August 21, 2023
In partnership with Springbuk, we are excited to announce our honorees for the 2023 Healthiest Employers of St. Louis.
72.7% of the St. Louis companies surveyed are on a hybrid schedule where employees are in the office on specific days. 22.7% work onsite or in-person and 4.6% of companies are fully remote.
Additionally, some notable statistics from this year’s groups include:
- 77.3% provide career satisfaction surveys to help gauge happiness among employees
- 63.6% have set up a formal mentoring program
- 22.7% include adoption assistance or reimbursement opportunities to help families with adoption agency fees, court costs, travel, etc. when welcoming a new member of the family
- 13.6% report an average tenure of more than 10 years
Congratulations to this year’s finalists!
2 to 199 Employees
1st Charles L. Crane Agency – St. Louis – 189 Employees
Founded in 1885, the Crane Agency is recognized as one of the county's largest and oldest independent insurance agencies, offering a full suite of insurance and risk management solutions. For over 135 years, their consultants have continually adapted to the changing business landscape, bringing new technologies and expertise to the company’s long-standing tradition of customer service.
Crane offers resources that address every pillar of well-being and acknowledges an organization's integral role in promoting and prioritizing employee health. Leadership consistently evaluates feedback from the population to ensure that Crane's wellness offerings are consistent with the team's unique needs. Crane received an overwhelmingly positive response to a recent pulse survey aimed at assessing the wellness and engagement program. This response highlights the importance of constantly reevaluating programs to best suit the population.
Crane offers a robust Employee Assistant Program that provides counseling sessions at no cost as well as an array of wellness resources. Crane's EAP offers health assessment and resources that focus on mental health issues such as anxiety and depression. Crane also sends out weekly email publications that frequently address various mental health topics. Additionally, leadership is highly communicative with the Crane team which promotes camaraderie and fosters a supportive environment in which employee wellness is the number one priority.
2nd Spry Digital LLC – St. Louis – 30 Employees
Spry Digital is a digital solutions agency built to enable clients’ full potential by strengthening the connection between processes and people. Their unique combination of resources works together to strategize, design, and develop web platforms, products, and online revenue channels with the best possible user outcomes in mind.
At Spry Digital, the well-being of their team is a top priority, reflected in their thoughtfully designed policies. In 2022, they reviewed and adjusted their policies to better support their employees. Despite a small workforce, the impact is significant. They implemented a Family Leave Policy that provided paid maternity/paternity leave. This allowed employees who welcomed new family members to dedicate time to bonding with their babies without worrying about work commitments. Four full-time employees availed of this policy in 2022. Spry Digital also combined PTO and sick time into one pool, eliminating the need for employees to feign sickness when they simply need a day off. This approach gives individuals the flexibility to use time off according to their needs or their family's needs. With a generous time-off policy that includes the ability to roll over some hours, employees can plan extended leaves for medical reasons or longer breaks. Floating holidays are also part of their time-off policy, granting employees the freedom to choose the days that matter most to them. This can include federal holidays, religious observances, or personal celebratory days.
3rd McClure Engineering – St. Louis – 97 Employees
For 7 decades, McClure Engineering has provided innovative solutions in building and campus systems, acoustic and lighting design, and energy challenges for more than 900 satisfied clients.
The most utilized benefit at McClure Engineering is their 100% employee-paid premiums for health insurance. Although they have continued to grow in size and the cost of healthcare benefits has increased, McClure has been able to continue to incur the cost of employee monthly premiums for Medical, Dental, and Vision. This allows employees not to worry about the additional cost of healthcare and focus on investing/saving their money in other areas. The best way they can measure success is by the number of employees enrolled in their benefits.
200 to 499 Employees
1st Anders CPAs + Advisors – St. Louis – 393 Employees
Anders CPAs + Advisors is a public accounting firm that provides tax, audit, and advisory services to its clients. In response to a noticeable increase in employee leaves where individuals were depleting their PTO or experiencing unpaid time off due to medical, personal, or caregiver-related circumstances, Anders took proactive steps to support its employees. They introduced a program called Self and Family Care Leave (SFCL) to provide crucial assistance during challenging periods.
