Episode 32 – Excellence in Benefits Winner

Mike Stull (00:08) 

Hi, everyone, and welcome to this month’s episode of HR Benecast, your source for expert commentary and insights on current health benefits-related news and strategies. This is your host, Mike Stull. For those who couldn’t join us in person at the Pharmacy Benefits Conference and the Innovations in Benefits Conference, both events are now available virtually. 

There are a total of 12 sessions covering everything from the science behind world-class communications, gene therapy, financial challenges, employer best practices, and a federal and state regulatory update, to name a few. They can all be viewed on demand, so be sure to check them out. 

 Be sure to listen for the keyword in this episode and enter for your chance to win. I’ll share the keyword later in the show or even during the interview, so be sure to listen closely. 

 I recently sat down with Chris vanNatta, Manager of Human Resources and Global Benefits at the Timken Company, a global manufacturing of bearings and power transmission products headquartered right here in Canton, Ohio. Along with successfully advocating for better health outcomes for planned participants, Chris was instrumental in the creation of the organization’s on-site workout facility, seeking to lead the organization and its associates in overall health and wellness. 

On top of that, he is a judge advocate for the U.S. Air Force Reserve, a husband and father of five, and the 2021 recipient of the Excellence in Benefits Award. The award is presented annually to a leader in employee benefits in recognition of his or her meaningful impact to the industry, and certainly Chris could not be more deserving. So, let’s hear from Chris. 

All right, thanks for joining us, Chris. To get us started, can you share a little bit about yourself and how you got started in benefits?  

Chris vanNatta (2:06) 

Sure, Mike. So, I live in North Canton, Ohio with my wife and five children. We arrived in North Canton in 2006. My wife grew up here and wanted to move back to this area after we got off active duty. We were both in the Air Force. I was an Air Force judge advocate and actually still am. I’m in the reserves these days. We came here and I was fortunate enough to find an opportunity with Timken handling labor relations and employment matters for the company. 

That was a little bit more of what I was looking for with my Air Force background, more of a general counsel kind of role, part of the company, if you will. And I had the good fortune in 2013 to move into the benefits role. My exposure to benefits at that point hadn’t been very significant. There had been some exposure related to working with the labor union, but it was an opportunity to get into a strategic role in an area where there was an opportunity to help all of the associates in the company, even on a global scale. So, it was too good of a chance to turn down. And so, we made that move in 2013. 

Mike Stull (3:27) 

I was saying it’s hard to believe that it’s been 10 years since you moved over to that role. So, time certainly flies when you’re having fun. You mentioned the Timken Company. For those of us here in Canton, we know exactly who the Timken Company is. But obviously, as we’ve grown to a national coalition, we have listeners across the country. So, can you tell us a little bit about the Timken Company?  

Chris vanNatta (3:54) 

Sure. The Timken Company is over 120 years old. Originally started in St. Louis, Missouri, and moved within a few years to this area, in Canton area of Ohio. It’s an old guard, if you will, American manufacturing stalwart. 

We are known for our tapered roller bearings. Lots of people have heard of ball bearings. Tapered roller bearings actually have cylinders in the place of the balls that you find in a ball bearing. Henry Timken invented those and that put Timken on the map, if you will. Over the last probably 15 to 20 years, Timken’s expanded its portfolio. And now we are into also mechanical power transmission. Those devices include things like chains and belts and lubrication. We provide products that get power from the source to the application in the most efficient way possible. In this time when energy is expensive and we’re having to go do different kinds of things to find energy, it’s important to derive as much value and as much efficiency in the process of getting power to the application. And that’s right where Timken fits in. And that’s right where Timken wants to be adding value. And we are an employer of choice here in the Canton area, have been recognized as one of the most ethical companies in the world for the last 11 years. And it’s great being a part of an organization like that.  

Mike Stull (5:32) 

Yeah. Can you talk about some of the products that the roller bearings go into?  

