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2018 Best Places to Work in Direct Selling – Jeunesse

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“At Jeunesse, all of our employees know they have a voice and that their individual contributions are important to our success.”
—Scott Lewis, Chief Visionary Officer

 

Company / Jeunesse Global
Headquarters / Lake Mary, Florida
Number of Full-Time Employees / Approximately 800 worldwide
Year Founded / 2009

What makes your company one of the best places to work in direct selling?
While the Jeunesse Family is spread across the globe, we share a set of values and a common purpose that unites us all, regardless of region, language or culture. That family spirit really defines our corporate culture, and I truly believe this is what makes Jeunesse stand apart, attracting additional high-quality, engaged employees who strengthen our mission to create positive impact in the world.

What is your top priority when it comes to maintaining a great work environment?
We make our employees feel valued by supporting their growth and skill development and empowering them to be effective in their role. We also want our employees to know we value their thoughts and ideas and have an open-door environment where employees are free to have open dialogue with everyone—from those in entry level positions, up to the company founders.

What benefits do you offer to your employees?
Jeunesse provides a robust benefits package that covers 100 percent of the cost of employee medical insurance, life insurance, and a 401(k) plan. We also offer a state-of-the art onsite gym and a unique PTO policy that allows employees to take paid time off, as needed, rather than having a set number of earned hours.

What unique or unusual benefits do you also offer?
Through our Employee Perks Program, employees can enjoy special discounts on local sporting and other events, movies, hotels, car rentals and mobile phone service. We offer each employee a $75 monthly product allowance, which they can apply toward deeply discounted Jeunesse Youth Enhancement System products.

How does your company celebrate a job well done?
We celebrate our employees through our Employee of the Month program, quarterly team-building events, and catered lunches. Hard work is also acknowledged through annual performance reviews and salary increases.

How does your company support team members in their personal and professional development?
We encourage employees to attend seminars and leadership training, picking up the tab for job-related training. We are also very big proponents of promoting internally, moving people up in the organization. We give loyal and high-performing employees the chance to grow, develop and move into different positions and departments.

How does your company give back to the community?
Giving back isn’t just something we do here at Jeunesse, it’s the central reason why we exist in the first place. We are driven by the desire of our founders to not only help others realize their dreams, but to also make a difference in the lives of children around the world through our nonprofit foundation, Jeunesse Kids.
The mission of Jeunesse Kids is to empower communities to give children a brighter future. Jeunesse Kids has sponsored villages in China, Africa, Ecuador and India, providing a sustainable program that helps lift communities out of poverty.
At all major Jeunesse events, Jeunesse Kids partners with a local children’s charity to fund specific projects that support the needs of children in that community, such as provide children’s hospitals with lifesaving equipment, build schools, and provide access to clean water.

How do you develop and maintain trust between all levels of your company?
We develop trust through empowerment and communication. Employees are empowered with the knowledge and resources to meet their goals and know we believe in them. Our open-door policy helps foster meaningful conversation.

What is the single most fun day of the year at your company? Why?
Jeunesse was founded on Sept. 9, 2009 at 9 pm. We chose this date and time specifically because the number 9 represents longevity and our desire to build a company with real staying power. So, Sept. 9 is always a special day for us at Jeunesse. Our annual company anniversary is a company-wide celebration where everyone gathers to reflect on the success we’ve achieved and looks forward to the successes yet to come.

What is something new that you’ve added in 2018 to enhance your workplace?
The newest enhancement to our workplace is our Employee Incentive Program where those who are selected as Employees of the Month are entered into a drawing for an all-expenses-paid trip to one of the Jeunesse events around the word.

 

 Best Places To Work In Direct Selling 2018 Honorees!

Pick up the April 2018 issue here in which this article appeared.

2018 Best Places to Work in Direct Selling – USANA

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“I wanted to create a workplace where employees never have to feel like they have to put their work above the needs of their family.”
—Kevin Guest, CEO
Company / USANA
Headquarters / Salt Lake City, Utah
Number of Full-Time Employees / 818
Year Founded / 1992

What makes your company one of the best places to work in direct selling?
USANA strives to offer its more than 800 Utah employees an unbeatable workplace. The company offers impressive benefits, including free onsite workout facilities and a personal fitness trainer, on-site CrossFit, yoga, and bootcamp classes, a generous annual profit-sharing program, free company products, excellent health and life insurance packages and regular health fairs and voluntary fitness contests. These benefits are designed to provide USANA employees with an environment that makes them feel happy and excited to go to work every day.

How does your company support team members in their personal and professional development?
Our tuition reimbursement program pays for undergraduate and graduate school for employees, provided that the courses/degree is related to the employee’s job and/or career path or is in the field related to or of interest to USANA. We also offer monthly classes for employees where they can learn anything from the importance of heart health, to how a 401(k) works, to how to buy your first home.

How does your company give back to the community?


 Through our nonprofit charity organization, the True Health Foundation, the company has been able to execute several local charity initiatives this past year. 

