Editor’s note: This is one of 10 employers chosen for Employee Benefit News’ Benefits Leadership awards, spotlighting companies who are taking a fresh approach to employee benefits.
Michelin has one goal when it comes to the wellbeing of its employees: Keeping them “as healthy as genetically possible.”
That’s what Barry Cross, Michelin’s senior director of total rewards benefits, compensation and retirement, says about the catalyst behind the company’s recent moves to create a sustainable culture of health that yields long-term, positive return on investment.
One recent move? Recruiting a chief medical officer. “It’s the first phase of a long 10- to 15-year program,” Cross says.
Part of that long-term vision includes a variety of health tools offered to Michelin’s 22,000 North American employees, such as biometrics, personal health reviews and family health centers. Beyond improved health, monetary benefits act as an incentive for Michelin employees: They can earn up to $2,000 a year as a health reimbursement arrangement for a biometrics scan.
Michelin spends about $250 million a year on total healthcare, which includes four family health centers with annual operating budgets of $5 million.
The Michelin Family Health Centers, located in Greenville, S.C. — where the company’s North American division is headquartered — Lexington, South Carolina, and Ardmore, Okla., offer 30-minute appointments to employees. He describes the centers as “concierge medicine,” which is becoming a growing trend in the benefits packages for employees.
Through the centers, along with gym reimbursements, free medication for condition management and onsite gyms, Michelin reduced metabolic syndrome by 12% in three years.
Michelin is also creating call centers to continue to improve employees’ health.
“Employees can call in and talk to a human being and get some real, pointed advice,” Cross said. “We’re going to take that lead and engage more richly with our folks.”
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