When Ron Rubin, Minister of Tea (owner/CEO) of The Republic of Tea established The Healthy Minister Program in late 2008, the bottom line never entered the equation. Cognizant of the challenging economic climate facing businesses, instead of strategizing ways to cut costs or reduce employee benefits, Ron established a program designed to better serve the company’s Citizens (customers) by enriching the life of each Minister (employee).
Established January 1, 2009, The aim of The Healthy Minister Program is to educate, inspire and communicate to Ministers of The Republic of Tea the qualities, benefits and values of a healthy lifestyle, so they are better equipped to serve its Citizens.
Mission:
Enrich Minister’s lives by creating a work environment that supports a healthy lifestyle and provides educational opportunities and resources to achieve and maintain a life of health, balance and well-being.
Objectives:
- To educate, inspire and communicate to Ministers of The Republic of Tea the qualities, benefits and values of a healthy lifestyle.
- To better serve our Citizens through energetic, enthusiastic, physically fit Ministers.
- To provide worksite educational programs and activities that reduces employees’ health risks and enhances employees’ well-being.
Consulting Nutritionist: Cindy Berner, MS, RD, LD – Registered Dietitian, Minister of Wellness
Program Components, Available Complimentary to all Ministers:
- Company nutritionist (The Minister of Wellness) establishes the wellness programming for the company as a whole and is on-call to Ministers for their personal needs.
- A pair of New Balance athletic shoes and socks.
- Food diaries.
- Yearly health screen; benchmarking to begin after second screening June 2010.
- More comfortable uniforms for Ministers who work in the operation – to promote more movement, flexibility and productivity.
- Pedometers to track daily walking.
- Healthy snacks provided in all employee break rooms.
- 15-30 minutes allowance per day to walk. 10 minutes free per day.
- Fitness credit ($500 per calendar year) for employees to pay for health-based external programs like gym and Weight Watchers memberships.
- Healthy Minister Resources Guide contains informant on all of the Healthy Minister topics, recipes and information coverage in the monthly programming, so Ministers can review and share with their extended family.
A Monthly Healthy Minister Meeting focuses on a specific educational topic including, but not limited to:
- Body Mass Index (BMI) explained
- Interpreting food labels.
- Building movement into your life
- Considering carbohydrates
- Please on the salt
- How to pack a healthy lunch
- Tackling trigger foods
Why It Works:
- It’s a voluntary program — Ministers participate because they want to participate.
- The focus is on the Ministers; it’s about listening to their needs.
- The small changes make a big difference over time.
- Minister of Wellness is totally accessible to Ministers.
- A Minister Task TEAm sets programming and direction.
- The Healthy Minister Program makes personal health and nutrition understandable.
- The Healthy Minister program focuses on the whole person – not just on healthy eating, but movement, stress management and external challenges/conditions.
- It’s not a one-size fits all program, there are general trends and topics, but it’s a highly customized program based on the diversified workforce of The Republic of Tea – comprised of factory workers (people who stand all day), office staff (people who sit all day) and field sales people (people who are on airplanes all day).
The value of health, balance and well-being is included in The Republic of Tea Charter, established March 16, 1994. The principle is embedded in the DNA of the company – from the specialty teas it creates, to the program it designs for its Ministers, to how it enriches the lives of its Citizens.
CommuniTEA