Acknowledging that there are instances when employees need to take time off for their well-being or to care for family members facing serious health conditions, Anders' leadership devised the SFCL program. This initiative offers qualifying employees paid time off, aiming to alleviate stress during these demanding situations. The SFCL program ensures that employees receive compensation during such times, even if they wouldn't be covered by the protections of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The program demonstrates the company's commitment to supporting its employees' overall well-being and ensuring peace of mind during difficult times.
2nd Marsh McLennan Agency – Chesterfield – 200 Employees
Marsh McLennan Agency (MMA) provides business insurance, employee health and benefits, retirement, and private client insurance solutions to businesses and individuals.
Prior to COVID, business professional attire was the expectation among employees in the MMA office. As employees began to return to the office, the dress policy was reduced to a “Dress For Your Day,” allowing employees to dress in a way that reflects their daily activities, personal sense of style, and preferred levels of comfort.
Additionally, Mental Health First Aid training is offered for free for any colleague that would like to become certified. MHFA has strong evidence backing it and studies have shown that the program improves people's mental health, increases their understanding of mental health issues, connects more people with care, and reduces the stigma associated with mental health.
3rd Brown and Crouppen, P.C. – St. Louis – 260 Employees
Brown & Crouppen is one of the largest law firms in Missouri, Kansas, and southern Illinois, representing plaintiffs in personal injury claims.
At Brown & Crouppen, employees have the unique opportunity to work with an iPEC-certified life coach. Professional coaching provides one of the best opportunities for B&C employees to gain valuable insights into their mindsets and behaviors and builds interpersonal competence while developing skills necessary for personal and professional development. iPEC coaching addresses root causes to help shift internal blocks, leading to powerful and sustainable shifts in every area of life. Individual sessions are offered throughout the work week and are free to the employees.
Brown & Crouppen was also honored to have recently been awarded the Mental Health America (MHA) Platinum Bell Seal for Workplace Mental Health. Brown & Crouppen is the only 2023 Bell Seal recipient awarded within the legal services industry and 1 of just 5 organizations in the state of Missouri to receive this honor.
4th Gershman Mortgage – Chesterfield – 232 Employees
Gershman Mortgage offers a wide range of mortgage products including home loans, refinance mortgages, and much more. Nationally, they service $4 billion in loans for multifamily and healthcare facilities and specialize in providing and servicing all types of financing for apartments, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and hospitals utilizing tax-free and taxable bonds.
Gershman Mortgage addresses mental health in the workplace by offering multiple ways to support fostering a great place to work. They have an EAP that employees may utilize no matter if they are on the health plan or not. They also offer flexible schedules, over 4 weeks of paid time off, and continuously listen to the needs of employees.
5th Momentus Technologies – Dardenne Prairie – 250 Employees
Momentus Technologies is a global provider of industry-leading venue and event management solutions that empower organizations to create extraordinary moments. With over 50,000 users in more than 50 countries, Momentus serves the needs of convention and exhibition centers, higher education, corporate, stadiums and arenas, and arts and culture centers. Its powerful intuitive platform alongside intelligent data-driven solutions and unparalleled expertise provides customers with a view of past, present, and future event operations.
At Momentus Technologies, the commitment to employee well-being is evident through a comprehensive set of programs and benefits. All employees, regardless of their medical coverage choice, are provided fully-funded enrollment in the Employee Assistance Program (EAP), offering invaluable counseling resources spanning topics such as grief management, family caregiving, emotional well-being, mindfulness, and stress management. This holistic approach extends across financial, mental, and physical well-being domains. The company facilitates ongoing access to 401k advisors, with mid-year open offerings accessible to all employees and a noteworthy 401k match of 80% for the first 10% of contributions.
6th Sandberg Phoenix – St. Louis – 312 Employees
Sandberg Phoenix is a full-service law firm specializing in the areas of business, business litigation, health law, intellectual property, and products liability.
