Contribution #6-Employee Assistance and Wellness Programs

The topic of EAP’s in Chapter 10 made me think about the specific wellness programs that are offered at my current job at the Packers Pro Shop. The main initiative they have had since I began working there was Packers Pulse. The Packers organization has had players and staff that have passed away at a young age because of issues that may have been preventable. The big issue they are trying to tackle is obesity and having the correct balance of a healthy diet and physical exercise. Packer Pulse is an all-organizational program that promotes both of these crucial elements of living a healthy lifestyle. As we also learned in our trip to Lambeau Field with HR, they mentioned the walks around the stadium to get a half hour of exercise in each day. Healthy employees mean more time spent in the office which leads to higher retention for the organization. Another thing they have is a competition that combines eating the correct foods, eliminating the bad foods, and a dose of exercise each day as a team where you compete against other teams for prizes over a span of 6 months. Lastly, another benefit they give you in terms of wellness is that the Packers sponsor one or two teams for the Bellin Health Run that is offered as an incentive to get out and get fit. The Packers also are pioneering the efforts against certain cancers and health-related issues by posting health facts by the employee elevators for staff to see. Offering these wellness programs is a low-cost way to provide healthy incentives and awareness about potentially life-threatening medical issues. This allows the HR department to prevent high turnover in terms of health conditions and it boosts the morale of employees when they can exercise and eat right.

Contribution #5: Evidence-Based HR

In Chapter 9, there is a small article that gives attention to executive education and tuition reimbursement programs. I found this particularly interesting because I had no idea that universities are now measuring the success of their programs to find out the return on investment for companies to prove how valuable they are. The use of performance measures, action learning, surveys to judge practical values, and on-site college degree programs allow for companies to evaluate their employees and make sure that there is measurable worth in reimbursing their employees tuition and executive education.
As a senior at SNC, I cannot help but to think about the idea of searching for companies that offer tuition reimbursement and programs to help me acquire a Master’s Degree. I also think that from a business standpoint, companies are wise to measure the effectiveness of the education that they are paying for. As a business owner, I want to see increased performance levels at work so therefore, I think it’s a good idea for the business to partner with the universities in creating these measures. These measures also allow businesses the opportunity to identify employees with the most potential for becoming higher-level executives. Also, I think the idea of incentive tuition reimbursement is a good idea. This encourages employees to work as hard as they can because some employees might feel satisfied with a C, but not if they have to end up paying for half of their tuition. Giving full reimbursement for As and Bs is an effective tool is maximizing the results of employees. Lastly, as an employee of a company, I would take the education programs seriously if the company showed trust in me by reimbursing my tuition. It creates a hard work ethic and provides the company the opportunity to assess my skills and abilities in furthering my education.

Contribution #4: Green Bay Packers HR

After the Lambeau Field Tour with the knowledgeable, enthusiastic Grant, the HR 336 class was fortunate enough to hear from Melissa Malfroid, an HR Coordinator for the Green Bay Packers. Melissa works under her boss, Nicole Ledvina, who is the Human Resources Manager. It was surprising to find out that the Green Bay Packers hadn’t had an HR department prior to the completion of the renovated Lambeau Field in 2003. Granted, the renovation allowed for year round activities at Lambeau Field which probably increased the number of employees from a couple hundred to nearly 500 during game days presently. I found it interesting that all HR procedures or activities would have been handled by someone else within the organization prior to the official creation of the HR department. Not to say that HR management wasn’t a large part of the Green Bay Packers strategic plan, but it’s interesting to think that they didn’t have a large need for at least one identified HR Manager to go to if there was ever a problem.
Being an employee of the Packers, I also found it interesting how much HR was involved in the other facets of operations that occur on a daily basis. Melissa stated that they might receive up to 150 resumes just for a part-time job which is incredible to me. Working at the Pro Shop, I see some of the incoming resumes, but I would not have guessed that number by any means. Lastly, I find it amazing that such a large corporate operation still only needs two full-time HR positions and one intern to get through the busy time of the year. I wish I would have asked Melissa what would happen if either of them had to take a leave of absence and how they would try to fill that role. Seems like it could be a case right out of the NFM!