Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER October 30, 2017 6 NEWS Niagara Casinos awarded for wellness, psychological safety BY MARCEL VANDER WIER Niagara Casinos was a big win- ner at this year's Canada's Safest Employer awards, taking the top spot in two categories: Wellness and Psychological Safety. Winners were unveiled at an awards gala held Oct. 24 in down- town Toronto. (A full profile of the event will run in the Nov. 27 issue of Canadian HR Reporter.) Wellness An aging employee demographic has proved to be no match for the robust wellness program at Ni- agara Casinos, according to Col- leen Falco, director of HR services at the company based in Niagara Falls, Ont. Five years ago, the 4,000-em- ployee company — which oper- ates both Fallsview Casino Resort and Casino Niagara — overhauled its wellness program with its most senior workers in mind. "e average age in our organi- zation is 49," she said. "e goal was to start to promote positive health and healthy lifestyles as a means to prevent some of the diseases that come naturally with aging, as well as some of the risks that come in an organization that's 24-7 and shift work, and really try to encourage our folks to maintain a healthy lifestyle." A major initiative included over- hauling the in-house cafeterias, ensuring fresh meal selections, calorie counts and healthy alterna- tives were all featured more promi- nently, said Falco. "For example, if you want to choose that burger and fries today, how many minutes of cycling do you need to burn that off?" The company's efforts con- tributed to tangible reductions in short- and long-term disability claims, as well as drug spend, she said. "It's actually astonishing to us… With an aging demographic, you wouldn't expect that. And we do at- tribute it to our wellness program." Improving the company's health and wellness programming was the right thing to do, said Falco. "Our wellness program is a sig- nificant way that we can offer ini- tiatives and fun events that help to build a sense of community, as well as show our employees that we care about them, while reduc- ing costs." A dining-room overhaul isn't the only healthy lifestyle initiative, said disability services manager Lindsay Daw. Wellness centres are offered at each of the Niagara Casinos locations — and include fitness equipment, weights and stretch- ing areas. "All employees are able to access that, and some will even use it as a quick stretch break if they have time over their lunch," she said. e company also offers subsi- dized paddleboarding, kickboxing, volleyball tournaments and yoga programming periodically. "We leverage the local wellness community a lot," said Falco. "ey are amazing. We have 4,000 em- ployees, so it's a great opportunity for them to get in front of (staff )." Much of the recognition is owed to Niagara Casinos' "very active" wellness committee, which strives to roll out healthy initiatives each quarter, she said. "ey're the ones that come to us with fresh ideas for new events or initiatives. It helps to keep the program fresh and alive in the organization." Holistic planning is critical to the program's success, with Ni- agara Casinos using a "top-box" report — a combination of inter- nal data and statistics from third- party disability providers — to de- termine employees' overall health. On-site voluntary health screen- ings also prove useful in identify- ing risk factors. "They take that information and really try to target areas that are higher risk in the organization. I think that level of planning is re- ally what's made the program ef- fective," said Falco. e most recent report from January revealed 67 per cent of participating workers had three or more health-risk factors, largely driven by nutrition, she said. "Obesity, diabetes and heart disease were the biggest disease categories that were identified as a risk for the organization." e team responded by offer- ing a Weight Watchers program, with 116 employees participating — 85 per cent of whom said they wouldn't have if done so it wasn't offered on-site. A total of 1,300 pounds was lost. "It just shows that sometimes when you make something avail- able on-site, it just makes it easier," said Falco. "at's our philosophy. Not to offer the same programs all the time… but rather mix it up and offer different things to keep it top of mind." Psychological safety Meanwhile, working at a bustling, all-hours gambling establishment provides a unique set of psycho- logical safety challenges, accord- ing to Daw. "We are a complex organization being that we are 365 days a year, seven days a week, 24 hours," she said. "e challenges our associ- ates face are different than a lot of industries, so mental health is ex- tremely important here." e establishments, which in- clude hotel, spa, theatre and res- taurants alongside the entertain- ment and multi-wagering opera- tion, require unique psychological safety programming to ensure employees function at their high- est level, said Daw. For instance, Niagara Casinos recently offered resiliency train- ing workshops for its 1,000 table games dealers to aid in their in- teraction with clients — many of whom are unhappy at the prospect of losing money. Coping with ev- eryday struggles and stresses was the focus, she said. "We received an overwhelming- ly positive response from that," she said, noting that feedback surveys indicate more than 80 per cent of participants continue to use their learned skills in their day-to-day work. To determine the focus of its mental health initiatives, the com- pany uses its top-box report that highlights the top reasons for the usage of its employee assistance program (EAP), disability claims and drug costs, said Falco. "Whatever indicators are lead- ing, that's where we target our resources." For 25 years, The Annotated Canada Labour Code has been the authoritative resource labour relations professionals rely on to help them interpret and apply the Canada Labour Code. 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Price(s) subject to change without notice and subject to applicable taxes. © 2017 Thomson Reuters Canada Limited 00242GT-85857-NK Also available as an eBook on Thomson Reuters ProView™ A professional grade platform that allows you to A professional grade platform that allows you to interact with your eBooks in entirely new ways. interact with your eBooks in entirely new ways. This free app allows you to access your most This free app allows you to access your most trusted reference materials where you need them trusted reference materials where you need them most: everywhere. 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