  • On Arbor Day, a large group of employees helped clean up a local park and plant dozens of trees.
  • On World Service Week, groups of employees were allowed to choose a service activity that spoke to them the most and spend a day volunteering instead of being in the office.
  • USANA raises money throughout the year to help the students at a local school with daily necessities that they might not normally have access to.
  • On the National Day of Giving, the USANA True Health Foundation, with the help of the Children’s Hunger Fund, hosted a Food Pak assembly in the home office warehouse. Throughout the day, employees and local Associates worked side by side packing boxes with fruits, vegetables, pastas, and protein, and prepping them to be shipped to those in need around the world. By the end of the day more than 300 employees and Associates boxed up 100,000 meals. Twenty thousand are going to emergency pantries throughout the Salt Lake area, and the remaining 80,000 are being spread across the globe to families who need them the most.

What is the single most fun day of the year at your company? Why?

There are a lot of fun days to choose from at USANA, but profit sharing day seems to get the employees the most excited. Every year in February when USANA announces its financial results from the previous year, it also announces how much of USANA’s profits from net sales can be shared with employees. Profit sharing 2018 gave employees payment of 10.1 percent of their annual salary, which equaled an additional five weeks of pay. So you can imagine how much excitement is generated by profit sharing day.

What is something new that you’ve added in 2018 to enhance your workplace?
At the February quarterly meeting in 2018, USANA announced some exciting new benefits to employees that are designed to give employees more time with their families and to create an even happier workplace. USANA added 16 additional hours of PTO for employees that is designated as “family hours.” This allows employees to spend time throughout the year with their families without worrying about using vacation or sick hours. On top of the family hours, employees were also given two additional “floating holidays” that can be used as vacation. But the biggest announcement was that USANA is now offering 12 weeks of paid leave for primary caregivers (typically maternity leave) and six weeks of paid leave for secondary caregivers (typically paternity leave).

 

 Best Places To Work In Direct Selling 2018 Honorees!

Pick up the April 2018 issue here in which this article appeared.

2018 Best Places to Work in Direct Selling – LifeVantage

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“We have the brightest minds in the business, and we want them to know that we value who they are and the amazing work they do.”
—Darren Jensen, President and CEO

 

Company / LifeVantage Corporation
Headquarters / Sandy, Utah
Number of Full-Time Employees / 172 in the U.S., 220 globally
Year Founded / 2009

What makes your company one of the best places to work in direct selling?
At LifeVantage, we have a singular focus to all our decisions: “Will it better the lives of all involved?” If so, we are all for it.
That carries over into our relationships with one another. So, we are constantly innovating and looking for ways to empower our employees. We want to ensure that they are aware of their immense value—not just as employees, but as people.

What is your top priority when it comes to maintaining a great work environment?
Ensuring that each employee feels individually valued. We have the brightest minds in the business, and we want them to know that we value who they are and the amazing work they do. We find fun ways to recognize each other’s accomplishments, and look for unexpected ways to say “job well done.” Things like providing lunches, snacks, gift cards, notes, or unexpected gifts. We also provide challenges and rewards, which are opportunities for teams to be unified in something beyond their work. For instance we are currently offering a challenge for teams to meet their personal health goals.

What benefits do you offer to your employees?
I love talking about these. We have an insurance package that is superior to anything I’ve personally come across in my nearly three decades in the business—paying 90 percent of our employee’s insurance premiums, not just for them, but their families as well. We also offer unlimited time off as we firmly believe that a good work-life balance is essential to long-term happiness and growth. We provide opportunities to travel to beautiful destinations, tickets to major league soccer games, and a 401(k) with immediate employer match.

How does your company celebrate a job well done?
We celebrate our successes together. Whether as a team or as an entire company. We look to celebrate in the ways that mean the most to our employees. It may be an afternoon with their families at the movies (we like to catch the blockbusters right when they are released); visits to the local food trucks; catered lunch in the office; gift cards; and good old-fashioned thank you notes.

How does your company support team members in their personal and professional development?
We provide opportunities for our employees to attend trainings and seminars to add new skills to their repertoire and continue developing the skills they have. Because we value our employees as talented people, we want to help them progress. When we have openings, we look at our own talent first. We love providing opportunities for growth to our very own team.

How does your company give back to the community?
LifeVantage Legacy allows our distributors, partners, and employees to give back, both locally and internationally. We partner with global organizations that share the same commitment. In the past few years, we’ve hosted five home-building trips in Mexico; sponsored a trip to a remote area of Thailand to provide surgeries fixing child cleft lips, cleft palates and other facial deformities; and supported a variety of initiatives to provide a brighter future for children in our own communities. During one of our recent Elite Academies (distributor conventions), LifeVantage rallied to support hurricane victims in Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico. Our humanitarian efforts have become so engrained in our culture we have applied for our 501(c)3 status.

How do you develop and maintain trust between all levels of your company?
LifeVantage prides itself on and strives for transparency, not only financially but in all aspects of the business. The company also strives to keep its line of communication open and free flowing. We host regular, companywide staff meetings to report our progress and allow our employees to hear directly from our executive team. A key component to every staff meeting is the opportunity to ask any question that comes to mind. We want to celebrate our success together!

What is something new that you’ve added in 2018 to enhance your workplace?
One of the most notable adjustments LifeVantage has made to its benefits plan in 2018 is that its 401(k) employer match program is available to employees immediately upon hire. Additionally, employees become vested in one year’s time. LifeVantage covers 90 percent of the premiums for health and dental insurance for its employees and their families.