Chris vanNatta (5:35) 

Sure. So, we have roller bearings that will fit on the tip of your pinky. One such application for a roller bearing that size, were on the Mars Rover. And then we also have roller bearings that are probably the size, the diameter of maybe a softball. Those go into the wheels of your car to make those function. We have roller bearings that are probably the size of a large serving dish in diameter. Those find their way into rail cars. And then we have roller bearings that are so big, for example, that you cannot stand inside of it and touch the sides of the bearing. You might be able to, Mike, because you’re a tall guy. And they go into wind turbines. 

And so, and we have everything in between all sorts of different applications. As I said, also, we have chains and belts and those kinds of things that, you know, for conveyor belts or whatever that just help equipment, manufacturing equipment and things like that run more efficiently.  

Mike Stull (6:36) 

You talk about making the move to benefits and being able to help all of the associates or being able to work on projects that affect all of the associates at Timken. I’m sure that plays into the different aspects of your job that you find rewarding. But I wonder if you could talk a little bit more about what you find rewarding in your job.  

Chris vanNatta (7:01) 

Sure. I think there are a few things. One of the things that is most rewarding is being able to be part of the Timken team, just the big team. Teamwork is one of our core values and so, we value and enjoy the opportunity to work interactively with different people, different departments to get the job done. And then the other part of that in terms of teamwork is the benefits team that I have, which are just fantastic people. And they are very dedicated and work very hard. And it’s great to be part of that smaller team contributing to the big team to keep Timken one of the most competitive and well-recognized manufacturing companies in the world.  

Another aspect of what is rewarding at Timken is the ethical approach the company takes. The company walks the talk. We always want to be on the right side of an issue. And so that makes my job particularly rewarding because we’re looking for ways to help and to better the value proposition for all of our associates all over the world. And so, it’s tremendously rewarding to be part of a leading company that wants to do things the right way and achieve success in that fashion and all working together for sort of that common goal. And so that’s quite a bit of fun.  

Mike Stull (8:21) 

We know that within your existing role, you’re certainly passionate about the health and wellness of your associates. And so, I’m wondering if you can share how you are turning that passion for health and wellness into results as it relates to the benefits that are offered. 

Chris vanNatta (8:40) 

That’s a great question. And it’s kind of got a lot of facets, but I think if you want to boil it down, the biggest piece, well, I suppose the two biggest places where benefits makes a substantial impact in the lives of our associates, certainly one place is retirement. And we want to provide good retirement programs so that people can be able to save, to be able to live comfortably after they’re done working. 

But I think the other place, and the place where we have been focusing a lot of attention recently is this idea of healthcare or well-being. We all know just from living in this country, and it’s really a phenomenon all over the world, but the US leads in this space, if you’d like, we all know that healthcare costs go up and they’re never going to stop going up. When people are sick, they want to get better. And the unfortunate part of where we are in our society is that 75% of healthcare dollars are spent on completely preventable conditions, things like heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and the list is long and not very pretty. And because of that, when you think about how much money we’re spending on those conditions, and the fact that we all want to get well, you have a classic sort of supply and demand problem, which is the demand is infinite because we all want to get better. Well, the people who are supplying and meeting that demand, then are in a position to create a more expensive environment. And that’s why I think we see healthcare costs going up year over year over year in the United States, as I said, is leading in that regard, over 18% of domestic product in this company is spent on healthcare, and that far exceeds any other country in the world. And so, you know, we have great capability with regard to our healthcare, but we’re also bringing some of these problems on ourselves. And for employers who want to provide healthcare coverage, at some point, it’s going to get to a place where it’s unsustainable. And it’s just, it’s so expensive. And back in the day, when all of our parents were working, you know, employers provided free healthcare. Nobody does that anymore. It’s just not possible. And so, as we figure out how we have to tackle that problem, I mean, a company doesn’t want to know people’s individual healthcare situations, but we do want to be able to be in a position to help them and help them be, you know, get healthy, stay healthy, be their happiest and most productive. 

