October 8, 2024
Healthiest Employers® was started in 2009 as a way to celebrate companies that are putting their people first by investing in the health of their employees. In partnership with Springbuk, we are pleased to announce the 2024 Healthiest Employers of Tennessee.
Each company filled out our annual Healthiest Employers application. The responses are scored Rubric style 1-100 scale. The assessment is made up of six categories with yes/no, multiple choice, and short answer questions, with each question totaling .25-3 points. A Healthiest Employers Index (HEI) is assigned to each application to help rank among companies of similar sizes. For information on how the applications are scored, please visit our methodology page here.
In the years following the COVID-19 pandemic, a heavily discussed topic has been whether to return to the traditional office or stay on a hybrid/remote work model. Our Tenneessee applicants reported that:
- 5.6% work completely in the office or on-site
- 38.9% report that they are on a hybrid schedule with certain days/times in the office
- 50.0% only provide specific roles or teams with work-from-home opportunities
- 5.6% are considered a fully remote workforce with no required days in the office
Some interesting health and wellness trends among this year’s Tennessee applicants include:
- Career development opportunities are becoming increasingly sought out by top talent. Our Tennessee applicants reported:some text
- 88.9% offer tuition reimbursement opportunities to help employees elevate their careers
- 77.8% have formal mentoring programs that help employees meet with coworkers and learn from experienced professionals
- 72.2% provide employees with annual stipends to attend courses or conventions
- Financial health is so important to one’s overall health. Last year, only 44% of Americans reported being able to cover an unplanned $1,000 emergency and 58% of Americans believe that money is controlling their lives. Employees with this mindset are not going to be able to bring their best selves to work. 88.9% of Tennessee applicants provide access to financial planners and advisors to help combat these rising anxiety-inducing issues. Additionally, 83.3% report 401(k) matching, and 22.2% have offered dependent scholarship programs to help working parents offset the rising costs of higher education.
- Mental wellness continues to be a high priority among employers across the country:some text
- 100% offer virtual counseling or therapy options to employees for easy access to mental health resources
- 77.8% provide access to mobile apps such as Calm and Headspace
- 77.8% have peer support groups in place to address common stresses, challenges, and obstacles
- 55.6% have introduced Mental Health First Aid Certifications to teach the skills necessary to respond to peers’ signs of mental illness
- 94.4% emphasize the importance of giving back by offering employees various volunteer options in their communities.
Congratulations to all of our winners this year! Please note that employee counts are based on their national full-time employee count and company headquarters. Write-ups were only completed on the top 3 winners.
1,000 to 4,999 Employees
1st Garver
North Little Rock, Arkansas (Local Office: Franklin)
1,284 Employees
2023 Healthiest 100 Workplaces in America Winner
Founded in 1919, Garver is an employee-owned multi-disciplined engineering, planning, architectural, and environmental services firm with over 1,000 employees across the United States. Offering a wide range of services focused on aviation, construction, facilities design, federal, survey, transportation, water, and wastewater, Garver sits in the top 125 of the Engineering News-Record's prestigious Top 500 Design Firms list and is consistently recognized as a “best firm to work for.”
Garver has run their wellness program in-house for more than 10 years. This has allowed employees the unique opportunity to interact with the Wellness Team regularly and receive programming that is curated to their needs. While the more than $1,000 in insurance premium cost savings can be seen in Garver’s rates, it remains important to show value on employee investments. That’s why, in 2024, Garver began offering a Lifestyle Spending Account to allow employees to see how much Garver is investing in their Wellness Rewards dollars and the ability to spend it in ways that matter most to them. In previous years, employees would receive up to $800 via their paychecks but may not have realized that they were Wellness Rewards Dollars.
In 2023, Garver enhanced the Wellness Program by investing in Asset Health to help with our Wellness Portal and behind-the-scenes administrative tasks. With Asset Health’s support, our Wellness Team can focus on delivering a tailored approach to each employee’s wellbeing. Employees have access to a customized portal where they can find financial wellness podcasts, enhanced mental health resources, and health-related learning and development courses. Other benefits include wellness rewards dollars that can be spent on what matters most to each employee, 100% covered health screening visits with a primary care physician or LabCorp, and a wellness activity budget per office for social connection.