 

 Best Places To Work In Direct Selling 2018 Honorees!

Pick up the April 2018 issue here in which this article appeared.

2018 Best Places to Work in Direct Selling – Xyngular

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“We believe deeply in our mission to empower change, and we attract people that also believe deeply in empowerment and helping people grow.”
—Steve Elder, COO
Company / Xyngular Corp.
Headquarters / Lehi, Utah
Number of Full-Time Employees / 118
Year Founded / 2008

What makes your company one of the best places to work in direct selling?
We believe deeply in our mission to empower change and we attract people that also believe deeply in empowerment and helping people grow. Because of this, Xyngular creates an environment of excellence, passion and purpose.

What is your top priority when it comes to maintaining a great work environment?
The executive team’s top priority is to continually provide clarity around our purpose, and help people look through that lens when they make decisions. We serve the distributor and the customer experience through that lens. Additionally, we reinforce the value of hiring great people.

What benefits do you offer to your employees? What unique or unusual benefits do you also offer?
We provide employees the traditional benefits like medical, dental, 401(k), and supplemental insurance, but we really shine with our additional benefits. We offer unlimited PTO because we care about our people and their families and we truly believe that their families are extensions of the Xyngular team. We have leadership development programs that any employee can participate in. We also have massage day, recess, wellness challenges, additional trainings, and our parties are amazing.

How does your company celebrate a job well done?
We celebrate as a whole team to reinforce that it truly is a team effort to achieve our success. And we love to WOW our people. In 2017, we had a goal which we knew that would cause our employees to stretch and push through. Realizing the difficulty and time required to hit the goal, we offered employees an incentive of $1,000 to travel wherever they wanted and spend time off work with their families. We successfully hit this goal and we have seen employees travel all over the world.

How does your company support team members in their personal and professional development?
The most important thing that we emphasize is for leaders of all levels to get to know their people. We do performance reviews and encourage one-on-ones from leaders to their direct reports. Performance reviews are designed to prompt leaders to figure out what employees want to do and how to improve personally and professionally.

We buy books and training courses for the employees because we believe so deeply in the power of our people. Every employee keeps the books whether they stay with us or not. This practice is all part of our encouragement for them to grow and develop.

How does your company give back to the community?
We are in active discussions of what Xyngular’s formal charitable organization will be. For now, we do whatever we can when a need arises in our community. For example, when the flood in West Virginia happened, we asked our distributors what organization we could support in the local market and donated money to their suggestion of the Fireman’s Fund. We recently went to Dominican Republic and had the opportunity to assist at a charity. Wherever we are, we look for opportunities to lift and empower.

Our CEO Russ Fletcher traveled down to Puerto Rico to show love and support to victims of Hurricane Irma. We force-qualified the pay for the distributors down there because they were unable to work. Russ took cash donated by distributors and employees and matched by Xyngular, and purchased appliances. Personal visits were made to as many distributors as could be found to let them know that we are looking out for them.

How do you develop and maintain trust between all levels of your company?
To me, trust is established and maintained on two areas: character and competence.
When employees trust our character they trust our integrity, and they can feel confident to act with integrity at all levels of the company because of our leadership. The second piece is our competence. Xyngular has grown 76 percent over the last year. These results are very clear to people because they can see what we are encouraging does work, therefore people will buy into it and continue to perpetuate it.

 

 Best Places To Work In Direct Selling 2018 Honorees!

Pick up the April 2018 issue here in which this article appeared.

2018 Best Places to Work in Direct Selling – Pure Romance

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“My top priority is maintaining a positive, collaborative culture where every employee feels fulfilled, valued and challenged.”
—Chris Cicchinelli, President and CEO
Company / Pure Romancel
Headquarters / Cincinnati, Ohio
Number of Full-Time Employees / 161
Year Founded / 1993

What makes your company one of the best places to work in direct selling?
We have the opportunity to truly get to know our Consultants and see the direct impact that our corporate office makes on their lives. The Pure Romance corporate office is filled with excited, creative, interesting, and talented individuals who are dedicated to the cause and it shines through in their work and attitudes. Our growing company allows for new projects and ideas to become reality. Many of the Consultants start in this company because they are looking to improve their financial situation and help provide for their families. It is our honor to support 23,000 women worldwide who are educating, empowering, and entertaining millions across the globe each year.

What is your top priority when it comes to maintaining a great work environment?
I believed it all comes down to culture. My top priority is maintaining a positive, collaborative culture where every employee feels fulfilled, valued and challenged. We have a fast-paced environment that thrives on engaged employees.

What benefits do you offer to your employees?
In additional to medical, eye, and dental benefits, we also offer yoga, meditation, and personal training on-site. We offer free downtown parking and unlimited access to coffee, lattes, soda and bottled water.

What unique or unusual benefits do you also offer?
We have a new employee onboarding program that pairs new employees with seasoned employees to help them get acclimated and serve as additional support. Our employees also have the opportunity to travel the world as staff hosts for our incentive trips.

How does your company celebrate a job well done?
We offer an annual bonus program based on performance. We also recognize employees with recognition dinners and have an internal peer-to-peer recognition program tied to rewards and PTO days. I know recognition is important for our Consultants and it is equally as important to our corporate office. We have great company parties for all of our employees, and our goal is for our employees to develop bonds with their co-workers and create a “family” environment.