And so, one of the things we can do in that regard is be a trusted source of information and try to condense what we’re hearing, what’s, you know, flowing around in the media and studies and all those things, and try to deliver that information in a way that’s understandable, that gets people to take notice, and then educates them and empowers them to be able to engage in their benefits and use their benefits in the best way possible, but also to give them the ability to recognize, hey, you know what? If I make a few changes, a simple change here and there, I can stop spending money on healthcare, or I can reduce my healthcare charges or my healthcare expenses. We try to put all that together, and it’s tremendously hard to condense down that information and hard to deliver it, and people are busy, and it’s hard to get attention. And so, one of the things that we work diligently on is trying to engage so that we can educate, and we can empower, and we try to provide resources for all of that. 

So, we try to provide a fitness center, and we’re looking at expanding those fitness capabilities to our plants, not just here at World Headquarters, but in the United States and indeed all over the world. In fact, we’ve got virtual exercise classes that you can attend now, and they’re taught here, and somebody at our Lincolnton facility in the Carolinas can tune in and take an exercise class, and we’re looking at, can we provide that the world over, provide nutrition and diet counseling. We provide wellness nurses, and we’re just expanding all the more our resources that we can provide to people. 

And then, part of that also is our Better Health Program, and the tagline for that is Healthy You, Better Us, and we believe that fervently because we know that if our associates are happy, healthy, and productive, then that’s going to just make the Timken Company even better, make us more competitive, make us more successful, and we’re all in this together. And so, we’ve taken kind of that approach of trying to provide the resources to just help people get healthy, stay healthy, and, you know, obviously, if the worst should happen, tremendous resources, you know, medical coverage, prescription drug coverage, so that they can get the care they need to get back to that.  

Mike Stull (13:28) 

Yeah, and certainly, we know that plays a part in improving someone’s behavior and plays a part in their overall health. 

So, the amount of work you guys have done from an environmental perspective is very noble and very notable. So, we talked a little bit about communicating with associates. I know that communicating with leadership is also a big, big part of your role at Timken. So, could you share a little bit about how benefits professionals can better communicate with their leadership?  

Chris vanNatta (14:01) 

Yes, I think there are two components to that. One is time, and the other is data.  

And from the time aspect, what I mean is the senior leaders in any company are busy. 

They have a lot on their mind. There’s a lot they need to think about. So, you have to be able to approach them in ways that get your message across, get the information across, whatever it is they need quickly, and provide them with the foundational materials so that they can take that back and think about it. 

Our company, in particular, is essentially run by engineers, business people. So, they are, and they’re very, very smart people and have a lot to think about. And so, one of the things that we try to do is when we get to them is come to them with data. They want to understand, what does the data show, and they want us to be able to make data-driven decisions. There’s lots of data in this space, and, in fact, part of what we did to mold the team a year or so ago was to bring somebody on the team who specialized in data analytics. And they didn’t know very much about benefits, but they sure knew how to look at data. And so, you could take that capability and drop it into the data space, and they will begin doing their thing. And the individual that we hired is doing just that and is able to take that data and synthesize that data in a way that we can package it and talk about it in a complete fashion, but do so quickly and get to the bottom line so that our senior leaders understand what’s going on. So, they need to understand the bottom line impact, data-driven decisions, and they need to be able to understand quickly and have a source of information they can go back to when they want to think about it when they’re outside of the office or whatever and want to consider what decisions they need to make. 

Mike Stull (15:53) 

Thanks, Chris. The next question had to do with the vendor side. So, your solutions providers that you work with, what do you think makes a good account manager at one of those solutions providers? So, what are you looking at from a Timken perspective? What are you looking at in terms of an account manager from one of your solutions providers?  

