The Best Places to Work in Direct Selling contest was designed by Direct Selling News with several goals in mind:
- To spotlight the channel as a positive job-creating engine.
- To recognize and honor companies that have created positive work environments and become employers of choice.
- To identify and share best practices with the wider direct selling community.
- To provide valuable feedback and data to participating companies that will assist them in measuring levels of employee satisfaction and engagement.
We all know that direct selling is a people business.
Measuring field engagement is critical to any company’s success, and consistently delivering on that is a hallmark of the channel. But the field is only part of the people equation. Best Places to Work in Direct Selling celebrates the important role companies play as employers in the marketplace and highlights those companies that are setting the bar for establishing and nurturing work experiences and environments that bring out the very best in people.
Congratulations to 5 Time Winner USANA!!
HEADQUARTERS | Salt Lake City, Utah
NUMBER OF FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES | U.S. 924, Globally 1,977
YEAR FOUNDED | 1992
What sets your company apart as one of the Best Places to Work in Direct Selling?
Exceptional employment opportunities, workplace initiatives and strategic partnerships make USANA a truly amazing place to work. USANA strives to give its more than 900 Utah employees an unbeatable workplace and culture. The company offers impressive benefits, including: An onsite health clinic for employees and their families; free onsite workout facilities and a personal fitness trainer; onsite CrossFit, yoga and boot camp classes; a generous annual profit-sharing program; health and wellness training courses; employee recognition programs; free company products; leading parental leave policies; excellent health and life insurance packages; annual health fairs; and voluntary fitness contests. Through the USANA Foundation and USANA Kids Eat employees also have the opportunity to volunteer and support their communities, along with making a global impact for those in need.
How does your company bring the same red-carpet treatment to your employees that you give to your distributors?
USANA is known for rolling out the red carpet for its distributors, and treats employees with the same enthusiasm. At its annual employee recognition banquet, USANA pulls out all the stops to honor employees who have embodied the company’s core values during the year. They are generously rewarded with a dinner, cash prize and trophy. Employees are also treated to an appreciation event after its USANA Live Convention, free massages and chiropractor appointments, summer and holiday parties, personal and professional seminars, an onsite café and opportunities to travel with the USANA Foundation on global philanthropic missions.
What’s the “definitive elevator pitch” that you would offer to a prospective employee about why they would want to work for your company? Can you describe your culture in just a few sentences?
USANA is a company that is dedicated to providing its Associates with the highest-quality products possible while delivering an elite company culture and work experience for its employees. It’s about creating the healthiest family on earth, starting with its thousands of employees around the world. USANA’s core values of health, excellence, integrity and community impeccably define its company culture. Its employees are part of a global community who strive for excellence; operate with integrity; put their health first and are passionate to volunteer to help those in their community who need it most.
What is your top priority when it comes to maintaining a great work environment? How had that changed as people balance working in the office and working from home? what does that look like for your company?
USANA prides itself on cultivating an open and caring culture, supportive management and numerous opportunities to make a difference in the world. Employees feel safe and comfortable at work and are inspired to share their ideas with executives. Where executives at other companies may tend to stay arm’s length away from their employees, USANA’s executives form bonds with employees at all levels. This allows them to better understand roles, challenges and changes they can apply to make their jobs easier. Employees have more formal avenues to ask questions as well, including the company’s quarterly employee meetings—where employees are recognized for personal and professional achievements; receive updates on the company’s progress and goals; and are encouraged to ask the management team any question. While most USANA employees are now on a hybrid schedule, working both from home and in the office, USANA has done a great job to make sure employees feel included and cared for, no matter where they are. From the start of the pandemic, USANA was ready to give employees the technology needed to work from home with no lags in productivity, along with the ability to seamlessly communicate with their team members. USANA executives also stressed the importance of managers checking on the well-being of employees as they work from home—sending them occasional gifts and/or treats to thank them for all their work and let them know they are appreciated.
How does your company support team members in their personal and professional development?
Along with an amazing workout facility and basketball court, USANA employees are given a monthly allotment to spend on USANA supplements and skincare offered to them at heavily discounted prices. A yearly wellness challenge encourages employees to attend onsite trainings focused on health and professional development, track workouts and participate in the annual 5k run and other activities to earn cash. USANA also offers professional training and a tuition reimbursement program to help pay for undergraduate and graduate school for employees, provided the coursework/degree is related to the employee’s job and/or career path or is in a field related to or of interest to USANA.
The only thing constant in 2021 was change. How have you managed the constant pivots required during the pandemic? How are you maintaining and building a sense of community?
While constant change is never easy, USANA handled the curveballs of the past couple of years quite well, thanks in large part to the culture and community-building USANA has created throughout the years. USANA has always put its people first and made community one of its core values. This greatly helped in the transition to at-home work, keeping employees satisfied and healthy when the world seemed bleak. Now that most employees are on a hybrid schedule, USANA continues to find new ways to engage employees and maintain a sense of community. Through initiatives like its goal for employees to reach 1,000 volunteer hours in 2021, to hybrid town halls, and a drive-thru profit-sharing day where employees were greeted in the parking garage, given their profit-sharing checks, and thanked for all their hard work by USANA executives.
Our 2022 contest was open to direct selling companies with at least 40 fulltime employees based in North America. Any employer or employee could have nominated their company during the open period last fall, which ended on October 25, 2021. Each nomination included a contact person who received all of the communications from Quantum. After the nomination period ended, Quantum sent out an official invitation to each company to begin the survey process. Employees were invited to complete an anonymous and confidential survey. A certain percentage of employees at each company, based on size, had to complete the survey in order for the company to reach the threshold to be included. After the survey period was over, the team at Quantum calculated the responses to determine overall scoring and ranking. Only companies who met the threshold determined by Quantum as the baseline for a Best Places to Work environment were announced as Honorees for 2022.
Read full feature article on Best Places to Work in Direct Selling 2022. From the April 2022 issue of Direct Selling News magazine.