“Our Wellness Program has just continued to get better and better over the years. It’s been a team effort, driven by the desire to make a real difference in the lives of our employees. At Garver, we believe our employees and their families deserve a comprehensive and competitive benefits package so that they can thrive personally and professionally.” –Michael Graves, Chief Operating Officer
2nd Higginbotham
Fort Worth, Texas (Local Office: Memphis)
3,248 Employees
2023 Healthiest 100 Workplaces in America Winner
Higginbotham is a single-source solution for insurance, financial, and HR/employee benefits services. The employee-owned firm was established in 1948 and ranks by revenue today as the nation’s 21st-largest independent insurance brokerage.
Higginbotham has significantly enhanced its mental health resources in response to employee interest and engagement. The company has offered numerous live and recorded workshops on mental health topics, including overviews, depression and anxiety, suicide awareness, thriving, and self-care. Additionally, Higginbotham provides an Employee Assistance Program and a full subscription to Koa Health for digital mental health solutions. The mental health program has seen high engagement, with more than 80 employees placed with a mental health professional in Q1 of 2024 alone. The median wait time for the first appointment is 0.8 days, with all members starting care within two weeks. Employees have rated this benefit a perfect 5.0 out of 5.0, with 100% provider satisfaction.
In 2024, Higginbotham added Tria Health, offering unlimited access to licensed pharmacists for medication reviews and management of diabetes or hypertension. Employees receive up to three $50 gift cards per session with a pharmacist, and high-risk members qualify for a free pharmacogenomics test. Their benefits package also includes a partnership with Enrich, offering financial health resources such as quizzes, courses, content, webinars, and more on topics like retirement, saving for goals, investing, budgeting, managing debt, and behavioral finance. Higginbotham encourages community involvement and social relationship-building through volunteer opportunities. Employees receive wellness program credit for community service, and the Community Fund, supported by employees, aids registered 501c3 non-profit organizations.
“Higginbotham is a people-first firm, and one of our core values is to be family to our employees. That means giving them the resources they need to lead healthy lifestyles so they’re happy at home, productive at work, and satisfied with their employment so they’re part of our family for many years.” –Rusty Reid, Chief Executive Officer
3rd Faith Technologies Incorporated
Menasha, Wisconsin (Local Office: Nashville)
3,168 Employees
2023 Healthiest 100 Workplaces in America Winner
The company, recognized as a national leader in engineering, construction, manufacturing, and clean energy, operates through three innovative divisions: Faith Technologies, Excellerate, and EnTech Solutions. This dynamic structure enables the organization to offer extensive services, providing limitless opportunities for both partners and team members while delivering impactful results.
FTI’s Healthy Lifestyle Reimbursement Program remains a top benefit for employees, offering $300 annually per family to full- and part-time team members for various health and wellness activities, such as fitness classes, gym memberships, sports leagues, and more. In 2024, following employee feedback, new categories like massage therapy and foam rollers were added. Launched in 2012 with three categories, the program has expanded to cover 13, reimbursing around $230,000 in 2023, a 900% increase from 2017.
In 2023, 84% of team members and spouses enrolled in the wellness platform, 40% higher than the industry average. Monthly engagement was 70%, and 75% earned cash incentives, with FTI paying over $365,000 in incentives, up by $122,000 from the prior year. Additionally, 85% of those on FTI’s health insurance earned premium contributions for 2024, saving $1,500 to $3,000. Biometric health screening participation saw a 596% increase from the previous year.
