Benefits and Wellness Superhero Podcast: Recent Episodes
Thorpe Benefits
The Benefits and Wellness Superhero Podcast, produced by The HR Gazette and Thorpe Benefits, is designed to help professionals develop the skills they need to get proper leadership buy-in on group benefits plans. Listen to tips, tactics, and strategies that'll help you become a superhero in the eyes of employees and management!
Obesity is a chronic disease that accounts for over 80% of the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. Equally important, it can also lead to high blood pressure, a common cause of heart attacks. But today, there is good news. There are many anti-obesity medications such as Hollywood favourite Ozempic or Wegovy that can impact appetite and fullness. The issue is that these medications are usually quite expensive and often not covered by Group Benefits plans.
In this short podcast, Allison Brown, VP Consulting at Thorpe Benefits and Roger Thorpe discuss how covering these medications may help employers in the long run by reducing absenteeism and health risks while improving productivity.
Check out this session from the Benefits and Wellness Superhero Symposium 2022 called Top Trends in Benefits and Wellness.
The session was presented by Roger Thorpe and Nicole Cairns, Thorpe Benefits and focused on the most popular and most important trends that impact your benefits and Wellness strategy
Listen to this session from the Benefits and Wellness Superhero Symposium 2022.
The session was called Integration of Benefits and Wellness into Total Rewards and it was presented by Roger Thorpe and Nicole Cairns.
Why listen?
- Discover how more proactive wellbeing support and health promotion is now a leading component of benefits strategy and an overall Total Rewards offering.
- Learn longer term approaches to move wellness forward as part of plan design and budget, including a clear business case to present to your leadership team/owners
In the June edition of the Benefits and Wellness Superhero podcast, we offer up one of the amazing sessions from the Benefits and Wellness Superhero Symposium, held in April.
Roger Thorpe's guest speaker is Sarah Currie, Director, Client Success, Uniity: Outsourced Employee Communications.
Sarah's session was called Amplifying Benefit: Getting more from your Benefit and Wellness programs through effective communications. Listen and discover:
- Explore why employers need to “up their game” on employee communications.
- Learn how benefits and wellness can have a more consistent impact on employee experience/engagement – through more mature and professional internal communications
On April 6th and 7th, 2022 attendees of the Benefits and Wellness Superhero Symposium heard from awesome guest speakers and inspiring experts in panels and lively debate - designed to develop the skills HR professionals, Benefits execs and leaders need to get proper leadership buy-in on group benefits plans.
Get the lowdown on day 2 of the event by listening to this Benefits and Wellness podcast episode with Bill Banham, host and Founder at The HR Gazette and Roger Thorpe, President at Thorpe Benefits.
Each day featured an action-packed, 90-minute agenda that included online presentations and lots of practical takeaways. Listen as Roger recaps day 2 including these sessions:
- Choosing and Comparing Health and Wellness Vendors - Presented by Roger Thorpe and Nicole Cairns, Thorpe Benefits:
- Reducing the Stress and Anxiety Around Managing Money with Jay Seabrook, Enrichment Academy:
- Best Tools Available to Assess and Measure Your Benefits and Wellness Investments - Presented by Roger Thorpe, Thorpe Benefits:
- How HR and Finance Departments Work Together and Create Buy-In From Owners and Leadership Teams with Kim Freeburn, The CFO Centre
Over two days (April 6th and 7th, 2022 ) attendees at the Benefits and Wellness Superhero Symposium heard from guest speakers and experts in panels and lively debate. All designed to develop the skills HR pros, partners and leaders need to get proper leadership buy-in on group benefits plans.
Each day featured an action-packed, 90-minute agenda that included online presentations and lots of practical takeaways.
Get the lowdown on day 1 of the event by listening to this Benefits and Wellness Superhero Podcast episode with Bill Banham, Editor at The HR Gazette and Roger Thorpe, President at Thorpe Benefits.
Listen as Roger recaps day 1 including these sessions:
- Top Trends in Benefits and Wellness - Presented by Roger Thorpe and Nicole Cairns, Thorpe Benefits:
- Amplifying Benefit: Getting more from your Benefit and Wellness programs through effective communications with Sarah Currie, Uniity Outsourced Employee Communications, LiveWire Communications:
- The Integration of Benefits and Wellness into Total Rewards - Presented by Roger Thorpe and Nicole Cairns:
- Getting Serious about Absence Management with Sandra Grafe, AGS
In this episode, we consider financial literacy and managing money. Roger's guest this time is Jay Seabrook, Co-Founder of Enriched Academy.