A unique program at Sandberg Phoenix is their “Welcome to the Family Program,” in partnership with Benefit Bump. This program offers income protection for employees who are pregnant throughout their maternity leave. With the support of BenefitBump, Sandberg offers new families the resources and tools to navigate their benefits, time off, and well-being, resulting in healthy pregnancies, a successful adoption process, and positive retention efforts. With the implementation of the Welcome to the Family Program and BenefitBump, those employees who have experienced the growing their families have remained with the firm.
500 to 1,499 Employees
1st Busey – Champaign, Illinois (Local Office: Creve Coeur) – 1,361 Employees
At Busey, we’re a community organization committed to helping customers' and communities’ dreams come true. Since 1868, they have built on a tradition of putting our associates first and building close relationships with customers by providing broad financial capabilities. For over 150 years, our core values, dedicated associates, strong customer partnerships, and thriving communities are still the cornerstones of Busey.
Visible leadership involvement and encouragement strongly contribute to the culture of wellness at Busey. To ensure success, time is allowed during the workday to participate in the B Well program, composed of a wellness platform and partnered vendors offering a vast array of challenges, activities, learning, and team engagement opportunities within all eight dimensions of wellness to support associates in adopting and maintaining healthy habits, resulting in improved overall health outcomes and a strong culture of wellness. These efforts are further demonstrated through a highly involved wellness champion network, appropriately named Wellbeings. The Wellbeings maintain a community by developing high-trust, healthy relationships cultivated through monthly engagement meetings, active communications highlighting B Well opportunities, and creative development of new programs in response to the evolving wellness interests and needs of a diverse associate base. This impressive network is organized across the footprint of the company to allow wellness to live and grow in highly accessible ways, aligning unitedly with internal initiatives.
2nd Lindbergh School District – St. Louis – 743 Employees
The Lindbergh School District is located in the southwest portion of St. Louis County. It serves K-12 students from all or part of nine different communities including Crestwood, Concord Village, Fenton, Grantwood Village, Green Park, Kirkwood, Lakeshire, Sappington, and Sunset Hills. The Lindbergh School District serves 7,100 students at eleven campuses, including one high school, two middle schools, six elementary schools, and two early childhood education centers. The district also has eight National Schools of Character and six National Blue Ribbon Schools.
As the school district continues to increase in student population, the district has committed to five goals in the areas of academics, facilities, resources, talent, and communications. The strategic plan of the district encompasses the needs of staff, students, and the community to ensure that the education of students continues to maintain success and improve into the future.
The statistic best capturing this is that since having implemented active advocates in each building we have increased participation in our wellbeing portal to over 40% of employees and that number is growing each month. Our Wellness Steering Committee meets monthly to review the data and explore how we can increase participation and to see where the needs are within our community.
3rd AFB International (Ensign-Bickford Industries, Inc.) – Denver, Colorado (Local Office: St. Charles) – 1,200 Employees
Ensign-Bickford Industries, Inc. (EBI) is a global science and technology organization with unparalleled leadership positions in attractive industries and markets.
At EBI, they are excited to be involved with a very unique wellness offering. Our functional health medicine provides not only a unique program for our employees but a unique approach to health and wellness as a whole. Areas that employees can participate in include a digestive health program, an anxiety/depression program, a diabetes program, and an advanced primary care program. Collectively, these programs create our newer functional health approach to wellness.
Mental health is a continuous focus for employers. EBI ensures that employees are aware of their enhanced EAP program, which provides 6 free, confidential sessions per issue per year. In addition to this, their anxiety and depression functional health program dives deeper into the individuals, creating a personalized approach to their mental health. We are always continuing to look for new and additional mental health resources for our employee population.
4th Esse Health – St. Louis – 900 Employees
Esse Health’s mission is “Leading the Healthcare Community by Placing Patients and their Physicians at the Center of Health Decisions.”