“Our wellness program is in its 20th year and is truly ingrained within our culture. I believe the impact of our program is growing year over year and is willing to tackle the difficult issues we all face. It is focused on the total well-being of our team members inclusive of overall safety and mental health. We know FTI is at our best when each team member is at their best.” –Wade Leipold, Executive Vice President
4th JE Dunn Construction – Kansas City, Missouri (Local Office: Nashville) – 4,556 Employees
5th Messer Construction Co. – Cincinnati, Ohio (Local Office: Knoxville) – 1,376 Employees
5,000 to 9,999 Employees
1st St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
Germantown
6,825 Employees
2023 Healthiest 100 Workplaces in America Winner
St. Jude is leading the way the world understands, treats, and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. The mission of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is to advance cures, and means of prevention, for pediatric catastrophic diseases through research and treatment. Consistent with the vision of our founder Danny Thomas, no child is denied treatment based on race, religion, or a family's ability to pay. St. Jude is leading the way the world understands, treats, and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Our researchers and doctors work together to turn laboratory breakthroughs into lifesaving treatments for children from across the United States and around the world.
St. Jude offers a comprehensive approach to employee and family well-being through various onsite and virtual services, covering primary care, mental health, financial, legal, spiritual, and lifestyle support. Remote employees can access virtual appointments for acute care and mental health needs. The employee clinic experience is distinguished by a patient-centered model that meets AAAHC accreditation standards.
The Living Well Health & Wellness clinic, pharmacy, and fitness team provide a holistic care experience, offering individualized care plans and addressing gaps in care. The full-service pharmacy supports employees and dependents in the St. Jude medical plan, with pharmacists offering personalized care beyond prescription services. Employees also enjoy discounted over-the-counter products.
The state-of-the-art fitness center features cardio and weight equipment, group classes, and fitness assessments, all managed by a Fitness Center Specialist. The program’s success is monitored through wellness portal engagement, claims data, and human resource analytics, helping plan and evaluate services based on outcomes such as chronic conditions and care gaps.
“St. Jude employees drive our mission to find cures and save children. The work is fulfilling but also demanding. Our Living Well brand uses a multidimensional approach that allows us to offer programs that cover aspects of wellness ranging from enriched mental/emotional health services to financial wellness. It embraces new technologies and more social practices like our wellness ambassador network, allowing us to connect as our campus expands. The last few years in healthcare proved the value of wellness to our institution and the importance of agility in our program design. Our approach is dynamic, allowing us to quickly add and modify our services based on the needs of our employees. This approach enables us to respond to what our people need today and positions us to respond to whatever the future may bring.” –Dana Bottenfield, Senior Vice President of Human Resources
2nd CBIZ
Cleveland, Ohio (Local Office: Brentwood)
6,841 Employees
CBIZ provides professional business services in accounting, tax, and advisory services as well as employee benefits and insurance services. CBIZ has over 100 offices and 6,000 team members located throughout the U.S. and serves organizations of all sizes and individual clientele.
Through Accolade, CBIZ has seen 83% of team members utilizing the platform to help find in-network providers, answer health-related questions, and explain coverage offerings. By participating in various wellness activities, employees can earn points towards discounts on medical premiums and prize drawings. CBIZ also encourages their workforce to give back to their communities by offering up to 8 hours annually to volunteer during work hours. Because of the many employees and offices throughout the country, CBIZ has also started a “Our Great People Great Place (GP2) program that focuses on fostering a healthy work environment, positive social opportunities with coworkers, and creating a great place to work. This program hosts onsite local office gatherings and workplace awards to bring employees together. Additionally, CBIZ offers various Employee Resource Groups such as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) and Pride to promote their continued DEI efforts.
“CBIZ continues to experience record growth and as we grow our business, we likewise continue to prioritize and invest in the health and wellbeing of our team members. We strive every day to bring one of our key core values, ‘Our People Matter,’ to life. In addition to our focus on well-being, we’ve made critical strides in strengthening our award-winning culture including the expansion of our Employee Resource Group offerings, which help to build community across our company and create new opportunities for our team members to connect and support each other. For the coming year, we plan to build on this progress and align more incentives to encourage more team members to take full advantage of these valuable resources and opportunities.” –Elizabeth Newman, Chief Human Resources Officer
3rd BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee
Chattanooga
6,660 Employees
BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee is a taxpaying, not-for-profit health plan that serves over 3.4 million members in Tennessee and across the U.S. For 75 years, it has partnered with top healthcare providers to ensure its members and employees receive high-quality, affordable care. The company’s mission is to provide peace of mind through better health, a commitment that is particularly meaningful to its employees and leaders, as they serve their local communities, including family, friends, and neighbors.