How does your company support team members in their personal and professional development?
We provide employees with opportunities to participate in workshops and conferences. We also encourage our employees to share their long-term career goals, and our executive team will help them outline a path of purposeful development.

How does your company give back to the community?
We support several nonprofits including the United Way, Cincinnati Pride, Proscan Pink Ribbon Breast Cancer Center and The American Heart Association. Pure Romance is the largest donor to our founder’s foundation, The Patty Brisben Foundation for Women’s Sexual Health. I also launched The Living with Change Foundation to support transgender youth and their families. For the last three years our employees have really enjoyed being a part of Adopt a Class as well. We have adopted first grade classes at inner city schools.

How do you develop and maintain trust between all levels of your company?
I am a goal oriented leader, and I involve all of the employees in achieving company goals.
When an employee shows initiative and brings great things to the table they are rewarded and trusted with important projects.

What is the single most fun day of the year at your company? Why?
We love being a part of downtown Cincinnati, and one of the best days at our company is the Cincinnati Pride parade and festival, which we sponsor. It is a day where our employees and their families come down and support the company and the LGBT community by working our booth and walking in the parade. The positive vibe and energy is great, and our employees love it!

What is something new that you’ve added in 2018 to enhance your workplace?
We are adding an employee giving back program to help our employees financially when an unforeseen burden occurs personally or in their family. We spend a lot of time with our “work family,” and if someone needs help we want to rise to the occasion and provide that help. Our employees elect to contribute to the fund and facilitate the distribution.

 

 Best Places To Work In Direct Selling 2018 Honorees!

Pick up the April 2018 issue here in which this article appeared.

2018 Best Places to Work in Direct Selling – Isagenix

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“Isagenix is committed to providing an exceptional workplace that is mutually respectful, beneficial, productive, and fun.”
—Travis Ogden, CEO
Company / Isagenix
Headquarters / Gilbert, Arizona
Number of Full-Time Employees / 918
Year Founded / 2002

What makes your company one of the best places to work in direct selling?
Isagenix is committed to providing an exceptional workplace that is mutually respectful, beneficial, productive, and fun. Our company’s 12 core values are instrumental in creating this workplace. Those values are: health, freedom, innovation, integrity, contribution, gratitude, goal-driven, purpose, transformation, leadership development, fun, and family.

What is your top priority when it comes to maintaining a great work environment?
Isagenix strives to ensure employees feel like they’re part of a family—one that genuinely cares about everyone’s health, happiness, and success. Competitive compensation, terrific benefits, and an engaging corporate culture illustrate the company’s commitment to employees and the employee experience.
Husband-and-wife team Jim and Kathy Coover co-founded the business and serve on the Senior Leadership Team with their son, Erik, and it’s not unusual for several family members to work together at Isagenix.

What benefits do you offer to your employees?
Isagenix offers affordable medical, dental, and vision benefits, and contributes an average of 84 percent toward the total cost of medical plan premiums. Medical benefits include a high deductible health plan/health savings account (HSA) option in which the company contributes funds into HSA accounts: $500 per year for individuals and $1,000 per year for families.
Additional benefits include: After three months of employment, Isagenix matches 100 percent of an employee’s 401(k) or Roth contributions, up to 4 percent; and full-time employees receive a minimum of three weeks of vacation per year, among other benefits.

What unique or unusual benefits do you also offer?
Employees can participate in our annual employee fitness challenge, the IsaBody Challenge®, at no cost. This 16-week Challenge offers employees the opportunity to begin or continue a lifelong transformational journey toward better overall health.

How does your company celebrate a job well done?
Isagenix publicly recognizes employees for their contributions throughout the year at department meetings and at our annual Employee Recognition Awards Ceremony with the Performance Award and Member Services Award.

How does your company support team members in their personal and professional development?
mployees who have completed one year of full-time employment may be eligible for tuition reimbursement for college‑level courses or professional certification classes. Isagenix also provides a comprehensive learning environment that features organizational development training.
From a personal development standpoint, employees are encouraged to volunteer within the community, either with co-workers or on their own.

How does your company give back to the community?
Isagenix supports the community through monetary and product donations, sponsorships, and volunteer activities. Our largest beneficiary is Make-A-Wish®, which is headquartered in Phoenix.
Since 2012, Isagenix and our customers have raised nearly $9 million for the nonprofit, helping it grant more than 938 wishes worldwide to deserving children.
We also support the Better Business Bureau and its Ethical Athlete Awards, as well as disaster relief. In 2017, Isagenix donated nearly $4 million to disaster relief efforts in Houston, Mexico, Florida and the Caribbean.
From a volunteer perspective, our largest companywide volunteer effort is our annual Global Give Back Day. We’re also pleased to share
that in December, our board voted to create the Isagenix Legacy Foundation.

How do you develop and maintain trust between all levels of your company?
Our leaders lead by example, treating each other, employees, associates, and business partners with respect, which encourages open lines of communication and a high level of trust. CEO Travis Ogden hosts quarterly “Power of Purpose” meetings with other company leaders where the agenda includes emphasizing our ethical standards and expectations. Our quarterly employee “What Drives Us” meeting, led by Senior Vice President of Global Field Development & Culture Erik Coover, fosters employee engagement and a culture of open communication. The Human Resources Department lends support by organizing mandatory trainings regarding several ethical topics.

