Once stigmatized and even taboo, mental health has thankfully become more mainstream. Despite an increase in mental health awareness, people still find it tough to get the support, information, and help they need. That’s where employers can make a huge difference.
More than half of the U.S. population holds down at least a part-time job. In other words, most people deal with employers on a regular basis. Therefore, employers can play a frontline role in bringing mental health resources and support to their team members.
To be sure, companies can’t be expected to tackle this important matter without help. While some try DIY methods, they tend to be inadequate because they’re not created by experts in the health field. That’s where Pathways at Work comes into the picture.
Offering Employees a Path to Mental Wellbeing Amidst a World of Changes
Pathways at Work is a program offered by Pathways, one of the biggest providers of behavioral health services in the United States. Pathways at Work offers customized live webinars, on-demand training workshops, interactive discussions, and other tools to organizations’ employees.
Each Pathways at Work program is thoughtfully and expertly developed by behavioral and mental health specialists. Certified professionals lead all presentations and discussions, fostering an environment of trust and openness among participants. Popular program courses address common mental health concerns, as well as how the pandemic and recent racial and social injustice have impacted employees’ mental health.
Partnering with Pathways at Work affords organizations several key benefits through the personalized approach to managing the emotional needs of their employees.
1. Reduced stress and anxiety across the workforce.
Many people are living with increased stress and anxiety. Perhaps they’ve had to return to work after telecommuting since Covid began. Maybe they’re dealing with financial problems at home due to a partner’s recent unemployment or illness. Whatever the reason, they may be burned out, or close to it—and that’s not good for them or their employer.
Being able to learn ways to take care of their mental health proactively can help employees become more engaged in all aspects of their lives. A proactive approach to behavioral health also allows them to practice healthy coping and communication methods. The more confident they feel about addressing their emotional needs, the more likely they are to be productive and content day to day. In fact, one company partnering with Pathways at Work was able to identify early warning signs of burnout among its people. The company then worked with Pathways at Work to implement a customized series of workshops to address its 200 employees’ most pressing mental health concerns to stave off problems.
2. Improved use of mental health and general healthcare benefits.
It’s hardly a secret that employees rarely utilize the health-related perks available to them through their companies. For instance, Employee Assistance Program (EAP) usage often hovers below 10% of any given organization’s population. This means that many workers either don’t realize they have the resources and benefits available, or they don’t feel comfortable taking advantage of them.
After undergoing Pathways at Work sessions, team members are better equipped to identify and address the mental health stressors in their lives as they arise. They may also have less reluctance to get mental health help when they need it most. They also may be more inclined to make and keep medical appointments with their primary care providers. The upshot of increased preventative healthcare visits can be less absenteeism, lower turnover, and higher morale, not to mention early detection of acute and chronic diagnoses.
3. Heightened sense of camaraderie among colleagues.
Workers who like each other tend to work better together, and more efficiently toward common goals. Of course, the reverse is also true: employees who feel disconnected from one another hold back their creativity and ideas. In a highly disruptive, competitive economic environment, companies want their teams to feel free to innovate. Implementing Pathways at Work programs and discussion groups can fuel a sense of togetherness among coworkers.
This heightened camaraderie may even spill over into strengthening an organization’s core culture overall. Each corporate culture is made up of many factors, including the bonds that employees have with one another. Going through workshops side by side allows workers to better relate through common experiences. As a result, they further their connections, which encourages them to see their workplace as a collaborative and inclusive environment.
4. Reinforced positive responses to common workplace stressors.
Every employee can expect to experience moments of heightened stress. Customers get upset. Miscommunication with coworkers creates built-up tension. Vendors go out of business and cause supply chain nightmares. Nevertheless, employees who have undergone mental health and wellness training have the tools and perspective to respond to stressors in healthier ways.
Let’s face it: Managers and executives can’t intervene every time a stressful moment occurs. This means that workers need to understand how to deal with issues constructively on their own. Pathways at Work’s training workshops and other tools are designed to provide recommendations for handling difficult situations. The training workshops incorporate the specific situations employees find stressful and address them in real-time with constructive responses and coping methods. Including these real-world scenarios during workshops allows participants to put their learning into action and feel less overwhelmed in their daily lives.
