Primera’s commitment to wellness took the spotlight this week at a corporate roundtable. Human Resources Manager, and wellness committee chair, Kendahle Artis presented at Mesirow Financial’s most recent FIRSTHR workplace wellness roundtable series. Kendahle was invited to share insights on the success of Primera’s wellness program and lessons learned from the development process. She was joined on the panel by The Warranty Group’s Vice President, Global Total Rewards Jackie Barry.

A long-time proponent of work life balance, Primera launched its formal wellness program in 2013 to fully integrate both mental and physical wellness into the company’s culture. The program is facilitated by an employee committee whose published mission is to promote workplace wellness and healthy habits as a way of life. Since the internally-branded program’s inception, Primera employees have had the opportunity to set fitness goals and participate in instructor-led meditation, yoga and pilates sessions in the office. Likewise, the wellness committee encourages employee participation in annual events such as a pedometer challenge, the JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge, bike-to-work week and breast cancer awareness month. As part of Primera’s comprehensive benefits package, we subsidize employee and spouse health club memberships and offer annual biometric screenings and flu shots in the office.

“We love to be able to share success stories through our roundtable series,” said Wendy Donaghue, Mesirow Financial’s Vice President of Wellness Strategies and Solutions. “Primera’s program is an excellent model for promoting wellness in the workplace,” she continues.

Launched in 2012, FIRSTHR is Mesirow Financial Insurance Services’ integrated human resources (HR) solutions model. With a full spectrum of HR services, FIRSTHR focuses on its core clientele – mid-size employers like Primera – to help support HR across the full employee lifecycle.