The company's wellness incentive benefit allows employees to earn a quarterly cash bonus for taking steps to improve their health. With over 25 ways to earn incentive dollars, employees of all ability levels can participate. The program emphasizes holistic well-being, offering activities beyond physical fitness, such as volunteering, meeting with condition management specialists, attending virtual webinars, and tracking steps.
BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee prioritizes comprehensive employee well-being, offering resources that address physical, mental, financial, and social health.
Physical well-being is supported through an on-site fitness center, live sessions with certified professionals, step-tracking incentives, and access to the Wellbeats app. Mental well-being is addressed with programs and apps such as AbleTo, Learn to Live, EAP, and crisis resources, along with incentivized mental health and mindfulness activities. Financial well-being is emphasized through a competitive 401(k) match, Retirement Accumulation Program contributions, and access to personalized financial counseling. Additional resources, like Fidelity and Truist Momentum, support financial confidence and effective money management. Community and connection are fostered through in-person events, such as monthly Welcome Wednesday lunches, holiday celebrations, and Corporate Challenge. Employee resource groups, town halls, support groups, and online communities further strengthen connections among employees, regardless of location.
“At times, everything hinges on how well we feel. We can’t adequately be there for our family, enjoy our friends, or even feel good about our latest project at work if we have a health or financial concern that’s holding us back. That is why our paid benefits and added wellness programs and resources are so important at BlueCross. They help our employees be their best – at work and home.” –Roy Vaughn, SVP and Chief Human Resources Officer
4th Burns & McDonnell – Kansas City, Missouri (Local Office: Oak Ridge) – 9,946 Employees
5th Westgate Resorts – Orlando, Florida (Local Office: Gatlinburg) – 8,000 Employees
6th Terracon Consultants, Inc – Olathe, Kansas (Local Office: Nashville) – 6,450 Employees
10,000+ Employees
1st BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina
Columbia
11,760 Employees
BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, the only South Carolina-owned and operated health insurance carrier, has provided security to members for over 75 years. It offers the largest provider networks in the state, a wide range of health plans, discounts, added-value services, and online tools for members. The company is also a significant supporter of community and charitable initiatives.
The Sports+ program, available to employees, retirees, and their families, promotes physical activity, employee engagement, and participation in local events. For a small annual fee, members gain access to a calendar of events and exclusive discounts for activities such as road races, cycling, bowling, and outdoor events. Registration fees for these events are covered by the department. Initially aimed at providing affordable access to local events, the program has expanded to foster social connections through group activities like bowling, hikes, and canoe trips.
The program has seen significant growth, with membership increasing from 293 members in 2023 to 392 members in the first four months of 2024. Event participation has also risen, with 595 total participations in 2023 and 345 already in early 2024, reflecting the program’s success and ongoing expansion.
"I've worked at several places over my 38-year career and BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina stands out for many reasons, one of which is its dedication to the health of its employees. When employees understand that their employer values their health and not just the work they do, it develops a closer relationship that benefits all. It is one of the reasons I have been here for 18 of those 38 years. It is also one of the reasons the average tenure of the 80+ employees in my division is over 15 years with the company.” –Louis McElveen, Chief Compliance Officer & Risk Officer
2nd Dollar General
Goodlettsville
185,000 Employees
Dollar General Corporation (NYSE: DG) is proud to serve as America’s neighborhood general store. Founded in 1939, Dollar General lives its mission of Serving Others every day by providing access to affordable products and services for its customers, career opportunities for its employees, and literacy and education support for its hometown communities. As of February 2024, the Company’s over 20,000 Dollar General, DG Market, DGX and pOpshelf stores across the United States and Mi Súper Dollar General stores in Mexico provide everyday essentials including food, health and wellness products, cleaning and laundry supplies, self-care and beauty items, and seasonal décor from our high-quality private brands alongside many of the world’s most trusted brands such as Coca Cola, PepsiCo/Frito-Lay, General Mills, Hershey, J.M. Smucker, Kraft, Mars, Nestlé, Procter & Gamble and Unilever.