What is the single most fun day of the year at your company? Why?
In mid-December, our Culture Council created our first-ever employee “share the shot” to celebrate our year-over-year performance.
At Isagenix, our Senior Leadership Team, donning Santa hats and accompanied by Culture Council “elves,” pushed decorated carts filled with e+™ energy shots through the halls of our headquarters and handed out shots to every employee.

What is something new that you’ve added in 2018 to enhance your workplace?
Because working from home can benefit employee productivity and satisfaction, we have added a remote work policy. Employees who have completed 90 days at Isagenix and are performing at an acceptable level may be eligible to work from home for up to three days per month with manager approval.

 

 Best Places To Work In Direct Selling 2018 Honorees!

Pick up the April 2018 issue here in which this article appeared.

2018 Best Places to Work in Direct Selling – Zurvita

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“Our philosophy is the higher you climb, the more you serve the brand-new person.”
—Brant Wallace, Senior Vice President, Resources and Strategy
Company / Zurvita Inc.
Headquarters / Houston, Texas
Number of Full-Time Employees / 99
Year Founded / 2008

What makes your company one of the best places to work in direct selling?
Culture, single focus and clear vision.

What is your top priority when it comes to maintaining a great work environment?

Cultural alignment across all levels and departments to our 3 Founding Principles.

  1. Build a company that honors and glorifies God. We do this by not judging people but by loving them right where they are in life.
  2. Develop a company with humble leadership. Our philosophy is the higher you climb, the more you serve the brand-new person.
  3. Create an environment where people can win at every level. The culture at Zurvita celebrates all successes with Independent Consultants at every level.

What benefits do you offer to your employees?

  • Health, Vision, and Dental: 100 percent paid by Zurvita
  • 401(k) participation
  • Corporate wellness plan: Free product and gym membership that is 75 percent paid by Zurvita
  • Tuition reimbursement program

What unique or unusual benefits do you also offer?
We offer diverse opportunities for employees to volunteer through Zurvita Ministries’ programs, such as Feed 500, Feed 5,000, and Disaster Relief. We have a Corporate Counselling Program for the mental, physical, and spiritual well-being of our employees. We provide Financial Education: Financial Freedom Program, access to retirement specialists, and money managers.
Since Zurvita is in the business of serving people, we offer a voluntary one-year training program that teaches people to serve in ministry. To date, 28 percent of our employees have gone through this training.

How does your company celebrate a job well done?
We have corporate-wide recognition at our monthly corporate update meetings; peer recognition via an employee-administered internal site; and unscheduled perks such as a night out for an employee with their spouse, paid for by Zurvita for great ideas and performance.

How does your company support team members in their personal and professional development?
We provide access to professional training and personal growth resources, such as Lynda.com and Success on Demand, at no cost to the employee. Also each department head teaches a monthly professional/ personal growth subject or book to their teams.

How does your company give back to the community?

Through Feed 500, 10 months out of the year, Zurvita partners with its corporate foundation, Zurvita Ministries, to go out into impoverished areas in the United States to feed at least 500 people.
Through Feed 5,000, this year we will be feeding at least 500 people in 10 cities across the United States in one day.
Our disaster relief efforts include:

  • Zurvita paid for its staff members to rebuild the Houston Area/ Texas Gulf Coast Region for eight weeks following Hurricane Harvey last year, by going out in teams once a week to tear out and clean up water-logged homes, move victims, volunteer at shelters, and deliver supplies to those in need.
  • For 16 weeks following Harvey, we opened our offices and hosted a local television station, KHOU, that had lost everything.
  • Following Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria; earthquakes in Mexico; and, the fires in California, Zurvita partnered with Zurvita Ministries to start a Disaster Relief Fund that raised over $200,000 to help disaster victims.
  • In February 2018, Zurvita sent a team of employees and field consultants to Puerto Rico for one week to feed and provide supplies to victims of Hurricane Maria.

How do you develop and maintain trust between all levels of your company?
We provide communication, transparency, and collaboration through monthly strategy, monthly staff, weekly management, weekly department, and weekly team meetings and huddles, so that employees hold each other accountable, bring issues to the table by focusing on the problem, and encourage one another.

What is the single most fun day of the year at your company? Why?
Thanksgiving lunch/ dinner because it is a time when each employee candidly (and sometimes emotionally) shares stories of why they are grateful, how the company has impacted their life, and what their goals are for the following year.

What is something new that you’ve added in 2018 to enhance your workplace?
We have additional volunteer programs and opportunities (Feed 5,000 and Disaster Relief). We’ve expanded our Corporate Wellness Program. And we have an employee-built and -administrated website for information and recognition.

 

 Best Places To Work In Direct Selling 2018 Honorees!

Pick up the April 2018 issue here in which this article appeared.

2018 Best Places to Work in Direct Selling – Advocare

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“AdvoCare’s culture is one of positivity and integrity. We are dedicated to collaboration across all functions.”
—Allison Cunningham, Senior Director, Human Resources
Company / AdvoCare International
Headquarters / Plano, Texas
Number of Full-Time Employees / 355
Year Founded / 1993

What makes your company one of the best places to work in direct selling?
AdvoCare is a company dedicated to being “Advocates who Care.” Whether that is our Distributors and their customers or our corporate office, AdvoCare’s culture is one of positivity and integrity. We are dedicated to collaboration across functions.