Chris vanNatta (16:18) 

So, we place a lot of value in the assistance that these solutions providers or partners can provide. And whether it’s our third-party administrators for our claims or, for example, Employers Health that helps us with prescription drugs. So, whether it’s subject matter expertise or administrative capability, whatever it is, those relationships are tremendously important to us. We want to be the experts in mechanical power transmission and tapered roller bearings and other roller bearings, but we can’t be the experts in all things benefits, all things medical, all things prescription drug or retirement or whatever. 

So, our relationships and the people that we surround ourselves with to help us with those things are tremendously important. And I think there are three things that, for me and for my team, define what makes somebody good and what makes somebody a valuable partner. And the first of those things is responsiveness. 

When we have an issue, sometimes it’s because the CEO needs a quick answer, and we need to be able to generate those answers quickly. Sometimes issues pop up fast and we need to be able to address those. So, responsiveness is key. You have to be quick. And even if the answer is, well, I don’t know yet, let me go find out. That’s fine. Just let us know you’re engaged and you’re trying to help us.  

I think another thing, so number two then is the personal relationship. As I said, we value that interaction that we have, and that interaction is much more enjoyable and much more worthwhile, and I think, much more successful and beneficial if there’s actually a personal relationship. So, I think that’s tremendously important, and we value working with people like that. And if we find somebody, you don’t always get along with everybody and if there’s not a fit, that’s fine. Let’s find somebody within the organization that’s clicking. We think those personal relationships are important. 

 And then I think the third thing, and it might be the most important, is that our partners and the people we work with actually care and actually have a desire to help. So, the people that we work with, since this is Employers Health podcast, I’m happy to talk about Travis. Travis genuinely wants to help us help our associates and everybody at Employers Health is like that and that’s important. And we have that with CVS. We have that with our broker and that’s an important aspect to this because it’s important for my team to be able to serve our leadership and our associates and their families. And therefore, we need people who are very interested in committing to helping us do that and that makes a tremendous difference. And I think if you have those three things, then you have the makings of a great relationship that will be super productive and that will really benefit the associates and their families or the employees and their families. And that really is what we’re here to do in the benefits department. 

Mike Stull (19:17) 

 You know, I can tell you from the 200 plus clients we have, we don’t always get the opportunity to build that. When we go in, it’s always right down to business. And I think that building that personal relationship, it helps us be better at our jobs. But I think it also drives higher levels of accountability, higher levels of, you know, the interest in helping, you know, solve problems and get things right for, in this case, the Timken company. So, I appreciate you guys taking the time to build that personal relationship because not everybody does it. 

So, the last question on here, and maybe we already answered this in some of the previous questions, but from an Employers Health perspective, you know, how have we helped you succeed in your role?  

Chris vanNatta (20:09) 

So, I think there are three places that Employers Health as an organization has helped us succeed and continues to be an important partner for us. I mean, a really important partner. And one of the things obviously off the top of the heap is Employers Health makes prescription drugs easy. 

And I have sat through, Mike, your prescription drug 101 or PBM 101 three times. I still don’t understand everything, but it’s entertaining for sure. And I learn more every time I sit down with you. 

And, you know, we have people on your team like Dave who, you know, works directly with CVS. And it’s nice because our prescription drug coverage is one of the things that I never have to worry about. We know we’re getting great pricing, and we know we’re getting a level of attention to make sure that things go right. And it’s not that we need it in that area with CVS. They’re a great partner as well. We enjoy great relationships with those folks, but, you know, we’re not among the biggest companies in the country. We’re not an Amazon. We’re not a fill in the blank big company. And so being part of Employers Health helps us maybe punch above our weight a little bit to make us part of a larger whole, which is, you know, obviously it’s a cooperative. So that’s the whole idea. And I think if, you know, we were by ourselves, it might be a little bit easier to get lost in the shuffle. But I think Employers Health makes us bigger. And I think that ultimately endures to the benefit of the company because we have to keep our eye on the bottom line to be sure. But also, probably more importantly, is it helps us help our associates and their families. And so, I think that’s quite important. 

