Environment of Wellness Video Transcript

Everything we do is about how do we improve as individuals and as a business.

So, our culture is very much about take accountability and no excuses.

Its been Rick Jackson's philosophy since he began his business over 20 years ago.

That's what our culture is built around, providing all the resources that people need to do their job better, which includes living their life better, living their life healthier, being a whole person.

So, it is about excellence, and it is about, did i do the best that i can do?

Better than 65% of our associates that we hire are actually referrals from associates that already work for us. So, right of the start, we know we are getting the best of the best.

So, in the summer of 2006, we realized that we had two short years left on our lease. This was an opportunity for us to create something tangible out of concrete and steel that represented physically what we talk about a lot in our culture. We tried to create in the building most of the resources and services and places that people would need on a day-to-day basis. We have Ciao, which is our full services restaurant. They have a grill open everyday, hot food items, salad bar, soup bar, deli. We put in some natural spaces, with waterfalls and streams and benches and places to sit. We also have our Starbucks and smoothie area. Next to the fountain is our golfing green. We have Timeout, which is not something you would normally do on a day-to-day basis, but it is a good place to go to blow off a little steam. Play some pool or play a video game. The Vision Center is basically like a hospital condensed into one room. It enables us to demonstrate very effectively for people what it is that we do. We have 97 pieces of original art in the building. All of the original art in the building was created by Georgia artists.

It's almost infectious. You can't just walk past the gym and not want to be a member of it.

It's that same competitive spirit that's grown our company to where it is today that we are seeing now in the health and wellness of individuals.

So, we have the Coliseum, which is our fitness center, fully staffed with personal trainers, the most up-to-date equipment, classes, everything else you need to get your workout in. I book anything from personal training; we have eight personal trainers on staff, I can hook them up with massages, facials, get their shoes shined, their laundry serviced. You name it, I try and take care of the associates.

Just the energy and the people that are in there on a daily basis. It is fantastic just to be involved with. The Coliseum Challenge is a six-month program where you have to work with a personal trainer once a week. That personal trainer is going to come up with a workout plan for you, that involves working out at least four times a week. You have to meet with the nutritionist, three times during the program. You do all this for six months and the company will pay you back for all of it.

As I started it, I was kind of like, okay, I am going to do it. I wasn't really like gung ho, I was like, I have to do this. What they did is the nutritionist and your trainer, you measured and you counseled, and I learned a lot of things that will change my life forever.

Our utilization of benefits has been very, very exciting in our first year and we have realized within the first seven months of 2009, about $60,000 savings, 1.8% of our dollars over last year, per member in our health plans.

One of the things that I think maybe stopped me dead in my tracks was my body fat percent, regardless of anything else and I have some health challenges; rheumatoid arthritis, I was like, besides anything else, that number has to change.

I think if you talk to the people who have been through our type of wellness program, to the Coliseum Challenge, work with the nutritionists, work with our trainers, they will tell you that they have more energy, that they feel better, that they are more effective on the job.

We have 60% participation in the fitness center. We were absolutely overwhelmed by the number of people who wanted to be a part of health and wellness.

When there is that many people in the office, in the building, that are talking about training and working out, how do they eat better, that's infectious, and it changes the type of conversations that happen on the floor.

With the gym and healthy fare that is in the restaurant, Ciao, you can't help but have the initiative to be healthy and the desire to be a part of something that is bigger than just a simple wellness program.

This place is really an outer reflection of the intension of the leadership, and we are blessed and fortunate at that level; from the building, to what we intend to do for our clients and customers and those who lead us.

And I believe that being able to empower people to change their lives through healthier living, living a more holistic life, is going to make them better people, which will make them better associates and workers in our business, and I hope will make them very loyal to our company. But at the end of the day, it's just the right thing to do.