Local Companies Win National Award
Working Partners® is excited to announce that two of our clients received national recognition for their drug-free workplace programs. Katzinger’s Delicatessen and Heinzerling Foundation have been awarded the Institute for a Drug-Free Workplace’s 2014 “Company of the Year” award.
The Institute presented its inaugural, “Company of the Year” award to three companies across the country for the successful implementation of comprehensive and effective drug-free workplace programs. Katzinger’s Delicatessen won in the under 200 employee category. Heinzerling Foundation won in the 201 – 999 employee category. The third winner was J.B. Hunt Transport, an Arkansas-based transportation company, in the 1000+ employee category.
“We are incredibly proud of these two companies that their commitment to a drug-free workplace program has been acknowledged by such a prestigious national organization as the Institute,” said Dee Mason, president of Working Partners®. “Katzinger’s and Heinzerling are two great examples of how a company’s drug-free workplace program can be successfully integrated in their overall business culture – recognized as an integral element with other cost-containment, risk management and employee wellness strategies.”
About the winners:
- Katzinger’s Delicatessen is a small employer with a diverse workforce of 38 employees (many within the high-risk 18-25 year demographic according to National Survey on Drug Use and Health [NSDUH]). In 2009, Katzinger’s owner Diane Warren decided it was time to develop a drug-free workplace (DFWP) program. However, before starting her program, Warren worked with Working Partners® to encourage other local restaurants to implement DFWP programs as well. (NSDUH’s 2007 report found the highest rates of past month illicit drug use [16.9%] in the food service industry, and the industry ranked third for past month heavy alcohol use [12.0%].)Five years later Katzinger’s DFWP program is going strong. “Their management team lives, eats and breaths their DFWP program,” said Jim Ryan, senior Working Partners® trainer who has conducted education and training at the deli for years. “It’s integrated into their culture fully in terms of how they operate and how they set expectations for their staff.” As a result of Katzinger’s dedication, they have experienced a reduction in absenteeism and tardiness, a better guest experience and a 7.1% utilization of employee assistance program services (above the national average).
- Heinzerling Foundation is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to the care, education and treatment of 208 non-ambulatory individuals with multiple developmental disabilities. The Foundation started its DFWP program in 1996 for all 520 staff members to focus on safety for both residents and staff.Heinzerling’s DFWP program is embedded in the company’s culture. They are committed to education and training, with six drug-free workplace educators on staff, trained by Working Partners®, to provide rigorous new-hire education and mandatory, annual DFWP education and supervisor training. “One of the highest compliments we can pay Heinzerling is that they’ve never, ever wavered – not when workers’ compensation discounts were discontinued and/or lessened, not when their workload or staff changes presented challenges to meeting education and training requirements, and not when DFWP wasn’t as convenient or ‘new’ as it once was,” said Karen Pierce, managing director of Working Partners®.
The Institute for a Drug-Free Workplace is a non-profit organization founded in 1989 and dedicated to positively influencing national policy on drug- and alcohol-abuse prevention.