Esse Health partners with patients to understand and participate in their healthcare by focusing energy and resources on producing optimal health outcomes for our patients. Their wellness program is available to all employees and they focus on five key areas – community, physical, purpose, financial, and social. Those who participate can earn additional PTO and other prizes, with the most sought-after prize being an additional week of vacation.
1,500 to 4,999 Employees
1st Lindenwood University – St. Charles – 1,500 Employees
Lindenwood University is a 4-year, private higher education institution with approximately 7,000 students.
One of the most unique offerings Lindenwood’s health and benefits program offers is their concierge service model. The school’s mission is to provide quality education and experience for all Lindenwood University students by selecting the appropriate full-time and adjunct faculty, staff, and administration to serve those students. One of the best ways to ensure this mission is by providing resources and options for the professional and personal success and wellness of the employees who are teaching students – from their initial job application to their retirement pensions. The benefits office exists to serve and support the well-being of all employees.
If employees are not well, then they are not able to deliver the expected level of education and experiences to students. Some examples of the concierge service model include customized and flexible leave options, wellness training and education opportunities, and comprehensive new employee orientations and mentoring programs. Their wellness program has been instrumental in this stat and Lindenwood also has built-in free prescription programs, lifestyle and nutrition programs, and an outcomes-based wellness incentive in the medical plan. Their population has seen an impressive 79% participation in the program, which is a testament to the work that participants have done over the years to be mindful of their well-being. Lindenwood has only increased medical insurance premiums 3 times in the last 9 years at a rate of less than 5%!
2nd Lutheran Senior Services – St. Louis – 1,749 Employees
Lutheran Senior Services (LSS) is one of the largest not-for-profit senior living providers, offering home, community-based, and affordable housing. We have communities throughout Greater St Louis, Mid-Missouri, and Illinois.
Their organization’s mission statement is to help “older adults live life to the fullest” and they apply that same mission to helping our staff live their lives to the fullest through good health, financial security, and flexibility to be with their loved ones.
The wellness program at LSS is primarily focused on helping employees and their families improve their health by engaging them in proactive, preventive healthcare by paying employees $3,330 per year (on average) in premium discounts if they complete a biometric screening and engage with their doctor if their health metrics are not in the healthy range or improve over the prior year. Over 60% of team members on the health plan complete the biometric screening each year as well as visit a healthcare professional. As a result of this incentive, the LSS utilization of preventive doctor’s visits is better than their consultant’s book of business. They believe that having a doctor and visiting them on a preventive basis is the key to healthy employees and as a business, it is important to help encourage a positive relationship.
3rd Board of Education of the City of St. Louis – St. Louis – 3,200 Employees
The Board of Education of the City of St. Louis covers the St. Louis city region, consisting of about 65 participating locations.
Behavioral health continues to play a major role within the Board of Education of the City of St. Louis. Since the pandemic, they have been making a point to focus on the mental health of all employees by offering a robust and holistic wellness program. Specifically, employees are encouraged to schedule in-person and video chat counseling sessions through the Optum EAP. Additionally, members have access to a premium subscription to Self-Care by AbleTo, an app that provides on-demand access to self-help for stress and emotional well-being. Also, Urban Breath Yoga, a local yoga studio, gives SLPS employees a 50% discount on classes, allowing members to focus on their physical and mental health at an affordable price. Finally, members may access various wellness coaching programs, some of which focus on mental health.
4th Daughtery Business Solutions – St. Louis – 1,650 Employees
Daugherty Business Solutions is an advisory services and technology consulting firm helping corporations understand how to leverage technology strategically to differentiate their businesses.
Their program is unique and stands out because it is centered around healthy activities handpicked by teammates and based on what they are passionate about, constantly evolving based on their needs and interests. They offer both in-person and virtual events that teammates can choose from depending on their level of comfort. For example, our Health and Wellness program adapted successful offerings to a virtual environment, like step challenges, mindful eating clinics, healthy recipe cookbooks, nutritionist access, 24/7 medical/emotional helpline and apps, instruction on goal setting, techniques for managing stress, Wellness Wednesdays, virtual exercise classes, themed movie/trivia/game night, and more.
