A Pioneer in Corporate Wellness Continues to Create New Jobs

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1 Bank of America Merrill Lynch White Paper A Pioneer in Corporate Wellness Continues to Create New Jobs Executive summary, 2012 Inc. Hire Power Award winner, helps corporate clients benefit from healthier, more productive employees, generating hundreds of new jobs in the process. And Bank of America Merrill Lynch provides Plus One just what it needs on the financial side. Contents Establishing, and building on, core strengths Finding support for growth... 3 Hiring to a higher standard... 4

2 A PIONEER IN CORPORATE WELLNESS CONTINUES TO CREATE NEW JOBS 2 has been helping people reap the benefits of physical fitness and a healthier lifestyle for more than 25 years. Starting with a single Plus One Fitness Clinic, which opened in New York s SoHo neighborhood in 1986, the company has evolved into a leading provider of comprehensive wellness solutions for corporations, hotels and other organizations. Its business model is built on applying an integrated approach to individual and employee wellness, and its menu of service offerings ranges from the design, development and management of onsite fitness centers to the creation and execution of results-focused employee wellness programs. Plus One s client list includes some of the best known names on the Fortune 500 list including Bank of America Corporation along with world leaders in the media, biotechnology, energy and pharmaceutical industries. As Plus One has grown and expanded its reach, it has been a prolific generator of new jobs, now employing more than 1,700 professionals nationwide. What s more, Plus One Health Management has continued to function as an impressive engine of job creation, even in the current turbulent economy. The company added 355 new jobs during the past three years, landing it on the Inc. Hire Power list of the top 100 businesses that are creating jobs and rebuilding the economy. Along the way, Plus One has benefitted from leveraging new technology, being quick to spot emerging trends and a strong relationship with Bank of America Merrill Lynch. View of Plus One s first training studio in Soho, August Establishing, and building on, core strengths Mike Motta, Plus One s founder and executive chairman, credits the company s success to a handful of factors, starting with the fact that it has a good handle on its core services of physical activity and nutrition. These two things continue to be the foundation for people getting and staying healthy, he says. That, coupled with having good business minds in our organization to grow our business, both geographically and from a products and services perspective, has been the key. We re good at our knitting, and we ve been able to figure out the right add-ons that best align with our strengths and weaknesses, especially wellness products and services. Mike Motta, founder and executive chairman, Plus One has expanded its core of wellness specialists from 10 to 50 during the past 10 years by offering new services to clients who want to keep their employees healthy, and that s been accomplished both through technology and boots on the ground. The keys to that success have been the high quality and service levels Plus One maintains in all its dealings. That makes it possible for us to gain our clients trust, so they are open to new services when we offer them, Motta says.

3 A PIONEER IN CORPORATE WELLNESS CONTINUES TO CREATE NEW JOBS 3 Plus One instructor teaching a yoga class The company s expansion in the corporate wellness arena has benefitted in some respects from the challenging economy of the past few years, which has prompted many companies to focus on cutting expenses and increasing productivity. Corporate wellness and fitness programs can help with both objectives. Healthcare costs are a huge and growing expense for many businesses, and helping employees live healthier lives contributes to keeping those costs in check and boosting worker productivity. A recent global survey of health promotion and workplace wellness strategies identified improving worker productivity and reducing presenteeism (workers choosing to come to work sick) as top objectives of corporate wellness programs. As health promotion takes its place as a primary consideration among drivers of profitability and performance, the number of organizations recognizing their role in managing employee health has been growing, from 75% in 2010 to 87% in Regardless of the state of the economy, these interventions are important, says Chris Ciatto, Plus One s CEO. Maybe 20 years ago it was more of an amenity or a perk to have these services, but now it s a necessity. The motivations may have changed, but the demand has remained consistent, and Plus One s ability to deliver on these promises and continually innovate has earned us additional business. Last year we added about 20 new clients maybe five were brand new and 15 were conversions from our competitors so we re growing in both regards, and that s allowed us to add jobs. (L to R): Chris Ciatto, CEO, and Mike Motta, founder and executive chairman, Chris Ciatto, CEO, Finding support for growth Another aspect of Plus One s job-creating growth has been its program of expansion through strategic acquisition, and Bank of America Merrill Lynch has played an important role in the completion of its two most recent deals. In June of 2009, as the deepest U.S. recession since the Great Depression was drawing to a close, Plus One assumed management of TimeOut Services Inc. s existing corporate contracts for workplace fitness and wellness services in California s Bay area. Early in 2011, Plus One

