Lorna Williamson

"We had preventives built in, but a lot of people weren't taking advantage of them, such as going for an annual physical," says Lorna Williamson, Howalt's human resources manager. Howalt partnered with its health insurance provider to educate employees on how to use their health plan's wellness offerings - such as smoking cessation and weight-loss programs, and blood pressure and cholesterol testing.The insurer also offered free flu shots on-site.A big benefit for Williamson was convincing employees to understand the importance of baseline screenings, "so they'd know what to concentrate on."
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Williamson says that since the beginning of 2004, employees have collectively lost 400 lbs.Even more impressive, the increase in the company's health insurance premium fell by half.In two years, Howalt reduced its "loss ratio" (the ratio between the cost of the premiums paid and the cost of the claims) by 40%."We wanted to get our claims down so we're not paying double digit increases every year," says Williamson. Think outside the box

Lorna Williamson, a human resource manager at Howalt-McDowell, remembers working in an office with rows of steel desks lined up edge to edge.

Cubicles were a step up.

"With the cubicle came privacy and being able to hear," she says.

Lorna Williamson, a human resource manager at Howalt-McDowell, remembers working in an office with rows of steel desks.Cubicle systems also allowed businesses to exist in buildings designed for other purposes.

"Our building used to be a bank," she says of her workplace "Our large conference room is an old vault."