EWI was selected to be one of the top 10 Best Employers in Ohio for 2014 by the Ohio Chamber of Commerce and the Ohio Chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management.   This award, our THIRD IN FOUR YEARS, is based upon employee responses to questions in the recent Associate Engagement Survey.  With a survey participation rate of close to 90%, associates responded to an 80-question survey regarding a wide variety of employer practices.  Our results were bench marked against other mid-sized companies across the State to determine if we made the cut as a “Best Employer.”  EWI will be listed as such in a publication to be distributed to over 15,000 Chamber-member businesses throughout the state of Ohio.

EWI’s success as an organization is a direct reflection of the amazing people committed to our vision and core values.  Our culture is strong and the people are awesome!  They are, in fact, the best…which is good!

EWI has initiated an IRaD focused on materials, processes, and technical needs for plastics additive manufacturing (AM). This program will examine both thermoplastic and thermoset materials, composites, and processes. While almost 75% of all AM involves polymer materials, a large portion of that is used for making models or curiosities. In this program, EWI strives to define the technology gaps that need to be filled to make polymer AM viable for producing useful parts from advanced materials. We are looking for input regarding potential end uses and desired performance for plastic components produced by AM. Please forward your comments regarding your needs and wants in polymer AM. Your comments will not be shared outside of EWI, but could impact the research being conducted. Now is your turn to be heard.

Also check out the Additive Manufacturing Consortium which is housed at EWI. This is an industry group of interested companies that work together to further the technical growth of AM. You can find out more about the AMC at www.ewi.org. Click on the Centers tab for more information.

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EWI’s Bike-to-Work Team

Recently EWI was invited to join a colloquium of industry, academic and health professionals in Washington D.C. to discuss the critical role employers can play in promoting good health behaviors by employees and their families.  At this meeting, I represented medium-sized companies in the midst of “giants” like Microsoft, IBM, Walgreens, Harvard, and Centers for Disease Control. How did EWI end up there?  

It started several years ago when we decided to update our Fitness Center and wellness programming. We established an employee “Wellness Committee” and started thinking about a strategic (read: “less random”) approach to health promotion. We offered discounted health insurance premiums for Associates who completed a Health Risk Assessment, and more than 80% took advantage of it. The HRA data identified weight management as our primary health challenge. In response, we developed programming to promote activity (like our annual Bike-to-work competition), and healthy eating (like our on-site Weight Watchers program).

Positive results convinced our insurer to place us in a special pool of low-risk employers. This, in turn, helped us mitigate big jumps in annual premiums and gave our employees access to more wellness resources through ERC Health. And this led to reduced premiums for the first time in years! 

Recently a new employee stopped by my office and said he had never worked at a place that valued good health so much.  He decided it was time to stop his 20-year smoking habit and asked for help. THAT is a good sign of a growing “culture of wellness”.

So, it’s no surprise that EWI – for the second year in a row – has been named one of the Healthiest Employers in Central Ohio by Columbus Business First newspaper!

http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/blog/2014/02/healthiest-employers-class-of-2014.html