As the nation’s largest retailer by store count, Dollar General provides access to competitive benefits and extensive development opportunities to a large workforce and numerous communities. The company emphasizes long-term career growth, with around 74% of lead store associates and above being promoted internally. Dollar General leverages its expansive network to offer clear career advancement pathways, while also allowing employees to benefit from the affordable essentials available in its stores. This combination of career opportunities and convenience strengthens Dollar General’s ability to attract and retain talent.
Dollar General adopts a multidimensional approach to support the physical, mental, financial, and community health of its employees, recognizing the importance of each aspect in fostering a healthy and inclusive workplace. To advocate for mental health, the company offers six free telephonic therapy sessions per topic for employees and their families, and it has enhanced its TeleHealth plan by reducing copays to $0. Additional mental health resources include digital tools such as text therapy and apps focused on anxiety, stress, and sleep. The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) also provides free counseling sessions and mental health screenings.
In terms of physical health, Dollar General invests in health insurance benefits and the Better Life Wellness Program, which promotes overall well-being through lifestyle and disease management resources. The program also includes financial wellness resources, such as employee discounts for pet and auto/home insurance, as well as 401(k) savings and retirement plans. Furthermore, Dollar General offers zero-cost tuition and secondary education programs for employees and their families. Collaborations with Strayer University and Capella University align the costs of select degree programs with the company's tuition scholarship program, enabling employees to pursue eligible degrees with minimal to no out-of-pocket expenses.
“At Dollar General, our employees are the heart of our company. We believe the opportunity to develop a career with a growing and purpose-driven company is a unique competitive advantage, and we are proud to be able to support our employees’ development in a variety of ways, inclusive of their health and wellbeing journeys.” –Kathy Reardon, Executive Vice President, Chief People Officer
3rd U-Haul International
Phoenix, Arizona (Local Office: Multiple Local Offices)
16,371 Employees
2023 Healthiest 100 Workplaces in America Winner
Since 1945, U-Haul has been the #1 choice of do-it-yourself movers, with a network of more than 23,000 locations across all 50 states and 10 Canadian provinces. In addition, they have a fleet of over 186,000 trucks, 128,000 trailers, 46,000 towing devices, 876,000 rentable storage units, and 75.1 million square feet of self-storage space.
U-Haul is very proud of its Virta offering, a clinically proven treatment to reverse Type 2 diabetes, obesity, and pre-diabetes. Through this treatment plan, U-Haul Team Members have been able to lower their A1c, lose weight, and reduce or eliminate the usage of insulin. Their mission is to sustainably reverse the conditions without the risks, costs, or side effects of medications or surgeries. 38% of diabetes-specific medications have been eliminated, insulin dosages have been reduced by 63%, and 16,000 total pounds have been lost through the use of this program.
U-Haul also strives to make healthy lifestyles attainable and affordable, which is why in 2021, they invested in a 54,000-square-foot corporate fitness center and on-site cafeteria where employees can order healthy meals for less than $5. While U-Haul is a vast corporation, its values are deep-rooted in family culture. From team-building challenges to the sharing of healthy recipes and tips, there is an unmistakable investment in everyone’s wellness journey.
“The wellness and benefits programs have helped me tremendously with my weight loss journey! As a work-from-home senior agent, the ‘Get Fit Program’ is one of my favorites because it has motivated me to go to the gym more, focus on my fitness goals, and be more active, especially since I am sitting for the majority of my work shift. The reimbursement incentive they offer not only helps alleviate the costs of my gym membership, but the check-ins incentive has me excited and ready to workout every day! I feel healthier, happier, and stronger!” –Leah Short, Senior Agent