What is your top priority when it comes to maintaining a great work environment?
Communication between managers, employees, and executives has helped provide a level confidence in leadership and loyalty among the employees. We also work hard to provide a positive and uplifting culture in every department.

What benefits do you offer to your employees?
AdvoCare provides short- and long-term disability, a comprehensive maternity/paternity/adoption leave policy, full health, dental and vision plans, life insurance, tuition and student loan reimbursement programs, wellness program, employee referral program, and a 100 percent match on our 401(k) up to the maximum $18,500!

What unique or unusual benefits do you also offer?
We strive to offer a competitive set of benefits for our employees. Recently AdvoCare has expanded our maternity leave policy paying 100 percent of the employee’s salary for 12 weeks, paternity leave paying 100 percent for 3 weeks, and adoption leave paying 100 percent for 12 weeks. Additionally, AdvoCare strives to help our employees meet financial goals for their future, offering a dollar for dollar match for 401(k) contributions up to the maximum $18,500.

How does your company celebrate a job well done?
On top of the annual review and bonus programs, AdvoCare also offers spot bonuses throughout the year when an employee is nominated for doing an exceptional job. We also have events throughout the year, such as our Crawfish Boil, Texas State Fair-themed Party, Halloween Costume Contest and our annual Thanksgiving Tenure Banquet.

How does your company support team members in their personal and professional development?
One of the things we are proud of offering would be our tuition and student loan reimbursement programs. Classes taken while employed with AdvoCare in accredited courses will be reimbursed a portion of the cost for semester hour. We recently collaborated with tuition.io and implemented a student loan payment program. Every employee who has enrolled with the program will receive a small stipend per month toward the repayment of those loans.

How does your company give back to the community?
In the last 10 years, we have given more than $1 million to food banks across the country, more than $1 million to help military members, veterans and their families and more than $1 million to support organizations focused on children in need. Just last year, AdvoCare donated almost $250,000 to the American Red Cross to address the devastating flooding in Houston, Florida and Puerto Rico, and the wildfires in California. AdvoCare has also founded the AdvoCare Foundation, focused on a mission to help end the childhood obesity epidemic. Our goal is to give $1 million in grants by 2020 to partner organizations on the frontlines. It’s not just talk, it’s in our name—AdvoCare is a collection of amazing people dedicated to being advocates who care.

How do you develop and maintain trust between all levels of your company?
AdvoCare has worked very hard at cultivating transparency at all levels. We host quarterly town halls with our managers and bi-yearly town halls with every employee. These meetings include candid conversations on our financials, upcoming announcements and a time for Q&A with executive leadership. Additionally, our executives walk throughout the building frequently each month and says hello to every employee, giving people the opportunity to ask questions in a comfortable environment.

What is the single most fun day of the year at your company? Why?
Our Annual Thanksgiving Tenure Banquet seems to be a favorite with employees. We take time out of our day the week before Thanksgiving to sit down with our colleagues over lunch and honor those employees who have dedicated years to our company. It is often a day of reflection and a time to say thank you to everyone who makes our company great.

What is something new that you’ve added in 2018 to enhance your workplace?
We have added fresh markets in each building this past year and it seems to be a hit! The markets offer our employees fresh food options at a low price.

 

 Best Places To Work In Direct Selling 2018 Honorees!

Pick up the April 2018 issue here in which this article appeared.

2018 Best Places to Work in Direct Selling – Team National

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“This is an environment where you’re not afraid to say ‘I don’t know,’ because you are motivated by management to learn every day and find creative solutions.”
—Laura Espinoza, Human Resources Manager
Company / Team National
Headquarters / Davie, Florida
Number of Full-Time Employees / 70
Year Founded / 1997

What makes your company one of the best places to work in direct selling?
What makes Team National one of the best places to work not just in direct selling, but in general, is our executive leadership’s vision and values that drive us to improve as staff in both professional and personal aspects of our lives. Our CEO and all the other executives encourage us daily to grow, to question processes and improve them, to learn new things that will help make us become greater and the company better.

What is your top priority when it comes to maintaining a great work environment?
Top priorities to keep our great work environment are work-life balance and tons of positive reinforcement from upper management. This is an environment where you’re not afraid to say “I don’t know,” because you are motivated by management to learn every day and find creative solutions.

What benefits do you offer to your employees?
We offer full-paid medical insurance along with options for dental and vision coverage, short-term disability, accident insurance, cancer policy, and PTO.

What unique or unusual benefits do you also offer?
We give employees $100 gift cards on their birthdays and free pizzas, salad, and wings every Thursday. Employees also get to take advantage of most membership services provided by Team National, such as wholesale pricing on furniture, discounts on major travel sites and cell phone plans.

How does your company celebrate a job well done?
We host special team lunches and hand out gift cards on a frequent basis to those who go the extra mile. When there is positive feedback by Team National members via email or letters, our CEO takes the time during our staff meetings to read them out loud to everyone. This gives the employee(s) company-wide recognition for their efforts in doing a good job.

