Overall Winner (PEBA group): SC Department of Revenue 

Finally, our overall winner goes to the SC Department of Revenue.  The SC Department of Revenue was very strategic in their wellness programming in 2023. They have a 30 person Wellness Committee that supports various initiatives and help increase participation. They conduct an annual wellness survey each year, with an impressive response rate of 80% or greater, to ensure they are offering activities that are important to their employees. They measure and evaluate initiatives by tracking attendance and encouraging employee feedback so they can make sure the offerings are meeting employees needs and expectations. One thing that helps with program adoption are their creative incentive offerings, including providing employees gift cards, agency swag, casual dress days, extra lunch hour, raffles and participation certificates that employees often use to decorate their cubicle walls.  They provide decompression pods for their call center staff, walking trails, sit and stand desks and foot massage machines in all break rooms. They also offer two annual opportunities for onsite biometric screenings, flu shot clinics, mobile mammograms, and blood drives.  

Greenville Region 

Elliott Davis, LLC 

In the Greenville region, the winner in the Large-Group category is Elliott Davis. Having an environment that is supportive of healthy lifestyles and offers easy access to initiatives goes a long way in improving employee’s well-being. In addition to providing onsite gyms, biometric screenings, and standing desks, Elliott Davis also has an onsite nurse that has open office hours for employees. As a way to address social well-being, they host various events throughout the year, including game days, book clubs and bingo parties to complement their more traditional walking, running and bike clubs. 

Suminoe Textile of America 

The winner in the mid-market group category for the Greenville Region goes to Sumino Textile of America. Sumino Textile has gone to great lengths to create a comfortable work environment for their employees.  They have redesigned their front office to provide relaxing spaces for employees to take breaks and have outdoor picnic areas on all sides of the facility.  Standing workstations and fresh fruit offered throughout the plant make it easier for employees to make healthy choices. To encourage physical activity, Sumino Textile hosts various challenges throughout the year, promotes walking lunches, and have contracted with a Personal Trainer to assist employees in reaching their physical activity goals.  

Columbia Region 

South Carolina Federal Credit Union  

For the Columbia region, the Large-Group winner is South Carolina Federal Credit Union. They have seen the fruits of their labor when it comes to their wellness initiatives. After refreshing their programming, they had nearly triple the number of sign-ups in their wellness offerings in 2023. They became more creative with their incentives and provided everything from new sneakers to fitness watches and often allowed employees to select a "wellness prize of choice" so they can select what means the most to them.  Following biometric screenings, they conducted their first 8-week diabetes and cholesterol specific program with a local registered dietitian to help support those who had elevated numbers. South Carolina Federal Credit Union also makes it a priority to promote health and well-being in the community through their ‘people helping people’ philosophy. They doubled their participation in the annual Dragon Boat Festival for cancer awareness last year, hosted their first off-site wellness day for employees at a local wellness facility, and hosted a “Miles That Matter” challenge along with a cycling event, “Ride to End Alzheimer's”.   

Carolina Health Centers Inc. 

For winner for the mid-market group in the Columbia region goes to Carolina Health Centers. To help support their well-being efforts, Carolina Health Centers employees a wellness coordinator that visits each of their sites to promote and offer a wide range of wellness resources. They host biometric screenings, flu shots, and cancer screenings onsite each year. To support employees in creating a habit of physical activity, gym memberships are subsidized and support groups have been created for those that wish to exercise during lunch and after work.  

Charleston Region 

Giant Cement Holding Inc 

For the Charleston region, the first Large-Group winner is Giant Cement Holding. They credit the stabilization of their claims over the past several years to their wellness initiatives. They conduct annual wellness interest surveys to make employees feel a part of program offerings that are rolled out each year. To encourage participation, they provide gift cards, reduced health insurance premiums, employee recognition and various prizes. They offer standing workstations and locker rooms for those that wish to be physically active during the day.  To promote social well-being, Giant Cement sponsors various team building events, company picnics, holiday parties and even has various employee sports teams.  

Sonepar Management US, Inc. 

The second Large-Group winner for the Charleston region is Sonepar Management US.  Something that stood out about Sonepar is their Employee Resource Groups, which help foster a diverse, inclusive workplace. They have 9 different Employee Resource Groups in all, supporting employees of various ethnic backgrounds, the LGBTQ community, those in the military, employees with disabilities and a women’s advocate group, to name a few. These ERG’s are active in various health promotion campaigns and help plan, moderate, and volunteer to co-lead events. These efforts led to a 35% increase in attendance in wellness program participation in 2023.  

Another strategy that helped Sonepar’s wellness engagement is its robust marketing strategy. Knowing not all employees are at their desk, where they can receive emails, Soneapar added TV screens dedicated to employee communications in their warehouses and branches, along with creating multiple internal flyers, yard signs, and wall posters to encourage participation in programs. They also reduced barriers by adding QR codes so their non-desk associates could access information and participate through their personal cell phones.