2023 HR Impact Awards: Culver Academies

When Shellie Hicks joined Culver Academies as chief human resources officer in 2021, she noticed that the organization offered many benefits—almost all health- and wellness-related. Not only that, but there were so many programs that employees didn’t know what they had or how valuable they were. 

Later that year, she and her team put all the benefits under one umbrella—the 360-Degree Wellbeing Program—designed to get employees to focus on their mind, spirit and body. Culver Academies sits along the shores of Lake Maxinkuckee in Culver, a couple of hours north of Indianapolis. It is a coeducational, private boarding high school that includes Culver Military Academy for boys and Culver Girls Academy, as well as a six-week summer school and camp programs for students ages 9-18.

“Because our school is focused on whole-person education and has a strong focus on mind, spirit and body, we wanted to make sure whatever we did incorporated broader than just physical activities,” Hicks said.

The program has three pillars: 

• Resources and tools, which includes a variety of financial, social/emotional, spiritual, community and physical well-being services.
  Employees can earn points for volunteering, participating in community activities, attending school sporting and arts events, spiritual services—even free financial planning. Hicks said employees have used the incentives to organize a team to volunteer at a food bank, donate blood, get certified in CPR and build with Habitat for Humanity.

• Prevention. Culver partnered with Marathon Health in 2012 to open a health center on its campus staffed by primary care providers. It’s become so popular that the center has expanded its hours and added a pediatric service. Hicks said 90% of Culver employees engage with the health center and report 96% satisfaction with the experience. Employees who have been identified as high or moderate risk of illness have 98% engagement.
• Condition management. Payroll Administrator and Retirement Specialist Michelle Avery told IBJ the story of one employee who hadn’t thought much about physical well-being until he got a smart watch. He soon discovered he had an arrhythmia and was able to seek treatment. “We’re helping our employees to create awareness about themselves and how to best care for themselves,” she said.

Hicks said chronic conditions account for 86% of health care dollars spent at Culver. “The majority of those are avoidable with better lifestyle choices,” she said. “If an employee is diagnosed with a chronic condition, Culver wants to connect them to the best resources possible.”

For employees who have engaged in the health center and have presented elevated risk factors, 80% have shown improvements in their biometric levels.•

Check out more HR impact award honorees.