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Updated: December 2008
Lowe's
Lowe's has evolved from regional hardware stores to more than 1,500 home improvement stores in 50 states and Canada with over 235,000 employees. Its product categories for do-it-yourselfers and professionals include outdoor power equipment, gardening and landscape supplies, lumber and millwork, lighting, home decor, appliances, plumbing, electrical, and more. Lowe's is the second largest appliance retailer and home improvement chain in the U.S. and posted $48.3 billion in sales in fiscal year 2007.
For this report, Kyle Wendt, Vice President, Benefits, provided information on his company's successful implementation of programs designed to support an existing tobacco-free policy.
Key Observations
Although Lowe's implemented a tobacco-free policy for nearly all campuses in 2003 and has offered tobacco cessation programs since 2001, the company did not mount a comprehensive wellness program until it launched Life Track in 2007. Available at no cost through the company's intranet site, MyLowesLife.com, Life Track is a health and wellness program available to all employees, including part-time, seasonal and temporary workers and their dependents. An important component of Life Track is the tobacco cessation program, which has proven popular with employees and has been very successful.
Through Life Track, employees can access the Quit for Life™ program, which provides employees prescriptions with no copayment (up to a maximum of $650) provided the employee takes advantage of the program's tobacco cessation counseling. Life Track also features the StayWell® Health Risk Assessment (HRA), which, upon completion, directs employees to NextSteps® programs designed to help employees stop using tobacco.
In addition to Life Track, employees can access counseling through the Employee Assistance Program (EAP), provided by Magellan, or, at locations with on-site clinics, they can speak with a registered nurse. Finally, employees are encouraged to seek counseling and treatment through their primary care physicians.
This wide variety of options is what has made the company's tobacco cessation program so successful. Lowe's did not force employees to quit; no punitive measures such as higher premiums for tobacco users were put into place. This policy of treating everyone equally helped foster a general feeling of goodwill toward the program among employees. The message from the company was one of helpful assistance, with a goal of making employees aware that programs were in place to help them when they were ready to quit.
Generally, employees welcomed the new measures. Lowe's offered creative incentives to those who expressed a willingness to quit. For example, employees who volunteered to help others or demonstrated that they were newly tobacco-free earned rewards points they could use to purchase merchandise through MyLowesLife.
Measuring Success
The tobacco free policy and programs have received strong support from Lowe's leadership, and the prevailing philosophy is that helping employees stop using tobacco is a keystone of the company's health and wellness benefit offerings. The emphasis is less on program-derived financial return on investment than on helping employees live tobacco-free lives. For Lowe's, success is marked by a healthier and more engaged employee population. In fact, any amount of successful "quits" is considered an achievement.
The Next Generation
Because of Life Track's successful implementation, there are no current plans to make changes to the benefit offering. The company will continue to promote comprehensive total wellness, including its tobacco cessation program, through Life Track. The development of the tobacco-cessation policy and program has led to a stronger awareness of LifeTrack and the comprehensive total wellness programs that Lowe's offers its employees.
Lessons Learned
Communication has been vital to the success of Lowe's program. The tobacco-cessation policy was announced in October 2006 and launched January 1, 2007, so communication had to be strategic and efficient. Like many retail employers, Lowe's faces challenges in communicating to an employee population with a high turnover rate and limited Internet access during work hours. To overcome these challenges, Lowe's sent mailings to employee homes, provided information about the program in the employee newsletter, LoweDown, and made LifeTrack access available at each location. About 80-120 hours were spent planning and executing the program.
Lowe's found that enlisting the help of too many vendors could be expensive for the company and confusing to employees. A single, strongly branded campaign will help employees understand the message and that the benefits come from Lowe's, not vendors.
Finally, says Kyle Wendt, Lowe's Vice President, Benefits, "Be flexible." Sometimes, wellness initiatives may require some trial and error to achieve optimal effectiveness. Organizations should always be on the lookout for ways to improve their program through communication or a change in vendors. Mr. Wendt adds, "If your program doesn't work out, try something else." Flexibility and a willingness to explore multiple options are key factors for a successful program implementation.
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