|
|
 |
|
|
At the PCL group of companies, they are “walking the talk” when it comes to health and wellness.
“We are definitely paying real attention to health and wellness topics and issues,” reports Naomi Gould, director of PCL’s human resources services. “We promote and support employee health through our corporate wellness initiative, which includes a variety of programs, resources, events and approaches. The initiative is fully supported by our company leadership.”
Gould suggests that the company’s overall approach ensures that all employees can easily access health and wellness information and resources. For instance, a quarterly health and wellness newsletter is popular across the company and is posted on the company intranet.
“Beyond the newsletter, we also have dedicated health and wellness pages on our intranet, plus most of our locations put out a monthly wellness calendar,” notes Gould.
Wellness committees are active in most PCL office locations, notes Gould. “From the corporate angle, each office is expected to have a committee, as part of the corporate wellness initiative. But employees lead the way, as the committees are ad hoc and each office independently determines who will sit on the committee. Typically, a committee will reflect a good mix of employees from different areas and may include some managers.”
PCL employs more than 3400 salaried staff in 25 major North American centres (sometimes with multiple offices in each centre), including 19 offices across Canada. The company’s headquarters are in Edmonton, and Alberta employees total approximately 1100. PCL is made up of several independent construction companies, with an annual construction volume of $6 billion, making it the largest contracting organization in Canada.
Employee Satisfaction and Wellness
In 2010, PCL was named as the best employer in Canada by the Aon Hewitt 50 Best Employers in Canada survey. The primary ranking measure is an “employee engagement” score, which evaluates the emotional and intellectual commitment that employees demonstrate toward their organizations. PCL came in third for the 2011 rankings and second in 2009.
Gould offers that the scope of PCL’s corporate wellness initiative is a contributing factor to employee satisfaction, across the “family” of PCL companies.
Gould explains that even though PCL has had a strong focus on wellness for many years, the company has taken recent steps to arrive at a more refined “definition” of what wellness should encompass, within the PCL context. “Our ideas and efforts are more crystallized now,” suggests Gould.
[new]
One focus point that is getting more attention is work-life balance, says Gould. She notes that the company now better recognizes that each person’s health and day-to-day realities are different, at work and at home. “That’s one reason why we addressed the topic of work-life balance in a recent video. Our president and chief executive officer, Paul Douglas, is featured in the video and speaks quite openly about his personal approach to work-life balance. I think this kind of willingness to talk about issues is part of engaging our employees to think about their own situations.”
The Wellness Committee
At regular wellness committee meetings, employees and managers have a chance to discuss issues and plans as often as needed, and plan for events or workshops on different health or wellness topics. “For instance, the committees might organize and promote on-site flu vaccinations or health assessment clinics, so people can get their cholesterol or blood pressure checked,” offers Gould.
Other aspects of the wellness efforts at PCL include:
- seminars and workshops on wellness topics, as selected by each office, in line with employee needs or requests in that region
- fitness related activities or events, such as after-work fitness boot camps (scheduled at times that work best for employees at that office location)
- encouragement to participate in “good causes” such as a biking or run/walk event in support of cancer prevention or healthy hearts
- health and wellness library (learning resources) at several PCL office locations
- promotion of “healthy potlucks” during office events or meetings
- giving back to community, e.g., the Edmonton office has been honoured by the United Way for its significant annual support for the campaign, and actively supports Habitat for Humanity, the Stollery Children’s Hospital, the Edmonton Food Bank and the Edmonton Christmas Bureau
Gould notes that even though some aspects of wellness are facilitated or driven by management, employees get their own say through the wellness committees, and, in part, through annual employee surveys. “For instance, in the past, we negotiated contracts with fitness clubs in Edmonton so our local employees there could attend at a reduced rate. But, through the survey, we found out that employees preferred to attend their chosen location or club and get reimbursed by the company for a portion of the costs.”
All in all, Gould suggests that wellness will continue to be a priority at PCL for years to come. “Our managers and leaders consistently have wellness on the radar. When each business unit goes through our year-end review process, wellness is right up there on the agenda.”
[endpage]
Learn More
PCL’s Website
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
.gif)
