,000 feet mountain in Colorado.
Barry-Wehmiller also invests significantly in programs and
initiatives aimed at improving colleague well-being. From
stocking fruit baskets in cubicles to healthy recipe contests to
pedometers, Barry-Wehmiller has found ways to reach many
of their colleagues and positively impact well-being.
w w w.welcoa.org
w w w.per formph.com
27
A WELCOA & PERFORMANCE pH CASE STUDY
BY CREATING
THE RIGHT
ORGANIZATIONAL
FOUNDATION
AND LEADERSHIP,
PEOPLE HAVE THE
OPPORTUNITY
The Outcomes Achieved
As is presented in Figure 5, the case study organizations were purposeful in their
assessment of their cultures, took actions to optimize the performance of their
people, and thus created a high-performance culture that drove top and bottom
line performance. Their success did not come overnight. It took hard work and
constant attention, but it ultimately paid off.
FIGURE 5
Assess The
Big 3
Pull 10
Transformational
Levers
Evolve
The
Culture
Rebalance
Corporate
Metrics
TO THRIVE.
It all ties together. By creating the right organizational foundation and
leadership, people have the opportunity to thrive. People who thrive have higher
vitality and are more engaged in life, including when they are at work. By
putting more energy into their people, rather than more aggressively managing
operations, the case study companies improved their performance and surpassed
their competitors.
As is presented in Figure 6, they did this by transforming themselves in a way that
naturally reduced unnecessary spending, created operating efficiencies, improved the
engagement of the workers and suppliers and delighted customers. All of this, when
combined with their unique and compelling business strategies, resulted in top and
bottom line growth, the true measure of business performance.
FIGURE 6
Bus
i
nes
s
Tra
nsf
orm
ati
on
People, Not Aggressive
Management, Drive
Optimal Business
Performance
Reduced
Healthcare
Costs
Measurable Outcomes
Measurement
Optimal
Business
Performance
Vitality
Engagement
Reduced
Absenteeism
Organizational Foundation
Leadership
28
w w w.per formph.com
Higher
Customer
Satisfaction
w w w.welcoa.org ©
Improved
Engagement
Lower
Workers’
Comp
Reduced
Turnover
2013 Wellness Council of America
A WELCOA & PERFORMANCE pH CASE STUDY
The Commitment Required
As has been discussed, building a high performance culture is not easy and the
devil is in the details. One of the most important details is the commitment
required, because it is significant and long term. The case study companies
accomplished it by taking continuous action on many fronts, continuing to
measure the results of their actions, and by committing to it for life.
The commitment must start in the C-suite. The CEO and his or her immediate
team must own it. Of course managers throughout the organization must
ultimately embrace it and thus own it, too. Finally, the entire organization must
believe in the value of a high performance culture and live it with pride through
the work they do.
ONE OF THE MOST
IMPORTANT DETAILS
IS THE COMMITMENT
REQUIRED, BECAUSE
IT IS SIGNIFICANT AND
LONG TERM.
The case study companies are exemplary when it comes to the commitment
required. Some of the traits they exhibit are:
• The CEO owns the responsibility for the company gaining and maintaining a
high performance culture. He or she must pay attention to it every day. This
responsibility cannot be delegated.
• A means to measure the people metrics of high performance culture must be in
place, and given equal importance to operational metrics. Managers failing at the
people metrics pose just as big (if not bigger) risk to the organization as managers
failing at operations.
• The effort must be comprehensive and adequately funded. In the effort to build
and maintain a high performance culture, there can be no short-cuts. Once all of
the initiatives that will be undertaken are identified, adequate budget must be in
place for effective implementation.
• Everyone should be expected to help build and maintain a high performance
culture. It should be clearly stated in the vision and mission statement of the
organization, and in its stated core values. Managers must be held accountable for
achieving it, and workers must embrace it at all levels.
• Everyone who embraces the mission must be rewarded for it, with those who are
exceptional receiving special recognition.
• There must be a commitment to never let off the throttle. A continuous
improvement attitude helps the high performance culture continue to evolve,
improve, achieve new things, and bring a sense of pride to the organization and all
of its people.
©
2013 Wellness Council of America w w w.welcoa.org
w w w.per formph.com
29
A WELCOA & PERFORMANCE pH CASE STUDY
Common Barriers
AS MIGHT BE
ANTICIPATED,
AND EVEN OFTEN
MENTIONED BY
THE CASE STUDY
COMPANIES, THERE
ARE MANY POSSIBLE
OBSTACLES TO
SUCCESS.
As might be anticipated, and even often mentioned by the case study companies,
there are many possible obstacles to success. Some of the most common are:
• Inertia around the status quo—in other words, there is a lack of enthusiasm to
advance beyond where the organization is at present.