Years ago, mental health wasn’t something that most employers spent time considering, let alone talking about with teams. Fortunately, society has come to appreciate the advantages of having a workforce that prioritizes healthier living. Pathways at Work is making it easier and more convenient for all organizations to look out for their most important resources— their employees.
Keypoint Intelligence (KPI), the industry’s most trusted resource for unbiased information, analysis and awards, announced today that Anthony Sci has joined the company as president and CEO. With a long history of success in the office technology industry, Sci will build on KPI’s reputation for delivering world-class information and analysis, continuing the organization’s 60 years of expertise in offering the tools and depth of knowledge businesses leverage for their success. His responsibilities will include the implementation of the company’s growth initiatives as KPI continues to forge new opportunities in marketing and e-commerce solutions.
Sci comes to KPI with more than 30 years of experience in the office technology industry working for both dealers and manufacturers. Most recently, he held the position of senior vice president at LDI, a leading provider in the supply, sale and service of digital office solutions. Prior to LDI, Sci was senior vice president at Sharp Business Systems, where he led a national organization responsible for products such as MFPs, printers, whiteboards, managed IT, UCaaS and software solutions.
Keypoint Intelligence is headquartered in Fairfield, New Jersey with offices in Weymouth, Massachusetts; Wokingham, United Kingdom; Tokyo, Japan and Hong Kong.
About Keypoint Intelligence
Keypoint Intelligence is the global data and market intelligence leader for the digital imaging industry for over 60 years. The company is the authoritative provider of test-based analytical information, competitive intelligence and sales enablement to the digital imaging industry. Its portfolio of products and services covers hardware, software, consumables and document management. Along with providing clients access to a range of SaaS tools and platforms, the company offers the most comprehensive independent research and data in the industry.
Keypoint Intelligence supports the industry’s leading original equipment manufacturers, independent software vendors and more than 2,000 dealers and leasing companies active in the digital imaging industry. The company’s core platform, bliQ, is based on its sophisticated and proprietary analytical testing capabilities, powering a product offering that includes field and laboratory test reports, product evaluations and outsourced testing services. Most recently, the company introduced UVERCE™, a cloud based B2B e-commerce and sales enablement platform that gives office dealers and resellers in the print industry a B2B e-commerce selling portal, embedded virtual communication capability (chat/video) and bliQ testing and product intelligence data in one tech-enabled selling tool. In addition, Keypoint Intelligence is widely recognized as the leading worldwide market research and strategic consulting firm for the imaging, document solutions, production print and digital media industries. For more information, please visit: www.keypointintelligence.com
MAY 25, 2021 – FAIRFIELD, N.J. – WRITTEN BY: DONNA O’MALLEY
Keypoint Intelligence®, the world’s most trusted source for testing services, market intelligence, and tools to the document imaging industry, is proudly celebrating its 60th anniversary.
“We’ve come a long way since Arthur saw a need and took action in 1961, and we look forward to powering our client’s growth and success for the next six decades with the tools and advice the industry needs to thrive.”
Keypoint Intelligence®, the world’s most trusted source for testing services, market intelligence, and tools to the document imaging industry, is proudly celebrating its 60th anniversary. Since its founding in 1961, the company has kept pace with the rapid evolution of the technologies, business models, and strategies that have taken place across the industry—changes that could hardly be imagined six decades ago.
Arthur Kallet, legendary founder of Consumer Reports, saw the need for businesses to have access to third-party, testing-based analysis on major product purchases and he subsequently started Buyers Lab™ in Hackensack, NJ. What began as a consumer-based publication about office equipment quickly became an all-encompassing business-to-business (B2B) resource for unbiased test data and competitive selling tools for the document imaging space. In 2015, Buyers Lab and InfoTrends™, a leading global market research consulting firm, came together to form Keypoint Intelligence.
Keypoint Intelligence’s core product, bliQ™, started as a book that was published and sent monthly to customers and has grown into an online database platform to deliver sophisticated and proprietary analytical testing capabilities, lab and field test reports, product evaluations, and outsourced testing services. Most recently, the company introduced UVERCE™, a cloud-based B2B e-commerce and sales enablement system that gives dealers and resellers in the print industry the ability to connect with clients in an ever-growing digital world. UVERCE™ combines a turnkey and maintenance-free portal with embedded virtual communication capability (chat/video) as well as bliQ testing and product intelligence into one tech-enabled selling tool.