4 A PIONEER IN CORPORATE WELLNESS CONTINUES TO CREATE NEW JOBS 4 Lisa Fierstein, CFO, Plus One instructor teaching a trending group fitness class acquired Fitness Works at Work, a provider of customized corporate health solutions in New England. It used a line of credit with Bank of America Merrill Lynch to help fund both acquisitions. Through Ted Lyons, Bank of America Merrill Lynch has been a great supporter, says Lisa Fierstein, CFO at Plus One. I think they recognize the growth we have achieved over the years, and they are always responsive to our needs, always reaching out to make us happy. That relationship played a critical role in the TimeOut Services and Fitness Works at Work acquisitions. The company had to get prior approval from the bank to use its line of credit to help finance the deals, and Bank of America Merrill Lynch was behind it 100 percent of the way. Since the acquisitions primarily involved Plus One assuming existing corporate contracts from its targets, there was little in the way of hard assets available for collateral. Bank of America Merrill Lynch was thoughtful and creative during these acquisitions, Ciatto says. They evaluated the intellectual capital and existing client relationships in place, and made this capital available on a cash-flow lending basis. Hiring to a higher standard Some of the credit for Plus One s continued success in creating jobs also goes to its approach to recruiting and hiring, along with its commitment to promoting from within, thus assuring a meaningful career path for motivated employees and opening up additional spots for new employees behind them. Dave Milani, vice president of human resources, is the first to admit it s no small task. We hire people to go change the behavior of other people, and that s a very difficult thing to do, Milani says. So our challenge is really finding people to deliver the high standards

5 A PIONEER IN CORPORATE WELLNESS CONTINUES TO CREATE NEW JOBS 5 Dave Milani, VP of human resources, Plus One facility with woman exercising we ve put in place and who have the right qualifications and experience, but who also have the soft skills required to be successful at that behavior changing. Plus One uses behavioral interviewing to assess candidates ability to do that, and it focuses on bringing people into its system at a more junior level. That allows us to help shape how they go about becoming Plus One team members, how they go about learning to change people s behavior, how they go about doing their job and the service level they bring to it every day, he says. To keep those employees moving forward, Plus One provides them with a lot of different frameworks including tools, funding and incentives that they can use to further develop both their technical skills and their behavior-changing skills. That approach has helped Plus One maintain a lower turnover rate than its competitors in an industry where high turnover is endemic. Bank of America Merrill Lynch helps Plus One in its efforts to boost employee satisfaction by coming up with targeted financial products, such as a payroll solution it developed last year for Plus One employees who cannot receive direct deposit of paychecks because they don t have bank accounts. The card-based solution is convenient for employees, and the elimination of paper checks is saving money for Plus One, Fierstein reports. Plus One stresses quality, service and opportunity in its relationships with both clients and employees, and Motta and Ciatto credit that approach for much of the company s continued success as a job creator, even in difficult economic times. The company attracts people who are passionate about being in the exciting field of keeping people healthy and who also want to grow personally, professionally and financially. Growth is essential to our business plan. If we don t grow, we re in trouble, Motta says. Bank of America Merrill Lynch helps Plus One achieve its goals, not just through the services and solutions the bank provides, but by understanding Plus One s vision and sharing the same commitment to excellence, he adds.

6 A PIONEER IN CORPORATE WELLNESS CONTINUES TO CREATE NEW JOBS 6 Plus One executive team (L to R): Matt Sylvestre, CIO; Dave Milani, VP of human resources; Chris Ciatto, CEO; Veronica Hyatt, VP of program innovation and engagement; Jennifer Sargent, SVP of business development; Lisa Fierstein, CFO; John Holding, SVP of operations Payroll is just one example of how Bank of America Merrill Lynch creates solutions and provides products and services that help us succeed, Fierstein says. They are our main treasury bank, so we have all our accounts with them. They are attuned to our working capital needs; we have a line of credit with them; and we know they will work with us when we have an acquisition on the horizon. The people we work with at Bank of America Merrill Lynch understand our commitment to growth, and they are always trying to think of ways to help us continue on our trajectory. Bank of America Merrill Lynch is very proactive and very responsive to our needs. We really couldn t ask for better support. 1 Working Well: A Global Survey of Health Promotion and Workplace Wellness Strategies, Buck Consultants, a Xerox Company, February This article is for informational purposes only. Please consult your tax advisor, as neither Bank of America, its affiliates, nor their employees provide legal, accounting and tax advice. Bank of America Merrill Lynch is the marketing name for the global banking and global markets businesses of Bank of America Corporation. Lending, derivatives, and other commercial banking activities are performed globally by banking affiliates of Bank of America Corporation, including Bank of America, N.A., member FDIC. Securities, strategic advisory, and other investment banking activities are performed globally by investment banking affiliates of Bank of America Corporation ( Investment Banking Affiliates ), including, in the United States, Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated and Merrill Lynch Professional Clearing Corp., both of which are registered broker-dealers and members of SIPC, and, in other jurisdictions, by locally registered entities. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated and Merrill Lynch Professional Clearing Corp. are registered as futures commission merchants with the CFTC and are members of the NFA. Investment products offered by Investment Banking Affiliates: Are Not FDIC Insured May Lose Value Are Not Bank Guaranteed Bank of America Corporation E