How does your company support team members in their personal and professional development?
We have monthly “Personal Growth” sessions for the entire company. In these 30-60-minute-long meetings, executives discuss methods and tips on how to grow both at work and in our personal lives. They share videos by the greatest motivational teachers to fuel us to be our very best beyond just the 9-to-5. Sometimes a few tears are shed from how impacting and meaningful the sessions are. It is a great effort by our CEO and executive team to help staff always strive for growth.

How does your company give back to the community?
Team National has been a giving company since the start. Our founder and CEO’s compassionate and selfless nature have allowed us to participate in charitable events such as providing thousands of mattresses for Hurricane Harvey victims, assisting in evacuations of dozens of animals prior to the storm, and creating Christmas gift boxes for underprivileged children across the world. The generosity of our leaders is so great that we even launched our own branded charity called TN H.O.P.E., which stands for Helping Other People Everyday.

How do you develop and maintain trust between all levels of your company?
We are big on open-door policies and no manager is ever too busy to listen to a staff member’s concerns or ideas.

What is the single most fun day of the year at your company? Why?
Employee Appreciation Day! In the past years we all have participated in beach activities, bowling competitions, and indoor gaming at Dave & Buster’s. It’s a great day where we can step away from the building and come together to have lots of fun!

What is something new that you’ve added in 2018 to enhance your workplace?
We’ve added “Serving Week for TN H.O.P.E.” to our traditions. During an entire workweek in January, employees are paid a full day to volunteer in different areas such as the Boys & Girls Club, the Humane Society, a retirement home, a homeless shelter, or an in-house meal prepping for the less fortunate. The employees choose what is closest to their heart, and we all work together to lend a helping hand to our beloved community.

 

 Best Places To Work In Direct Selling 2018 Honorees!

Pick up the April 2018 issue here in which this article appeared.

2018 Best Places to Work in Direct Selling – PLEXUS Worldwide

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“We want to continue to ensure our employees have an open, inclusive, and engaging work environment where communication is open, authentic, and transparent.”
—Mary Beth Reisinger, Chief Human Resources Officer
Company / PLEXUS Worldwidel
Headquarters / Scottsdale, Arizona
Number of Full-Time Employees / 390
Year Founded / 2008

What makes your company one of the best places to work in direct selling?
At Plexus, one of our core values is One Plexus. What this means is we collaborate and work together as one team, regardless of our role within the organization. Whether an ambassador or an employee, we all strive to embrace the strong belief of being one team, One Plexus. In addition, Plexus also encourages the belief we are all in the journey together of enhancing the health and happiness of those who support, promote and use Plexus products. We enable employees and ambassadors to change their lives in a positive way through personal and professional development. As an example, we offer extensive leadership training to our ambassadors, which is accompanied by high-value recognition opportunities.

What is your top priority when it comes to maintaining a great work environment?
To continue to ensure our employees have an open, inclusive, and engaging work environment where communication is open, authentic, and transparent.

What unique or unusual benefits do you also offer?
The Friday Spin, a cash prize drawing for eligible employees conducted every Friday; regularly scheduled health and wellness, fitness, and financial education activities such as stretch classes, chair massages, seminars on food facts and your health, and financial planning education sessions; complimentary fresh fruit available in break rooms throughout the building; and quarterly profit-sharing for qualifying employees, which has been paid out every quarter since 2011.

How does your company celebrate a job well done?
In addition to individual recognitions given within each team, Plexus announces recognition awards during the weekly Friday drawings. These awards include peer-to-peer recognition, and the “SuperX” team award, which recognizes team spirit. Plexus also coordinates companywide activities throughout the year to celebrate our overall company successes, as well as Spirit Week events around national holidays.

How does your company support team members in their personal and professional development?
At Plexus, our commitment to our employee development continues to expand. Beginning this year, we will be implementing management and leadership curriculum to enhance employee development across all levels of the organization.

Plexus utilizes a Learning Management System called EmpowerU to provide development opportunities to all levels of our employees. Employees are given the option to choose from a variety of courses designed to enhance themselves personally, such as topics on fitness and health, as well as business related courses covering communication, team building, software skills, and leadership and management courses.

How does your company give back to the community?
We recently launched Plexus Charities with a focus on corporate social responsibility. Our goal is to support both our employees and our ambassadors in the charitable work they have a passion for. In conjunction with Plexus Charities, there are several activities employees have participated in demonstrating their passion for giving back. Some examples are Charity Walk for Phoenix Children’s Hospital; volunteered as Salvation Army kettle bell ringers during the holiday season; in conjunction with Cancer Support Community, a donation drive for The Cinderella Affair, an all-volunteer organization collecting new and gently worn prom dresses; Our Military Kids project where on Veterans Day we donate 5 percent of our total sales; and a food drive for United Food Bank.

How do you develop and maintain trust between all levels of your company?
Our leadership holds “All Hands” meetings every quarter to ensure information is communicated throughout the organization. Additionally, our senior leaders have an open-door policy and actively foster a collaborative environment.

What is the single most fun day of the year at your company? Why?
Each year our Ambassador Leaders earn a recognition trip to Hawaii. Our corporate leaders attend the Hawaii event as well. To include our employees in this celebration, the staff at the corporate office have a Hawaii Day where traditional Hawaiian food, authentic hula dancers, and music is brought in for all to enjoy. In addition to this, on another day during the year we have a Food N’ Fun Festival with food trucks, interactive outdoor games, and a dunk tank. The executive team participates in the dunk tank, which makes it fun for the employees. We work hard and play hard as a One Plexus team.