“It gives me great pride to join Keypoint Intelligence’s colleagues and customers in celebrating our 60th anniversary,” said Mack Brothers, CEO and President of Keypoint Intelligence. “The need for objective sources of information and insight has never been more critical as companies deal with operational and strategic challenges driven by the shift to digital business models rooted in new technology and fast-changing customer expectations. We’ve come a long way since Arthur saw a need and took action in 1961, and we look forward to powering our client’s growth and success for the next six decades with the tools and advice the industry needs to thrive.”
Cyrus Nikou, Founder and Managing Partner of Atar Capital, a private investment firm that acquired Keypoint Intelligence in October 2019, commented, “The Atar team congratulates Keypoint Intelligence on 60 years of accelerated growth, built on its recognized expertise for offering independent and reliable business and product intelligence that fuels customer success. We look forward to supporting Keypoint Intelligence’s talent and innovations as the company forges new market opportunities.”
Keypoint Intelligence is headquartered in Fairfield, New Jersey, with offices in Weymouth, Massachusetts; Wokingham, United Kingdom; Tokyo, Japan; and Hong Kong, China.
Written by A.J. Dilenno —April 14, 2021 —Sr. Director of Procurement, RWS Facility Services
The economic disruptions of COVID-19 have caused many restaurants and retail businesses to look for ways to cut costs and find new revenue streams. But many businesses don’t realize that up to 40% of their trash—from post-consumer plastics, such as hangers and water bottles, to metals to fibers, such as corrugated containers, office paper, newspaper, and even food grease—can be diverted from landfill to generate income. In my recent article in SupplyChainBrain, I outlined four ways to transform recycled waste into commodities gold.
You can start by giving your trash a closer look with regular waste audits. In a waste audit, a qualified team goes through everything in the compactor, separating your waste into different categories: corrugated cardboard, post-industrial and post-consumer plastics, glass, and so forth. From there, how much is Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) and how much is recyclable commodities is calculated. The team then identifies potential places to sell the commodities and puts together a waste management plan.
Next, we suggest you reverse-engineer your waste stream to maximize volume and value. Recyclable commodities are usually generated and identified in two places, at the store level and at distribution centers. Retracing waste from distribution centers’ back to individual stores is one way to drive additional revenue. At RWS, we provide the tools to audit waste at each individual store and identify what is going in the compactor. We then help determine if consolidating waste from each store will increase the overall volume of commodities sold to buyers, seeing that buyers pay more for commodities sold in bulk.
Finally, it is vital to make sure the price is right for your scrap commodities. Businesses that have long standing relationships with waste management vendors aren’t always maximizing the profits of their recyclable commodities. Even the most well-meaning companies can be complacent in informing their customers of pricing changes. To generate the most income from your scrap commodities, we recommend researching pricing when contracts with your waste services vendors come up for renewal.
Commodity recycling can be confusing because there are so many moving parts, but it doesn’t have to be. When you partner with a professional like RWS, we make sure that nothing slips through the cracks. We help you conduct a waste audit and identify valuable commodities, prepare a waste management plan, get the best price for your commodities and even train your staff in proper waste recycling.
Contact us today so we can assist you in generating new streams of revenue by transforming your recycled waste into commodities gold.
Written by Jill Winters —Pathways. Originally published on Recruiter.com – March 19th, 2021. Employee behavioral health and well-being dramatically affect a company’s culture, productivity, and overall success. Robust behavioral health and well-being programs are considered reliable indicators of a positive culture, and many candidates specifically prioritize employers with such programs in their job searches. That’s why recruiters would be wise to highlight their company’s commitment to behavioral health and well-being in their efforts to attract top candidates.
Healthy Employees Create a Healthy Culture
Many of us are struggling with behavioral and mental health issues like anxiety, stress, and burnout in the wake of COVID-19, according to the CDC. Four in ten adults report experiencing symptoms of anxiety and depression during the pandemic, a fourfold increase from 2019. Even those who are not currently struggling realize they could face behavioral and mental health challenges in the future.