• Failure to recognize when the old paradigm is no longer in the organization’s best
interest.
• The misconception or even uninformed perception that average is good enough—
when this happens often opportunity is left on the table.
• A disbelief in the potential value of the opportunity—said differently, not believing
that the investment of time and resources in developing a high performance
culture will more than pay for itself (possibly driven by risk aversion).
• An inability to quantify the cost of doing nothing or conversely the value of taking
action.
• Wavering C-suite support.
• Failure to develop the assessment and measurement tools that quantify the current
and future people metrics and culture - In other words, flying blind.
• Aiming low—not taking a comprehensive enough approach to be successful.
• Under resourcing efforts crucial to building a high performance culture, such as
actions under the 10 Levers.
FOR MORE
INFORMATION
ABOUT
PERFORMANCE pH,
VISIT:
www.performph.com
• Not holding managers accountable for continuous improvement of people
metrics, and the corporate actions that drive them.
• Not rewarding high performance behavior.
• Creating an environment where the effort seems disingenuous. In other words,
high performance is given lip service but the actions that drive it are not initiated.
Examples include a failure to have an adequate employee well-being program,
inadequate compensation and benefits for the industry, failing to address work
environment issues, etc.
• Failure to communicate the importance of a high performance culture and the
actions being taken to achieve one to workers (as well as failure to get their buy-in).
30 w w w . w e l c o a . o r g 2013 Wellness Council of
©
America
A WELCOA & PERFORMANCE pH CASE STUDY
Final Thoughts
There is significant opportunity for American businesses to have better top and
bottom line performance, yet much of this potential remains untapped. The case
study companies presented above have demonstrated what can happen when
purposeful effort is focused on developing a high performance culture. They
also found that the efforts and resources they put into their cultures paid for
themselves many times over.
Building a high performance culture is not easy, but it is within the reach of
virtually any company in any industry. What it takes is the vision, fortitude,
resources, and the commitment to move from good to great. Is your organization
ready for the journey?
BUILDING A HIGH
PERFORMANCE
CULTURE IS NOT EASY,
BUT IT IS WITHIN THE
REACH OF VIRTUALLY
ANY COMPANY IN
ANY INDUSTRY.
FOR MORE
WELCOA CASE
STUDIES, VISIT:
http://www.welcoa.org/
freeresources/
©
2013 Wellness Council of America w w w.welcoa.org
w w w.per formph.com
31
A WELCOA & PERFORMANCE pH CASE STUDY
About The Companies
Gundersen Health System
Gundersen Health System is a comprehensive healthcare network based in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Gundersen’s services
include one of the nation’s largest multi-specialty group medical practices, teaching hospital, regional community
clinics, affiliate hospitals and clinics, behavioral health services, vision centers, pharmacies, and air and ground
ambulances. For more information on Gundersen, please visit www.gundersenhealth.org.
Barry-Wehmiller
Barry-Wehmiller is a diversified global supplier of manufacturing technology and services across a broad spectrum of
industries. The company’s emphasis on making a positive and lasting impact on the individuals and families who are
touched by their association with Barry-Wehmiller rests at the heart of the company’s leadership practices. To learn
more about Barry-Wehmiller, please visit www.barry-wehmiller.com or check out CEO Bob Chapman’s Truly Human
Leadership blog at www.trulyhumanleadership.com.
Raven Industries
Raven Industries was founded in Sioux Falls, SD, in 1956 as a manufacturer of high-altitude research balloons for the
American space program to help solve a great challenge in space exploration. Today, Raven is a diversified technology
company that embraces an integrated approach, where all operations support each other, sharing knowledge and best
practices. To learn more about Raven Industries, please visit www.ravenind.com.
Lincoln Industries
Lincoln Industries, formerly known as Lincoln Plating, was founded in 1952 by Dale LeBaron. Over the following
two decades, what began as a small custom shop specializing in made-to-order solutions for consumers shifted to an
organization focused on serving the needs of regional businesses. Lincoln Industries uses its metal finishing and supply
chain management expertise to focus on your issues—corrosion, wear, aesthetics, heat, friction—to create the best
solution. To learn more about Lincoln Industries, please visit www.lincolnindustries.com.
32
w w w.per formph.com
w w w.welcoa.org ©
2013 Wellness Council of America
Wellness Council of America [WELCOA]
17002 Marcy Street, Suite 140
Omaha, NE 68118
Phone: 402.827.3590 | Fax: 402.827.3594
www.welcoa.org
Performance pH
10712 Eldorado Circle
Noblesville, IN 46060
Phone: 888.875.3488 | Fax: 402.475.9565
www.performph.com