How Mohawk Industries built a culture of health and wellness – with access to care right at the workplace

For Mohawk Industries, employee health and wellness go beyond compensation and benefits – they’re a core part of company culture. 

“We are focused on growing and evolving our workplace benefits strategy to meet our population's ever-changing needs – and this starts with building a culture rooted in health and wellness,” said Kitty Hardin, director of employee benefits at Mohawk, a global leader in flooring design, sourcing, manufacturing, and distribution headquartered in Calhoun, Georgia. With nearly 41,000 employees, Hardin knows firsthand navigating health care can be challenging. “We strive to provide solutions that help every employee harness the full power of their benefits.”  

The Mohawk Healthy Life Care Team gather for an annual training in Ringgold, Georgia

In a partnership that spans more than 14 years, Mohawk and Evernorth Workplace Care have developed a holistic, personalized strategy that prioritizes convenient access to care, right in the workplace. As part of their covered benefits, Mohawk employees across the United States can take advantage of high quality, affordable health care and coaching through onsite  health and wellness centers as well as virtually. A wide range of services is offered including primary care, acute care for illnesses or other issues, physical therapy, and behavioral therapy. The goal is to make health care more convenient and accessible. 

A holistic, personalized approach to workplace health and wellness

A core tenant of Mohawk’s culture of health is its focus on total population health. For Hardin, improving health outcomes doesn't stop with individual employees – it extends to their families. Her motto is “healthiest and safest population,” and Mohawk achieves this by making health and wellness benefits simple to navigate and by providing financial incentives for families to engage with their benefits. 

As part of their culture of health, Mohawk conducts integrated biometric screenings in their onsite health and wellness centers every two years to better understand employees’ individual needs. These screenings, which include blood pressure, body mass index, and glucose and cholesterol levels, act as a starting point to provide personalized recommendations around goal setting, coaching, and other wellness services. Core to the strategy is promoting preventive care, a key to reducing claims and preventing chronic conditions from developing. Currently, 97% of Mohawk employees participate in the biannual biometric screenings. 

Mohawk’s health and wellness centers also offer employees mental health resources, including behavioral health professionals who can seamlessly integrate their services with other clinical resources. “If one of our employees comes to an onsite center for blood work but they’re struggling emotionally due to a divorce or financial problems, they can walk down the hall and see a behavioral specialist – it’s total wraparound care,” Hardin said. With a variety of virtual options available, these same connection points are also made available to employees who don’t have physical proximity to an onsite health and wellness center. 

Providing the right care, where and when it is needed most

An important aspect of Mohawk’s wellness strategy is connecting workers to the right level of care, when and where they need it most. This hinges on their hybrid approach. Hardin said, “With 12 onsite health and wellness centers and seven virtual solutions, each employee has access to convenient care.” Additionally, dedicated Evernorth care teams are assigned to serve each employee and their family, helping them to navigate their health and wellness journeys.

Mohawk and Evernorth take this model a step further to drive greater site-of-care connection based on the employee’s diagnosed conditions. When an employee is treated for a specific disease state or chronic condition – coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, hypertension, diabetes, or respiratory illness, to name a few – the employee’s care team receives a notification and puts a plan in place to help improve health engagement, set goals, and improve outcomes. And the numbers are promising. For example, 81% of Mohawk employees who made coronary artery disease-related claims are now engaging with their team on a care path. 

Key elements to a successful health and wellness strategy

Reflecting on the key elements that add up to a successful strategy, Hardin stressed the importance of listening to employee feedback and pivoting when things aren’t working. It’s about creating a culture of trust, she said, which in turn translates into improved outcomes and higher engagement around health care. 

As an illustration, Hardin described her relationship with the nurse at Mohawk’s headquarters. “She knows everything about me: my family, my kids, everything – she’s really a part of the culture and it’s that accountability that drives me to be engaged in my own health,” Hardin said. “The providers and staff are involved in your life and in your health, and even though we have a large population scattered all over the country, we try to take the same approach and foster that familiar, supportive culture.” 

She added this culture must be paired with a strategy grounded in data and technology – emphasizing the importance of Mohawk’s biometric campaign. “In the past success meant standing up new programs, but now we’re able to personalize our population’s health journey and use technology to create connections previously unimaginable,” she said.

Hardin noted their evolved workplace health and wellness strategy wouldn’t have been possible without the leadership of Kim Johns, who held Hardin’s role before she retired. She also credited the Mohawk executive leadership team, noting a successful strategy is impossible without leaders who truly see the inextricable link between employee health and company success.