Stone is just the start of…

Powering Possibilities

Uplifting Our Culture of Belonging

If you walk into any of our plants or offices and ask an associate about their Insights profile or their personal values, they can tell you exactly what makes them tick. The Insights Discovery tool is built to help us understand how and why people behave and communicate the way they do. Our Insights Profile is a personalized document that details our preferences, key strengths and weaknesses, and information about how we can be most mindful when working with others.

Throughout our careers, every associate at Luck Companies participates in Insights training to understand our strengths, weaknesses, motivators, and more; we also engage in values training to raise awareness of our core drivers. Together, these tools create a powerful understanding of ourselves and others.

This self-awareness and encouragement to be one’s authentic self at work has created a strong foundation of belonging. To us, belonging signifies that an individual can bring his or her authentic self to work and feel accepted, engaged, and valued.

“The training builds self-awareness and helps us to be more aware of others,” said Mark Barth, Chief Talent Officer at Luck Companies. “We want associates to be curious about that experience and then in turn ignite the potential of others.”

The Insights and personal values of each associate are ingrained in our culture. It’s not a team-building exercise we do and file away—it’s an important part of how we interact with each other every day. It’s not uncommon to hear associates talk about Insights colors or personal values in a meeting or to see them posted at an associate’s workspace.

“This work is all about enabling associates to show up to work as their most authentic selves,” added Mark. “This gives them the tools to bring out the best in each other, which really does create a sense of belonging—a natural extension of our values and VBL work.”

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Mark Barth

“The training builds self-awareness and helps us to also be more aware of others. We want associates to be curious about that experience and then in turn ignite the potential of others.”

Continuing the Journey

With this commitment to belonging at our core, we continue our journey to broaden its impact through deeper education, understanding, and action.

The company’s extended leadership—about 150 people—went through belonging workshops to create new platforms for open, raw conversations that propel our culture forward. These same leaders then led sessions with their teams to ensure every associate was a part of this meaningful dialogue.

“Through these workshops, we uncovered a desire to continue the conversation,” said Liz Davis, Director of Human Resources. “As a result, we are providing managers with conversation starters to incorporate into their regular team meetings. This facilitates an ongoing, important conversation around belonging.”

With more awareness, we are now working on other implications of belonging. We have established associate resource groups for women, Black, and veteran associates. The Human Resources Recruiting team is also looking at processes to ensure we reach more diverse audiences, which will result in a more diverse pool of candidates that will make our organization stronger. “We are excited about the tools we are putting in place,” Liz said. “It’s an important step in our journey. We want our associates to wake up in the morning and come to work ready to engage because their unique experiences are accepted and respected. We want them to be able to be their best selves and ignite the human potential around them.”

Insights class
liz davis

“We want our associates to wake up in the morning and come to work ready to engage because their unique experiences are accepted and respected.”

Run the Rock

Supporting Each Associate’s Individual Well-Being Needs

A person’s well-being is imperative in a company that exists to ignite human potential. Luck Companies has always sought to support our associates in and out of work, but in recent years, we have started to look at new, meaningful ways to deliver on this.

“When you consider Maslow’s hierarchy of needs— safety, security, food, love, and eventually self- actualization, it is actually the path to igniting human potential. We can’t expect to get all 1000+ associates to get there if their financial, mental, or physical well-being is compromised, and we want to play a role in helping them,” said Mark. “We want to provide resources to support them on their journey.”

Giving the Gift of Time for Well-Being

One of the first tangible steps we took to improve the well-being of our associates was to offer Well-Being Days to all associates, in addition to their vacation and sick time off. We did research to determine what would be most valuable in helping associates support their own well-being, and associates shared that it looks different for each individual. Whether volunteering, celebrating a religious holiday, or spending time outdoors, everyone recharges in their own ways.

We gave associates three additional days off and combined them with our two existing floating holidays to create 5 “Well-Being Days.” We want people to do something that inspires them, improves their lives, or creates more work-life balance.