Jay began teaching Financial education 20-years ago to high-school students and has been an avid investor since his early 20’s. Jay is one of the most sought-after personal finance speakers in Canada and has been showcased on radio and television programs including Dragon’s Den. Jay’s favorite quote is; “It’s not the material possessions you acquire during your pursuit of career and financial goals that are important; it’s who you become during the process that is truly rewarding”.
Questions Include:
- Why is financial literacy and managing money so important right now and why do you think this might ultimately be the responsibility of the employer instead of leaving it to the employee to figure out?
- Flashing forward to today, how do you help Corporations & Associations implement Financial Education?
- What key personal finance metrics do you think are most important for someone to track and be aware of?
- What work is Enriched Academy doing within the Canadian School system?
- If there was one thing that you think Enriched Academy does best, what do you think that would be?
Register for the Benefits and Wellness Superhero Symposium here.
In this episode, we consider the relationship between HR and Finance, where the synergies exist, and how working closely together can influence how decisions are made in the organization.
Roger's guest today is Kim Freeburn, owner of Stratitude Corp. and the Regional Director for the CFO Centre Canada, where superhero CFOs help ambitious entrepreneurs achieve extraordinary things.
She has more than 25 years of corporate experience helping business owners, large and small, resolve critical business issues and develop strategies to enhance shareholder value and overall financial results.
An experienced Finance Leader, Kim spent 22 years as a CFO for fortune 100 Company, working closely with Operations, Sales, HR, and Talent Management to build sustainable teams and practices while achieving superior financial results.
She has spent the last 5 years working with mid-size and owner-managed companies to build value for the long term by translating complex problems into clear, measurable, and meaningful actions so entrepreneurs can have the time and money to do what they love.
Her collaborative approach ensures business decisions are holistic and values-based.
Questions Include:
- As a CPA, and a careered CFO, how did your non-traditional interest in the HR field begin?
- In your various roles as a Finance lead, what are some of the obstacles you encounter in putting a people-forward agenda on the table?
- What are some of the trends you see in addressing these obstacles?
- In an August 2021 webinar panel sponsored by MicroAge Peterborough/Whitby, you offered 3 Keys to Unlocking Success in Your Business Through People, Finance & IT. Can you share those with me and explain why that matters?
- You’ll be speaking at the upcoming Superhero Symposium, tell us a bit about your session and what we can look forward to hearing?
- Can you give us a glimpse into some of the ways an HR team and a Finance team can work closely together?
- How can we learn more about you and the work done by Stratitude Corp. and the CFO Centre Canada?
Register for the Benefits and Wellness Superhero Symposium here.
As we enter a new year, Bill Banham steps in as host as Roger Thorpe moves over to the guest hot seat to chat about what to expect from the world of benefits and wellness in 2022.
We'll also look ahead to the second annual virtual Benefits and Wellness Superhero Symposium happening on April 6 and 7, 2022.
Learn more: thorpebenefits.com or watch this pod on YouTube.
In this episode, we consider the role of wellness officers within organizations and how some companies are making a difference to the mental and physical wellness needs of their employees during this ongoing pandemic.
Roger Thorpe's guest is Dylan Brennan, Manager, Health Promotion at Magna International, the mobility technology company and one of the world's largest automotive suppliers with 347 manufacturing operations and 94 product development, engineering, and sales centers in 27 countries.
Questions Include:
- What is it about the Magna approach that you believe is key to achieving ROI and behavior change? What are you still honing?
- What have been the biggest challenges to the mental and physical health of Magna's employees as a consequence of the pandemic?
- For smaller organizations, what approach might make the most sense?
- What advice would you give to other organizations about how wellness can impact your business outcomes?
- Can you point to any specific policies your team has introduced since the start of the pandemic that has helped to future-proof Magna against further stresses on employee mental health? How have these measures helped to prepare the org for the current Omictron variant scare?
- What are your predictions for how folks in similar roles to you will continue to adapt and innovate their approaches to employee wellness in the next couple of years?
In this episode of the Benefits and Wellness Superhero Podcast, Julie Wald, CEO at Namaste Wellness joins Roger Thorpe to discuss how the mental health tsunami caused by the pandemic accelerated the adoption of wellness services.
Listen to the second installment of this two-part discussion to get Julie's take on the metrics and formulas companies can use to increase the chances of success when rolling out new wellness programs.
A wellness practitioner for over 25 years, Julie is the author of the Amazon bestseller, Inner Wealth: How Wellness Heals, Nurtures and Optimizes Ultra-Successful People, and was named one of 2021's Top 100 Women Leaders in Healthcare by Women We Admire.
