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Burgerville's decision to introduce an expanded health care plan cameafter an employee survey revealed affordable health care coverage as thenumber one concern among workers. In 2006, the company unveiled a health careplan for hourly workers who have been with Burgerville for more than sixmonths and work an average of at least 20 hours per week. Burgerville pays95 percent of the premiums for employees and their dependents. With thesecurity of health care coverage, Burgerville employees enjoy peace of mindknowing they can take care of themselves and their families, which furtherstrengthens their commitment to the organization and its values.
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"Our commitment to employee health care comes from the knowledge thathappier, healthier employees stay longer, feel a stronger tie to the company,and are more productive in their daily work," said Jeff Harvey, president andCEO of Burgerville. "Our employees are our most important asset and directlyimpact our success as a company and the contribution we make to ourcommunities. We are deeply appreciative of the APA for recognizing ourefforts. It is our expectation that this recognition of our approach to acreating a psychologically healthy workplace will inspire others to thinkabout their people first when considering the way they do business."
In an industry that typically has high turnover rates, Burgervilleunderstands that caring for employees' health more than pays off. Theexperience and efficiency of longer-tenured employees has raised standards,including speed of service, quality of food and overall customer satisfaction.Productivity has increased, sales are up and profitability is at an all-timehigh. A reduction in turnover has saved Burgerville more than $500,000 and thecompany attributes a large portion of its sales increase to the affordablehealth care program for employees. Additionally, turnover rates for hourlyemployees dropped from 130 percent to 54 percent in one year, while managementturnover decreased by 18 percent.
"The link between employee health and well-being and organizationalperformance is clear. Employers who embrace that connection are better able todevelop a high-performing workforce that serves as a competitive advantage inthe marketplace," says David Ballard, APA's assistant executive director forcorporate relations and business strategy. "Burgerville's qualityimprovements, strong financial and operating performance and low turnoverdemonstrate the benefits of investing in a psychologically healthy workplace."
Burgerville was one of only nine organizations to receive the BestPractices recognition at the annual Psychologically Healthy Workplace Awardsceremony held on March 9 in Washington, D.C. The Best Practices Honors is anational recognition that highlights those State-Level Psychologically HealthyWorkplace Award winners with a particularly innovative program or policy thatcontributes to a psychologically healthy work environment and meets the uniqueneeds of the organization and its employees. Nominees come from a pool ofprevious state-level winners and are selected through a competitive evaluationand judging process.
More information about the Best Practices Honorees and APA'sPsychologically Healthy Workplace Award winners is available athttp://apahelpcenter.mediaroom.com. Organizations interested in lear
