County updates wellness programs, rolls out Personify and policy manual edits

Williamson County benefits and HR staff briefed the Commissioners Court March 25 on employee wellness activities and proposed mid-year policy manual updates; the court unanimously approved the policy updates and the benefits-committee bylaw revision.

Shelley Lowry, director of benefits, and Angela Collins, wellness coordinator, reported that the county’s new Personify wellness platform has replaced Virgin Pulse and that employees and eligible spouses should register and complete one of three required actions this program year (health survey, wellness exam/biometric screening, or 30,000 points) to meet wellness requirements tied to plan incentives. Staff announced on-site screenings—BEXA (breast screening), DEXA (bone-density/body composition) and Harbor Health wellness exams—at multiple county locations in April and late April/May and encouraged employees to schedule appointments. Lowry and Collins also promoted SmartDollar, a financial-wellness program offering coaching and tax/will preparation.

Allen Frederick, chief people officer, presented mid-year updates to the employee policy manual that included administrative clarifications and a change allowing the sheriff’s office to count equivalent out-of-state TCOLE (Texas Commission on Law Enforcement) certifications when verifying years of service for pay or hiring processes. Frederick said most edits were verbiage cleanups to align policy language with current practice. The court approved the policy changes effective March 25.

The benefits committee bylaws were updated to make the county manager a permanent voting member; the court approved that change unanimously. Commissioners and staff reiterated that participation in the wellness program and timely completion of actions are employee responsibilities and emphasized that wellness activities and screenings help manage long-term health-care costs.