Questions For Julie Include:
- Is there now a formula that companies can consider for what makes a wellness program successful? An approach that's less about shiny objects or technology and more about results?
- How can companies cut through the noise and choose wellness vendors that won't break the bank?
In this episode of the Benefits and Wellness Superhero Podcast, Julie Wald joins Roger Thorpe to discuss how the mental health tsunami caused by the pandemic accelerated the adoption of wellness services.
Listen to part one of this two-part discussion as we consider if an increased focus on mental health has left some physical wellness programs lagging behind and what we can do about it. Julie also shares how her team helps clients get a better handle on the ROI of employee benefits and wellness initiatives.
Julie is the Founder and CEO at Namaste Wellness, a leading Corporate Wellness Company. She is also the author of the #1 Amazon bestseller, Inner Wealth: How Wellness Heals, Nurtures and Optimizes Ultra-Successful People, and was named one of 2021's Top 100 Women Leaders in Healthcare by Women We Admire.
Questions Include:
- A study by Massachusetts General Hospital determined that, if untreated, mental health issues increase healthcare costs for affected individuals by 200%-300%. Beyond the business case of saving money on health care and absent employees - wellness can be bought as the “right thing to do” for companies. They all have the right intentions but what kind of commitment or investment is really necessary to get measurable results?
- What has changed because of Covid? Has the mental health tsunami accelerated the motivation and uptake of wellness services?
- What metrics/results should we strive for and measure for real ROI?
- Has the focus on mental health left physical health behind for the time being? Will investment in the physical well-being of employees catch up in 2022?
Listen to part two of a two-part discussion led by Thorpe Benefits President, Roger Thorpe with panelists Mette Johansen Keating, Founder and Creative Director at mettespace, and Lisa Taylor, President at the Challenge Factory, Inc. focused on what's needed for a successful return-to-office policy
Questions in Part 2 Include:
- Lisa, you suggest that trust is at the core of a successful return-to-office policy. Beyond a trustworthy brand, how much more does a potential employer need to offer to distinguish themselves as an employer of choice when competing with firms offering WFH alternatives?
- Mette - In order to truly practice safety-first employment policies, employers should – to the best of their abilities – ensure employees feel safe and comfortable while working from home and at the office. Why do you believe that the ‘Great Resignation’ means employers simply can’t mess up the safety-first message? Beyond the health and safety aspects, what else can employers do to prove they care about employees and candidates in new and deeper ways?
- How will human interaction work differently, perhaps, in the “future of work”?
- What statistics or trends can you point to that would suggest that, whenever possible, employees should have ‘face time’ to ensure we all work to peak performance and maximize the chances of sharing learnings with colleagues for the betterment of the company’s bottom line?
About Our Guests
Mette Johansen Keating, Founder & Creative Director
Mette has carved out a leadership role in the Toronto office-space design community over the past 15 years upon arriving from her native Denmark. She founded Mettespace on human-centered and Scandinavian design principles when they were basically unheard of in North America and has since grown a dynamic and impressive tribe of clients and followers.
Fast-forward to 2021 and her soon-to-be-released book “Take Your Space” will share her insights into what she describes as “Scenography for life and work”, disintegrating borders between work and personal life accelerated by the pandemic and the critical contribution physical space can provide as we look to the future and a once-in-a-generation opportunity for people to find more balance
Lisa Taylor, President, Challenge Factory and the Centre for Career Innovation
Lisa Taylor is a sought-after expert, speaker, and columnist on today’s changing world of work.
As President of Challenge Factory and the Centre for Career Innovation, Lisa offers invaluable leadership and insights about the Future of Work—with a focus on how talent equity, demographics, the freelance economy, and new market dynamics present opportunities to gain strategic workforce and career advantage.
The second season of the Benefits and Wellness Superhero Podcast kicks off with a two-part panel discussion led by Thorpe Benefits President, Roger Thorpe.
Listen as Roger moderates a discussion with Mette Johansen Keating, Founder and Creative Director at mettespace, and Lisa Taylor, President of the Challenge Factory, Inc. focused on how employers can support employees to readjust to working - at least part time - back at the office.
Questions in Part 1 Include:
- Employees have got used to working from home. What are the benefits of returning to the office?
- What are the issues around hybrid work schedules? Dedicated workstations? More collaborative workspaces? Staggered schedules?
- How do we balance the needs of the business with the needs of employees?
- How can employers prove the case to employees for the need to commute to work? How can we put the checks in place to ensure employees do not feel they are putting themselves at undue risk by hopping on the train, streetcar, or bus to the office?