5,000+ Employees
1st Genuine McCarthy Enterprises, Inc. – St. Louis – 6,469 Employees
Genuine McCarthy Enterprises, Inc. is approaching 160 years in the construction industry where we focus on learning, building, and growing to meet the needs of our clients. We are a non-residential builder focused across the United States. As a 100% employee-owned company, the health and well-being of employees have always been paramount.
The program's success is attributed to continuous improvement and enhancements, resulting in consistently high participation levels over ten years with their wellness vendor. Employees participate in an average of 14.6 activities per month, exceeding the industry average. McCarthy achieves high engagement by offering relevant and interesting options to employees. In 2022, they organized a national fitness challenge called "Race Through McCarthy," virtually exploring job sites, and conducted financial wellness days. Their primary medical insurance covers all preventive medications at no cost, and employees can access additional savings through Rx Savings Solutions. Included Health provides support for navigating health plans and obtaining second opinions.
2nd Burns & McDonnell – Kansas City, Missouri (Local Office: Chesterfield) – 8,408 Employees
Burns & McDonnell consists of a skilled team of over 10,000 professionals, including engineers, construction experts, architects, and more. Since 1898, their singular mission has been to ensure the success of their clients to plan, design, permit, and manage critical infrastructure projects worldwide.
At Burns & McDonnell, the employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) sets them apart as one of the few firms nationwide that are 100% employee-owned, and they have maintained this status for over 30 years. Employee ownership is automatic and provided at no cost to all employee-owners. This unique ownership structure goes beyond being a retirement benefit and plays a significant role in driving their success, guiding decisions, and fostering a powerful and distinct company culture.
Recognizing that their employees are not just workers but also owners, Burns & McDonnell offer various onsite benefits to ensure easy access to quality care. These include an onsite health center, pharmacy, and fitness facility. This approach demonstrates their commitment to supporting the well-being of their workforce in a holistic manner.
3rd Special School District of St. Louis County – St. Louis – 5,400 Employees
Special School District of St. Louis County (SSD) has two distinct functions – it provides special education services for all St. Louis County students with disabilities, and it provides technical education for area high school students. Today, more than 24,000 students receive special education services or technical education from SSD.
Special School District of St. Louis County (SSD) has made great strides in offering employees avenues to support healthier lifestyles, especially during and following the pandemic. During the pandemic, SSD transitioned to virtual offerings for several programs, and those more versatile options continue today. SSD employees participate in online fitness classes through Wellbeats with 31.6% of eligible employees enrolled, Wondr’s digital weight management behavior counseling where employees have lost over 2,700 lbs., Teladoc, and virtual personal counseling. Success is measured by participation and how employees have embraced these programs and committed to attaining a healthier lifestyle. Employees appreciate participating in programs with their well-being at the forefront. Too often, employee wellbeing is an afterthought, but that is not the case with Special School District. The program’s success can be attributed to the support and promotion by the SSD leadership team, Wellness Committee, Wellness Champions, and SSD’s partnership with Aetna, PAS, and MMA.
4th CBIZ – Cleveland, Ohio (Local Office: St. Louis) – 6,471 Employees
CBIZ provides professional business services in two key areas – accounting, tax, and advisory services, and benefits and insurance services.
CBIZ offers an impressive employee stock purchase plan where employees can buy stock at a 15% discount based on trading price. Employees can buy CBIZ stock at a 15% discount based on the current day's trading price. The stock-purchased vests after one year, allowing employees to gain ownership in the company they work for.
Regarding the effectiveness of its wellness plan, CBIZ has experienced a significant reduction in health claims within the "preventative" category year over year. This positive trend is mirrored in their prescription drug plan as well. The proactive efforts to highlight well-being and encourage healthier lifestyles have contributed to these favorable outcomes. Under CBIZ's medical plan, coverage is provided for both in-patient and out-patient mental health care, along with prescription drug coverage. Furthermore, CBIZ supports diversity and inclusion through various employee resource groups, allowing team members to connect with like-minded peers and advocate for aligned causes within the company.
