No one skips lunch

Running a successful business takes a mix of the right ingredients. High productivity from happy employees and a great benefits package are just part of the recipe. For Pam Sartell, owner of The Sartell Group in Minneapolis, many of the employee benefits start in the kitchen. Sartell stocks the company kitchen with healthy ingredients for breakfast and lunch, and proves that the more you give, the more you get back. Since she started purchasing groceries for the staff, Sartell has seen higher retention rates, fewer sick days and higher overall energy levels in employees.

Adding a full menu of healthy benefits

Not only do employees at The Sartell Group enjoy healthy meal options, but they also receive additional wellness benefits like specially designed ergonomic workspaces, lunchtime fitness opportunities and an in-office wellness room for relaxation and power naps. “I looked at what I had missed as an employee,” said Sartell. “That’s how I saw the benefits of making sure that my employees were taken care of and had healthy opportunities provided to them.”

And the secret ingredient to keep the business thriving and fun? A healthy dose of humor. “Humor is a huge part of this company,” Sartell continued. “We like to have fun here, and the more you laugh, the more relaxed people will feel, and I think that’s a promotion to health.”

Employee Jan van Oppen sees a similar connection. “We do a lot of hard work, and we have some pretty serious deadlines,” van Oppen said. “But at the same time, we have a lot of fun. It’s hard to say what the right mix is between hard work and fun, but somehow at The Sartell Group, we have found the right mix.”

Making it better

The employees at The Sartell Group are reaping the benefits, too. They enjoy not having to pack a lunch every morning and knowing when they do their own grocery shopping that Pam will have some of their favorite foods stocked in the kitchen come Monday morning.

“We have so many great benefits and a really fun work environment. The kind of investment Pam makes in the employees’ happiness really sees a great return through work ethic and job performance,” said Mary Jacobs, another employee of The Sartell Group. “Pam’s been able to attract and retain great people. They don’t leave.”

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