What is something new that you’ve added in 2018 to enhance your workplace?
In 2018, we launched a new employee learning and development function as well as an internal communications function.

 

 Best Places To Work In Direct Selling 2018 Honorees!

Pick up the April 2018 issue here in which this article appeared.

Reliv U.S Net Sales Decline 8.5% for Q4 2017; Down 8.8% for Full Year

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Reliv International, Inc., a Chesterfield, Missouri-based seller of nutritional supplements, has reported its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year 2017.

Reliv reported net sales of $9.9 million for the fourth quarter of 2017, compared with net sales of $10.6 million for the fourth quarter of 2016. U.S. net sales decreased by 8.5 percent for the quarter compared with the same quarter in 2016. Net sales outside of the United States increased by 0.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2017 compared to the prior-year quarter.

For full-year 2017, Reliv reported net sales of $41.8 million compared with net sales of $45.5 million in 2016. U.S. net sales decreased to $32.5 million from $35.6 million, a decline of 8.8 percent. Net sales in Reliv’s foreign markets for 2017 decreased 6.1 percent compared with net sales for 2016, with 3.4 percent of the decline due to the impact of foreign currency fluctuation as the result of a stronger U.S. dollar in certain markets. The decline in net sales in Europe represented a significant portion of the decrease in foreign sales. Net sales in Europe declined by 16.6 percent in 2017 compared to the prior year, with 4.3 percent of the decline due to the impact of foreign currency fluctuation. Sales in Asia increased by 39.7 percent in 2017 compared to the prior year.

“While our results from operations improved in 2017 when compared to 2016, we remain focused on growing sales through new product and business development by providing additional tools and support with programs to attract new distributors and customers,” said Reliv President Ryan A. Montgomery. “In mid-April, we are introducing an additional whey-based version of our flagship NOW product. This new version is in response to consumer trends and offers an alternative to those that prefer a whey protein-based product.”

According to the company, other distributor/customer recruitment programs include continued free ground shipping for new distributors reaching the Quick Start and Master Affiliate business levels, an additional 10 percent discount on autoship orders placed by Preferred Customers, and a free product credit to distributors for enrolling three new Preferred Customers with a minimum order amount. Additionally, a new mobile app is in development for launch in April that will allow distributors to perform most of their key sales and recruiting functions via a smartphone or tablet, including enrollment of new distributors and customers, placing orders and tracking downline organizational activity.

“Lastly, our Fit3TM program continues to grow in popularity throughout the Reliv distributor base,” stated Montgomery. “It’s not just about the Fit3 products, it’s also a fitness and lifestyle transformation.”

The Body Shop Launches First-Ever U.S. Out-of-Home Advertising Campaign

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OUTFRONT Media recently announced that The Body Shop, acquired by Brazilian cosmetics direct seller Natura Cosmetics in 2017, unveiled its first out-of-home (OOH) campaign in the U.S. leveraging high-traffic outdoor advertising spaces to call upon the public to help ban animal testing in cosmetics.

Partnering with Cruelty Free International, the campaign is calling for a global ban on animal testing of cosmetic products and ingredients by engaging 8 million people to sign a petition calling for the United Nations to introduce an international convention to end the practice once and for all.

“The Body Shop has been Forever Against Animal Testing since the 1980s,” said Andrea Blieden, general manager, U.S., at The Body Shop. “We’re so excited to continue to spread the buzz of our campaign and bring our petition to outdoor audiences through our first-ever out-of-home marketing campaign and digital billboards in New York City. This activation puts us one step closer to our goal of delivering our petition and signatures to the United Nations later this year, and finally preventing animal testing in cosmetics forever, everywhere.”

The ads started running on March 19 and will continue through April 16 in New York City’s Times Square. It will run on a newly installed Liveboards in historic Helmsley Walkway, underneath the Helmsley Building, a New York City Landmark designed by the architects of Grand Central Terminal.

To bring the campaign to life, The Body Shop partnered with OUTFRONT, one of the largest OOH media companies in North America.

“The Body Shop has long been at the forefront of the fight against animal cruelty, and OUTFRONT Media is pleased to partner with them to add fuel to their campaign with our out-of-home Liveboards,” said Jodi Senese, chief marketing officer, OUTFRONT Media. “Forever Against Animal Testing’s message, on OUTFRONT’s intelligent state-of-the-art digital displays, reaches audiences on-the-go in prime New York City locations, including the new Liveboards installment in Helmsley Walkway.”

The petition can be signed online or at any of The Body Shop’s 3,000 stores across the world. Individuals may use the campaign hashtag #ForeverAgainstAnimalTesting on social media to raise awareness of the issue.

Founded in 1976 in Brighton, England, by Anita Roddick, The Body Shop is a global beauty brand. It seeks to make a positive difference in the world by offering high-quality, naturally inspired skincare, hair care and make-up produced ethically and sustainably. The Body Shop pioneered the philosophy that business can be a force for good, and this ethos is still the brand’s driving force. The Body Shop has more than 3,000 stores in more than 60 countries.