Applicants understand that companies that value employee mental health and well-being are more likely to foster positive cultures. They also know these companies will support them with understanding managers, flexible work practices, and robust benefits programs that provide affordable access to necessary services.
Most workers want their future employers to provide a safe and welcoming environment. That means many applicants expect to hear about how your company supports employee mental health during the hiring process. By shining a spotlight on what their company does to help employees find balance, fight burnout, and stay healthy, recruiters can attract more applicants and hire better employees.
The business case for providing behavioral and mental health programs includes their value as a recruiting and retention tool. Appropriate investment in these programs sends a powerful and positive message to all employees and candidates: “You’re not alone. You’re facing something we’re all facing, and it doesn’t reflect poorly on you. The company hears you, and we care about you.” When employees experience such a supportive culture, they won’t hesitate to speak highly of your company to colleagues, customers, prospective candidates, and employer review sites like Glassdoor.
Healthy Employees Stick Around
Retention matters. There’s little value in hiring the best candidates if the company can’t keep them. Plus, prospective employees will want to know about retention rates because low retention rates are red flags suggesting a negative culture.
When employees struggle with their mental health, they may be forced to exit the workforce if the company offers inadequate support. That has an effect on your retention rates — and, in turn, it affects how prospective hires view your company. Programs that support employee mental health and well-being can keep more employees at your company for longer. These programs also make employees feel more valued — another key to keeping retention rates high. And as we know, retention of quality workers helps to attract quality recruits.
Even In-Office Employees Want to Know: How Do You Support Remote Workers?
Many of us spent 2020 working partially or fully remotely. Although most companies learned that remote work can be a successful and productive arrangement, they also learned about the potential pitfalls of working from home: isolation, a poor work/life balance, burnout, and other mental health challenges that hurt employee morale and productivity.
After facing these challenges head-on over the course of the past year, remote workers are looking for employers who will lend a hand when trouble inevitably arises. A company’s willingness to allow remote work and support remote workers with programs that address isolation, work/life balance, and burnout is a major selling point in this talent market. Candidates will see these things as indicators of a culture that genuinely values individual workers and accommodates their needs.
Progressive thinking concerning remote work and employee well-being leaves a positive impression on candidates, who will see the company as an innovative and forward-thinking business. That’s why wise recruiters will emphasize how the company supports remote workers’ behavioral health and well-being — even when recruiting candidates who may not be working remotely. After all, candidates understand that today’s in-house employee could be tomorrow’s at-home employee.
Better Wellness Programs, Better Hires
After the tumultuous year we’ve all had, it should come as no surprise that employees care deeply about the mental and physical health benefits your organization has to offer them. If your company makes robust behavioral health and wellness resources available and a competitor company doesn’t, you have an important feature that differentiates your organization from the rest.
Supporting employee mental health and well-being is essential for effective recruiting and overall business success. Recruiters should tout your company’s high-quality health and wellness programs. If they do, they’ll attract better applicants — and attracting better applicants will help justify your company’s continued investment in these programs. It’s a virtuous cycle, which is why robust mental health and well-being programs are powerful recruiting tools.
STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga., Sept. 23, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — WinCup®, a leading manufacturer of disposable foodservice to-go ware, has commercialized and is now shipping phade®, a new line of marine biodegradable straws and stirrers. Phade® products are made with Danimer Scientific’s Nodax™ PHA (polyhydroxyalkanoate), a naturally occurring material derived from canola oil. These products are also soil biodegradable, as well as home and industrial compostable. Unlike other eco-friendly straw options, phade® does not sacrifice performance and has the look and feel of traditional polypropylene straws.
“Phade® represents WinCup’s commitment to the environment and our customers. We are the first manufacturer in the U.S. to successfully develop commercially sellable straws from this unique material and straws are just the first step,” said Brad Laporte, WinCup’s Chief Executive Officer. “We will soon be announcing many other foodservice and consumer products using this groundbreaking new material that will expand and complement our existing product line.”
On August 21, 2020, the Bioplastics Division of the Plastics Industry Association (PLASTICS) announced WinCup and Danimer Scientific as the joint winners of the 2020 Innovation in Bioplastics Award for their development of phade®.
