Jessica Lopez knows firsthand what committing to a wellness-focused lifestyle can do for both your work and personal life.
“Back in 2012, I actually made a commitment to myself to get healthier,” she says. “I went to the doctor, and I tested for high cholesterol. … What I saw was my son being motherless, my husband being without a wife. So, I really took it seriously, and I started documenting everything that I ate — five to six small meals a day, every three to four hours. I've lost 116 pounds.”
October 2021 marks Jessica’s 20th anniversary at U-Haul International Inc., where she started as a legal secretary before working her way up to her current position as Chief of Staff. Five and a half years ago, the CEO asked her to create a wellness program for employees, and her lifestyle changes that led to her weight loss made her the perfect person for the job.
Monique Harty was chosen as the manager of said program, and together, the women use a well-rounded approach focusing on not only physical but mental health. Their goal: address all the outside factors that can affect an employee’s work performance.
On this episode of Human Resolve, the pair discusses the importance of getting buy-in from upper management before building such a program and how not being in the HR department can help build trust with individuals using the program. Jessica and Monique also explain why it’s imperative that managers receive training on how to identify signs of stress, anxiety and potentially even suicidal ideation among employees.
Show Notes
Featured Leaders
Name: Jessica Lopez
Title: Chief of Staff
Company: U-Haul International, Inc.
Noteworthy: Jessica was a finalist for 2018 Business Leader of Year and a 2020 Health Intelligence Hero.
Name: Monique Harty
Title: Wellness Program Manager
Company: U-Haul International, Inc.
Noteworthy: Monique was on azcentral.com’s “Who’s Next” list for emerging health experts.
Human Resolve Episode 13 Highlights
Highlights from the transcript.
💡 Maximize your current medical plan’s potential before considering a switch
[
11:10] “You should start with utilizing what you’re already paying for. … There were a ton of chronic conditions programs that lived within our medical plan already, that we really weren't using. So we focused — and we're still focusing on — promoting and marketing those, and building incentivized plans to get more people engaged. And, I think that sometimes you're so inclined to go see a vendor that has all the bells and whistles, and sometimes that's great. But, you have to start with what you already have. And you can't really go and focus on every single aspect of every vendor, you have to narrow it down.”
💡 Buy-in from the top makes new programs work
[
15:15] “With the Healthy Living seminar that we did in front of all of our presidents with Monique up on stage and myself, [U-Haul CEO] Joe actually introduced us, so that just sets the tone for the program. … He is constantly evolving and bringing ideas and endorsing and supporting. He travels every other week, and he'll say, ‘More people in the field know you and Monique, so it's working. People want to be healthy, no one wants to be unhealthy.’ So with his leadership, and his buy-in and his commitment, this has to happen. If not, it will not be a successful program.”
💡 Quit trying to fix things that aren’t broken
[
16:16] “We talk about measuring what you have so that you can see what programs are working, what are not. And then at that point, when you see the gaps, you can reach out to companies [and] vendors to bring on because you already know the gaps that you're missing.”
💡 Employee testimonials as a testament to a program’s impact
[
18:01] “I know that when someone comes up to share their story with me, I am honored that they trusted me and confided in me. And, you know, I've had people say that I motivated them or explain something that Monique did for them, whether it's creating a meal plan. … I mean, she goes above and beyond, nobody even knows. So the fact that we actually can see the fruits of our labor and see that we're actually saving lives is everything for me.”
💡 Wellness programs take many shapes and forms
[
18:38] “Sometimes they don't see the full aspect of what a wellness program can really bring to a company and to its team members. … For the corporate cafe [we have] 500 calorie meals under $5. What a benefit that is. We have Wellness Wednesdays when salads are half off. So there's people that buy salads for everybody in their family and have dinner that night. You’re making their lives easier, providing them with healthy food, or at least options that they can take home to make their lives easier.”
💡 Employee Assistance Programs are more important than ever as the pandemic’s end nears
[
24:02] “I have chills just now because this has been something that we know that we've needed since the get-go. This was actually one of our goals, like we need an EAP program because we hear from everyone and everyone trusts us. So we know we need an EAP program. We implemented it at the perfect time, like Monique said, but utilization through 2020 is tripled. People need it. ”
💡 Managers must be able to identify when an employee is struggling so they can offer help
[
25:25] “Having a manager feel empowered to have training to understand a sign or a symptom around stress and anxiety, and then how to support an individual going through that challenge. Like you said earlier, we're not expecting them to be a clinician, but just understand how to best support them and what resources are available and point them in that direction.”
💡 The first three steps to creating a wellness program are all about leaders and benefits
[
34:40] “I would say leadership buy-in, hiring a genuine person that truly cares about people. And then looking at your existing benefits and seeing how you can utilize all of that — those three things are key, that's how we started. And from there, you'll just blossom because at the end of the day, you're going to start a wellness program for the people. For the team. So your intentions are amazing from the get-go. So, if you have those three things, you're off to the races.”
Top quotes from the episode:
Ryan Bojrab:
Quote #1
[
13:13] “There's amazing resources available through the carriers today. And there's a lot of vendors out there that have shiny objects and shiny pennies from a communication and PR standpoint, but most maybe aren't producing the outcomes that an employer is looking to achieve. So one thing that we focus on is really getting into the research, like looking at their clinical trials. … What are the outcomes?”
Jessica Lopez:
Quote #2
[
20:06] “It’s about giving back to our team. Because if you take care of your team, they take care of your business. And our team members are our biggest asset.”
Monique Harty:
Quote #3
[
28:47] “One of the things with the leadership buy-in is also getting the leadership direction of what they want out of this program so you have clear expectations. I think that's huge. And then one of the things we did later on once we kind of reevaluated the programs we already had is we surveyed our team, and we asked what they like and what they don't like. So you're legitimately getting the people that you're trying to help’s feedback.”