More than 260 Beaulieu of America employees gathered outside the carpet company’s corporate headquarters in Dalton, Ga., one mid-October morning, their matching blue T-shirts standing out against the green grass.
The volunteers, some of whom had traveled from as far as two hours away, waited excitedly in the brisk air for the clock to strike 8 a.m.
With the pink-tinted sky brightening above them, the crowd, including Beaulieu CEO Ralph Boe, formed into the shape of Beaulieu’s “flying B” logo, cheering and waving their arms as a photographer mounted on a crane high above their heads snapped publicity shots of the cheering group.
“They’ve got great espirit de corps,” an onlooker said.
Only days before, Beaulieu had announced the closure of its Royston plant at a cost of 192 jobs – typically not a cause for celebration.
But Beaulieu is a different kind of company, employees say, a company that offered jobs elsewhere within the business to each person affected by the closure of its obsolete spun-yarn plant.
Heart rates up, job numbers down
That same team spirit is reflected when employees and managers walk side by side on a one-mile circuit surrounding one of Beaulieu’s Dalton plants, getting to know each other during sanctioned work-out times.
In response to a slower than expected recovery, the company chose to slash its hourly and managerial work force primarily through rolling furloughs rather than layoffs, officials added.
Beaulieu has decided to take that same comprehensive approach to employee health, offering yearly health premium discounts of up to $1,500 to employees who stay healthy and walk six miles per week, according to Ralph Boe, president and CEO of Beaulieu.
“We think that if people feel better, they do a better job,” Boe said, adding that he’s lost 20 pounds in the program.
Boe himself is known as one of the “speed walkers of Beaulieu,” walking more than 5 mph.
“I cover anywhere from 7 to 20 miles per week,” he said, for a total of around 1,000 miles in 2010 so far.
In fact, the company will corporately walk “easily 2 1/2 million miles” as a group this year, 25 percent above its goal of 2 million miles, Boe said. That adds up to a total of 4 million miles walked since Beaulieu started the “Be your Best” fitness program in 2009.
getting weight under control
The company, which is self-insured, introduced the program as a response to rising health care costs, especially in relation to obesity, Boe said.
* Randy Waldrop, a diabetic, said the program, which is voluntary, makes him healthier and sends the message that the company cares.
Waldrop, who works in the company’s information technology department, lost 55 pounds and said he’s been off his prescription medications for a year, lowering his personal expenses and reducing the company’s health care liability.
“When you feel better, you can perform better too,” he said.
* Tufting department manager Ted Miles walked 900 miles this year and said he lost 35 pounds.
“It just feels like they care,” he added.
* Maxine Moore, who works in the payroll department, stopped smoking after 32 years as part of the program, and has “been smoke free for a year,” she said.
Of course, it hasn’t been easy to overcome preconceived notions about exercising during work, employees say.
Some don’t want to be “perceived as having too much free time,” while others don’t want to sweat during work, said Pam Baker, an administrative assistant who leads workouts.
Boss’ quick strides
“Everybody has an excuse, but if you get somebody started and get them in the routine, they start to feel good about it,” she said.
The fact that the Beaulieu’s CEO is one of the company’s most prolific walkers also helps to overcome employees fears about job security, said Baker, one of nearly 100 trainers throughout the company.
Wellness consultant Randy Webb, who mentors trainers such as Baker, has been Beaulieu owner Carl Bouckaert’s personal trainer for 20 years. Bouckaert, who speed walks along with Boe, has walked about 2,000 miles since 2009.
“Working out together helps develop a rapport between management and the hourly workers,” Webb said, in addition to reducing sprains, injuries and absenteeism.
“If you feel good, other good things just happen.”