Five Questions With: Mark Clermont

Mark Clermont was recently named president of Provant Health Solutions Inc., a privately owned company that is a national leader in workplace well-being. Clermont will spearhead the East Greenwich-based company’s strategic development and growth. He talked with Providence Business News about his expertise in well-being programs and how workplace well-being is a “win-win” for all involved.

PBN: What motivated you to leave UpToDate Inc., where you were its chief financial officer, to become Provant’s president? And, what skills and expertise will you bring to bear in your new position?

CLERMONT: UpToDate is on the clinical side of health, working to help doctors make informed, evidence-based decisions about patient care. Physicians would use our product to modify their care plan for a patient, based on the latest medical evidence, resulting in better health outcomes and less time in the hospital. Occasionally, however, physicians would lament that they could only do so much. A former colleague said it best: “I knew that sometimes as soon as a patient walked out the door, [he] would be right back here in a few months with the same poor results and bad health. The patient needed to engage and change his day-to-day habits to get better.”

Since the demands on a doctor in our current health care systems present barriers beyond the patient visit, a support team can assist in coaching patients between visits. This is where my interest in the wellness industry began, by seeing how at-work programs can influence people to live better and healthier lives. Provant has a unique position in the industry with its comprehensive programs, tenure in the industry and a strong customer base. Provant is a high-growth company where I can leverage my experience in evolving businesses to help it accelerate through its next stages with key transformational and operational expertise.

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PBN: Can you describe the scope of Provant’s workplace well-being strategies?

CLERMONT: Provant’s workplace well-being strategies cover the full range of assessment, motivation and support, incentive management and reporting. We want to make sure our services reach everyone, no matter where or when they work, so we deliver them through a mix of onsite, remote, virtual and mobile modalities.

We know that a person’s physical health is just one aspect of his or her total well-being. Because other factors like stress, social connections and finances impact someone’s life, our strategies address the employee as a whole person and help organizations develop workplace cultures of well-being that cover the different facets of employees’ lives.

PBN: How do companies – and their employees – benefit from adopting wellness strategies?

CLERMONT: Workplace well-being truly is a win-win situation. By providing resources to help employees achieve their optimal well-being, employers create great places to work. Consequently, employees bring their “A-game” to work. Good health and high employee performance benefit companies by reducing health care costs and increasing productivity, quality and overall competitiveness in the marketplace.

Employees benefit from a well-being strategy because they have access to services that are personalized to their particular needs and interests – like better nutrition, managing stress or getting finances under control – and have the opportunity to proactively address matters that affect their well-being before risks become serious problems.

It’s important to recognize that employer well-being strategies benefit employees’ personal lives as well as their “work” lives. Employees bring home what they learn at work about “whole person health.” Families and friends gain from that knowledge and, together, they form networks that support healthy lifestyles.

Taking that to the next level, communities benefit from workplace wellness programs because there is a symbiotic relationship between the health and well-being of employees and the health and well-being of a community. We’ve found that when employees and their companies are strong and healthy, their communities are, too.

PBN: What new and innovative workplace wellness strategies are on the horizon, and what long-standing approaches have proven most effective?

CLERMONT: Our experience shows us that providing employees with strategies that compare the alignment or the gap between their biometrics and self-assessments of their lifestyles often motivate them to begin a path to adopting healthier behaviors. Coaching and education help employees put one foot in front of the other toward their goals, even if they have a momentary slip-up. Providing these services in combination are strategies that have stood the test of time.

One of the newer strategies that I find particularly exciting is the emphasis on the whole person. Provant is collaborating with a variety of partners to address the full scope of employee well-being effectively and seamlessly. These partnerships help both employers and workers by ensuring that employees can easily access the particular service they want.

Another strategy that Provant has embraced is the expanded use of technology to deliver services when and where individuals want them, and to provide motivational nudges and feedback that help employees stay on track toward achieving their goals for the best lives possible. I find workplace well-being really energizing because it is continually evolving.

PBN: You’re charged in your new position with Provant’s strategic development and health. What will success look like for you six months from now?

CLERMONT: This is the season of following through on New Year’s resolutions. Whether someone wants to improve his or her fitness – be it sleep, financial, mental or physical – there are lots of resources available to help people not just stick with their plan, but to have fun with it. The best employers make these tools available to their employees in a cohesive, thoughtful offering. In fact, today’s workers demand this type of engagement from their employer. In this manner, success at Provant will be measured by our ability to help employers, employees and their families follow through on their well-being aspirations. For Provant’s employees, my goal is for them to experience the profound satisfaction that comes with building a lasting business, whose foundational underpinnings are rooted in societal good. This is what I helped achieve at my former company, and I look forward to seeing it develop here in Rhode Island at Provant.

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