About Our Guests
Mette Johansen Keating, Founder & Creative Director
Mette has carved out a leadership role in the Toronto office-space design community over the past 15 years upon arriving from her native Denmark. She founded Mettespace on human-centered and Scandinavian design principles when they were basically unheard of in North America and has since grown a dynamic and impressive tribe of clients and followers.
Fast-forward to 2021 and her soon-to-be-released book “Take Your Space” will share her insights into what she describes as “Scenography for life and work”, disintegrating borders between work and personal life accelerated by the pandemic and the critical contribution physical space can provide as we look to the future and a once-in-a-generation opportunity for people to find more balance
Lisa Taylor, President, Challenge Factory and the Centre for Career Innovation
Lisa Taylor is a sought-after expert, speaker, and columnist on today’s changing world of work. As President of Challenge Factory and the Centre for Career Innovation, Lisa offers invaluable leadership and insights about the Future of Work—with a focus on how talent equity, demographics, the freelance economy, and new market dynamics present opportunities to gain strategic workforce and career advantage.
In this episode, we hear from Suzanne Harrison, Managing Partner at BenchMarket. In addition to being a Benefits and Wellness superhero, Suzanne is a speaker at the Benefits and Wellness Superhero Symposium on April 7th and 8th of April, 2021. Listen and learn all about Suzanne's session and get her take on why the fireside chat is essential viewing.
Suzanne is a bilingual human resource professional with over 25 years of experience working with both private and public sector organizations. Suzanne has extensive experience in survey development and administration with a background in data analysis and interpretation. Since joining Benchmarket as a Principal Consultant in2015 and becoming a Partner in 2017, Suzanne has been instrumental in growing Benchmarket’s flagship public surveys; TechEdge and NFPay.
She is also responsible for the development and administration of several commissioned surveys including the annual survey for the Ottawa Legal Managers Association. In addition to overseeing Benchmarket’s surveys, she provides both human resources and compensation consulting services to various organizations in the Technology and Financial Sector. Suzanne holds a Bachelor of Commerce and a Master of Industrial Relations from Queen’s University.
Register for the symposium here: eventbrite.ca/e/the-benefits-and-wellness-superhero-symposium-tickets-140125451999
In this episode, we hear from Helen Stevenson, Founder and CEO at Reformulary Group.
On April 7th at the Benefits and Wellness Superhero Symposium, Helen and Minh-Tam Tran, Executive Director at APPSQ will share thoughts on where we are headed with drug costs and pharmacy services, how employers and employees can work towards the common goal of sustainability and patient results. Listen to this interview and get the lowdown ahead of the talk.
Register to attend the symposium (April 7th and 8th, 2021) here: eventbrite.ca/e/the-benefits-and-wellness-superhero-symposium-tickets-140125451999
In this Benefits and Wellness Superhero Podcast episode, we consider what your organization needs to do in order to prepare and execute an effective mental health strategy in 2021/22.
The host is Bill Banham, Editor at The HR Gazette and his superhero guest is Nicole Cairns, Wellness Director at Thorpe Benefits. Nicole will be presenting a session at the April 7th and 8th Benefits and Wellness Superhero Symposium called Mental Health "Get Ready, Prepare your Mental Health Strategy NOW!
Listen and learn about Nicole's session and get her take on how the pandemic has impacted the mental wellbeing of employees and leaders over the past year.
Register for the symposium here: eventbrite.ca/e/the-benefits-and-wellness-superhero-symposium-tickets-140125451999
In the first episode of the Benefits and Wellness Superhero Podcast series, we preview the online 2021 Benefits and Wellness Superhero Symposium produced by Thorpe Benefits and The HR Gazette happening April 7th and 8th.
The symposium is designed to develop the skills HR needs to get proper leadership buy-in on group benefits plans. Over two days attendees will hear from guest experts in panels and join in with lively debate. Register here: eventbrite.ca/e/the-benefits-and-wellness-superhero-symposium
The agenda includes online presentations and lots of practical takeaways:
- Top Trends in Benefits and Wellness
- What Companies are Doing to Manage the Area of Mental Health
- A Proprietary Measurement Tool that Determines the Success of Benefits Programs
- Strategies for Better Communication of Benefits Plans to Employees
- How to Control and Understand your Group Benefits Plan Pricing
This conversation was originally part of an HRchat podcast interview between The HR Gazette's Bill Banham and Roger Thorpe, Founder at Thorpe Benefits. Listen to the full show here: hr-gazette.com/event-preview-benefits-and-wellness-superhero-symposium-by-thorpe-benefits-and-hr-gazette