The other thing that Employers Health does, you guys will literally help us with anything we need help with. And we’ve talked about all sorts of different things. We’ve talked about EAP providers, we’ve talked about wellness, we’ve talked about data warehouses. I mean, we have over the years that we’ve been working with you guys, we’ve talked about a lot of different things. And there have been times when you guys have run off to do some research and come back with information.  

And you’ve facilitated meetings for us and meeting different players in different spaces. And you may not know something, but you are always willing to go out and find somebody who does. And I think that helps. One of our favorite places to meet, actually, is at Employers Health, you know, downstairs with my team. And so, we really like the chance to get away and it gives us a chance to do that, to get out of the daily grind sort of at the company and get to a place, you know, where everybody knows your name, kind of, you know, thing. And it’s very, very nice to be able to do that. And so very, very helpful in that regard.  

And then I think the other thing that’s tremendously important is that Employers works very well with our other partners. 

So, our brokers Lockton, they obviously are important to us as well. That whole relationship with Employers Health, Lockton and Timken has been just seamless. You know, obviously Employers Health is an integral part of our relationship with CVS. And so, we don’t have, there’s no jealousies, there’s no competition, you know, or whatever. And that makes it very easy for us. And indeed, it enhances our relationship with you and our other partner. And so that thinking is very, very helpful. That approach to helping Timken is very, very helpful. And that’s, those are the three ways I think Employers Health has helped us succeed. 

Mike Stull (23:43) 

Well, that’s great to hear. And we’re the place where everybody knows your name. You might be thinking, you know, am I Cliff or am I Norm?  

Chris vanNatta (23:55) 

I was thinking Ted, actually. Or Frazier.  

Mike Stull (24:01) 

Frazier might be the one.  

All right. Well, thanks again for taking time to do this with us today. Thanks for putting, you know, obviously some thoughtful responses. And we appreciate the continued relationship that we have. And again, appreciate you taking time to share with the audience. 

Chris vanNatta (24:21) 

 Well, thank you, Mike. I appreciate that. I appreciate the chance to be on here and talk about these things. I enjoy doing that. 

 Thank you also to Employers Health for the Excellence in Benefits Award. Tremendous honor. It honors my team, frankly, because as you know, as a leader of a large team of people, you need a good group of people behind you to make good things happen. And I certainly have that. So, I want to thank you for that. And I think that’s it. 

Mike Stull (24:48) 

 All right. Well, we appreciate it. Thanks, Chris.  

Chris vanNatta (24:52) 

Okay. Take care.  

Mike Stull (27:13) 

Congratulations again to Chris as he joins an outstanding class of previous recipients. Nominations for the 2022 Excellence in Benefits Award will open later this summer. So, start thinking of a deserving benefits professional you’d like to nominate.  

Next, it’s that time I want to share the key word for this month’s episode, and that is Wellness. So, if you’d like to be considered for the $50 gift card, please submit the keyword Wellness along with your name and email address using the link on the landing page. 

Before we go, I want to thank our sponsors for helping to not only make this podcast possible, but for supporting us and providing great employee benefits related content. Thanks to our annual supporters, CVS Health, OptumRx, and Elixir, and our executive supporters, Delta Dental, Para Therapeutics, Pfizer, and USRX Care. Visit employershealthco.com/supporters for a full list of sponsors. 

Again, don’t forget to submit your questions by completing the field on the landing page or clicking the link titled Submit Your Questions Here. And then be sure to subscribe to HR to be notified when the latest episode is out, and hopefully we’ll get to answer some of your questions.  

There’s always something new at Employers Health, so be sure to follow us on our social media accounts, including LinkedIn and Twitter to stay up to date. 

So that’s going to do it for this month’s episode. Thank you again to Chris for not only sharing his insight and expertise, but for being such an outstanding leader in the employee benefits industry. And thank you for taking the time to listen and for your continued membership, participation, and interest in Employers Health. 

Be well, and we’ll see you soon.