“For me, the introduction of Well-Being Days has been incredibly beneficial,” said Lucy Hutton, Senior HR Business Partner. “These days provide a valuable opportunity to take time off when I need a mental health break, without having to use my PTO that is intended for vacations. This approach helps me maintain a healthy work-life balance and ensures that my vacation days are reserved for their intended purpose, allowing for true rest and relaxation.”

Helping Associates Get Financially Fit

We want to make sure associates have a strong understanding of their finances and are set up for success over the course of their career. As part of our financial well-being initiative, we ensure all associates have access to tools and resources that can guide them down a path of being knowledgeable about their finances.

This initiative jump-started our work to create more programming to support associates’ financial well- being, which now includes:

  • Financial planning classes that cover topics like estate planning, retirement, and debt management.
  • A personalized financial planning meeting with an independent financial services firm at no cost to the associate.
  • Identity theft protection services including security and credit monitoring.
  • More in-depth retirement planning at a shared cost with associates.

“Our financial well-being has always been a priority for us, but we didn’t know how to manage some of the retirement plans and accounts from previous jobs.

We took the financial well-being classes offered, and we have been able to consolidate accounts and create a plan for retirement. We feel more confident about our financial health and have goals to help us retire in the future.”

andy and kate
Mental Wellbeing

Opening Up About Mental Health

We understand that associates deal with different levels of stress and pressure at work and home, and it’s all interconnected. We offer support for associates while also creating a culture where talking about mental well-being and mental health is okay.

“Our programming focuses first on making sure associates have resources to help them through any challenge they are having,” said Andy Mann, Director of Compensation and Benefits.

We launched a non-denominational corporate chaplain program that places a chaplain in each location every week. Associates can schedule time with the chaplain and talk about work or personal matters—health, relationships, grief, or any other issue they may be having. It’s at the associates’ discretion whether these conversations relate to religion. Since the program started in 2022, chaplains have had nearly 3,000 conversations across all of our locations.

Giving associates direct access to a confidential behavioral resource was an essential first step. We continue to explore other resources—like virtual life coaches—to ensure associates can advocate for their own mental well-being.

At the same time, we are training managers in mental health first aid, so they have the skills, knowledge, and tools they may need to assist a team member.

“It’s common for managers to think that they aren’t allowed to check in on associates even if they think something is going on,” said Andy. “We want to change that perception and give managers the awareness and understanding for how to do it.”

Supporting Physical Well-Being

Our support for physical well-being gives associates the incentive, motivation, and confidence to pursue preventative care. We offer financial incentives rewarding healthy behavior and also have healthcare resources visit sites twice a year.

“We have required job-based training each year, and we offer additional resources when we have their undivided attention,” said Andy. “We had a physical therapist come and talk about what associates need to do before work starts, and on the job, to prevent injuries.”

Through all of these touchpoints, the goal is to encourage people to make small changes that can have significant benefits over time.

Our locations have also found local ways to support a focus on physical well-being through incremental behavior changes. From walking programs to daily stretching groups and nutrition classes, sites are finding ways to lean into the well-being of their work families.

“I participated in one of the free annual wellness checks at our Charlottesville Plant and learned that I had Type 2 Diabetes. If I hadn’t been offered this benefit, I would not have made the necessary lifestyle changes. It has been life changing. I eat much healthier and have lost over 100 pounds. I feel better and have gotten my sugar levels back to a healthy range,” said Jeremy Hasher, Senior QC Tech at our Charlottesville Plant in Charlottesville, Virginia. “I take great pride in prioritizing my well-being now and taking care of myself and my family. I have also helped others—at work and home—who have had similar issues. I am grateful for the support my team at Charlottesville gave me during this time in my life.”

“Mental, physical, and financial health are all equally important and completely connected,” said Mark Barth. “We have some powerful stories about associates who addressed their financial health, which impacted their mental and physical health. We are trying to create as many of these instances as possible over the next several years.”

jeremy hasher

“If I hadn’t been offered this benefit, I would not have made the necessary lifestyle changes.

It has been life changing. I eat much healthier and have lost over 100 pounds. I feel better and have gotten my sugar levels back to a healthy range.”

See how we’re Broadening the Impact of Our Mission

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