WinCup is actively shipping customer orders for phade® straws and stirrers throughout the United States. “Consumers’ reactions to this innovative new product have been extremely positive. Phade® has rescued them from the soggy straw experience,” said Michael Winters, WinCup’s President and Chief Revenue Officer. “If you are ready for a relevant sustainable straw option that does not sacrifice performance, then ask for the phade® blue straw.”
Danimer Scientific’s Nodax™ PHA has been certified by TUV AUSTRIA as marine biodegradable and soil biodegradable, home and industrial compostable, and is 100% bio-based.
About WinCup, Inc.WinCup, which is headquartered in Stone Mountain, Georgia, has recently been acquired by Atar Capital, a Los Angeles based global private equity investment firm. WinCup is a leading manufacturer of traditional and sustainable disposable cups, bowls, containers, lids, and straws. The company’s eight manufacturing locations are committed to high-quality products and superior customer service. To learn more, please visit www.wincup.com and www.phadeproducts.com.
SAND SPRINGS, Oklahoma—June 26,2017— FIS announced today that Keyth Pengal was appointed as CEO and added oil and gas industry veteran Bill Boyer to its Board of Directors. These appointments are effective immediately and further strengthen and position FIS as a North American leader in oil and gas pipeline inspection and integrity services.
“FIS has an over-40-year history of quality, trust, and honesty with its customers, employees, and communities it serves. Keyth will further strengthen these core values while bringing in his operating mettle, coupled with Bill’s 41 years of experience in oil and gas. This will be a great one-two punch to help accelerate the growth of FIS and better serve our customers, employees, and communities and be the premier choice of pipeline inspection services,” commented Cyrus Nikou, Chairman of FIS and Founder and Managing Partner of Atar Capital.
Pengal brings over 25 years of operating experience, most recently as a Managing Director of Atar’s operating group, where he will remain as a Senior Advisor. He helped lead the carve out of FIS from Team Inc. (TISI) and helped stabilize operations and strengthen relationships with the company’s key customers. Prior to supporting Atar Capital, Pengal held a number of executive positions/roles in operations, including Vice President of Operations at Goldline International, where he led technology and process improvements to help grow the company from $50 million to $850 million in 3 years. Keyth will report to the FIS Board.
Boyer is currently Senior Vice-President of Operations at Southcross Energy Partners L.P. (SXE). Boyer retired from Occidental Petroleum after an illustrious 39-year career where he was President of Occidental’s crude oil pipeline subsidiary, Centurion Pipeline, and General Manager of Occidental’s midstream operations business unit, which included the Centurion Pipeline operations and a new marine terminal at Ingleside, Texas.
“We are thrilled to welcome Bill to the FIS Board and to Atar Capital’s Senior Advisory Group,” added Nikou. “Bill is a ‘salt-of-the-earth,’ well-respected leader and operator in the oil and gas industry with significant pipeline inspection experience. We look forward to working with Bill and charting the next chapter of FIS.”
About FIS
FIS is a North American leader in oil and gas pipeline inspection and integrity services. Serving their customers since 1975, FIS serves as an independent, outsourced provider of inspection and integrity services for all disciplines of pipeline, pipeline stations, terminals, power plants, tank storage farms, and other energy related fields. FIS works with 3,100+ professionals to place qualified Inspectors who act as the Designated Operator Representative to supplement the pipeline operators’ management and employees in the construction and implementation of pipeline, power plant, and mechanical integrity projects. FIS is headquartered in Sand Springs, Oklahoma, serving customers in both the U.S. & Canada.
About Atar Capital
Atar Capital is a global private investment firm that benefits from over sixty years of combined buy-out, investing and asset management experience. The firm’s principals have collectively completed over sixty private equity transactions across eighteen countries worldwide.
Atar Capital invests in both performing and underperforming lower middle market businesses that exhibit potential for revitalization, operational performance improvement, and growth. The firm specializes in corporate divestitures, complex carve-outs, and turn-around situations across a wide range of industries and geographic markets, with a focus on North America and Western Europe.
Headquartered in Los Angeles, and with offices in London, Atar Capital’s best-in-class business development, M&A and operations capabilities enable its portfolio companies to achieve their full potential. For more information, visit www.atarcapital.com.
Atar Contact
Vijay K Mony Managing Director vmony@atarcapital.com Phone: +1 310 882 5568