Melaleuca Receives Empowering Women Award for Workplace Excellence

Melaleuca: The Wellness Company has once again been recognized for its commitment to supporting women in the workplace. Presented by the Idaho Business Review on April 4, 2024, the inaugural Empowering Women Award honors Melaleuca’s numerous initiatives to empower and uplift women and to recognize them for outstanding contributions to the company.

According to the Idaho Business Review, this prestigious award “shines a light on organizations that have demonstrated tangible efforts and documented results in supporting and elevating women in Idaho.” A selection committee reviewed each application and letters of reference and then evaluated the information relative to the company’s resources. Some of the specific criteria included a “record of hiring and promoting women, mentoring women, addressing inequalities, and providing philanthropic efforts to support women.”

When presenting the award, Idaho Business Review spokeswoman Autumn Kersey said, “Founded in 1985, Melaleuca: The Wellness Company is a $2 billion global company empowering female entrepreneurs. Recognized for supporting women’s careers, Melaleuca fosters an inclusive culture and was named as one of America’s best employers for women by Forbes. Last year, Melaleuca received the Susan B. Anthony Award from the Alturas Institute, recognizing the company for its dedication to advancing women’s careers and promoting a supportive work environment. Congratulations to Melaleuca: The Wellness Company!”

Melaleuca Vice President of Human Resources Jamie Reynolds accepted the award. She expressed her appreciation to the newspaper for recognizing companies that demonstrate best practices and honoring the women who make those businesses run.

“We’re proud of the many talented, accomplished women in the Melaleuca family,” Jamie said. “We have an inclusive spirit, a family-centered culture, and principled values that empower and recognize women. Our culture and business model attracts female entrepreneurs and people from all walks of life to be a part of Team Melaleuca.”

How Does Melaleuca: The Wellness Company Support Women?

Melaleuca’s mission is to “enhance the lives of those we touch by helping people reach their goals.” Naturally, this includes enhancing and elevating the lives of women.

“We recognize that working mothers have unique challenges in balancing their responsibilities at work and at home,” said Melaleuca CEO Jerry Felton. “Our programs and benefits at Melaleuca are designed to support and empower them to succeed in both areas. We strive to create a work environment that meets the needs of working mothers. We’re proud to be making a real difference in the lives of our Team Members and their families.”

Here are just a few examples of the workplace benefits that display Melaleuca’s commitment to women:

• Paid Maternity Leave: Melaleuca offers paid maternity leave.
• Daycare: Melaleuca runs Koala Kids Academy, a full-fledged daycare center that gives flexibility to working mothers. According to the Wall Street Journal, fewer than 6% of US employers offer it at or near their workplaces. Even better, Melaleuca heavily subsidizes the cost for Melaleuca Team Members, so families pay much less than the average cost of daycare, and the company opens the remaining spots for the community.
• Comfortable Mothers Lounges: Melaleuca’s Mothers Lounges and other designated areas are at all of its facilities in Idaho Falls and Rexburg, Idaho; Knoxville, Tennessee; and Kansas City, Missouri. For their breastfeeding Team Members, Melaleuca ensures the Mothers Lounges are comfortable, convenient and private.
• Expectant Mother Parking: At Melaleuca facilities, Melaleuca has created several dedicated parking spaces for its expectant mothers. You typically see these parking spaces at retail stores, but it’s rare for businesses to do this.
• Free Concierge: A free concierge service helps Team Members strike a healthy work-life balance. At no cost to the Team Member, concierges run errands during the workday, whether that means bringing their car to a mechanic to change the oil, pick up groceries for dinner, or buying poster board for a child’s science project.
• On-Site Fitness Center: An on-site fitness center and exercise pods throughout the Idaho Falls facility provide opportunities for Team Members, especially working mothers, to balance work-life by incorporating exercise and wellness into their daily routine. Workout classes with trainers and fitness instructors happen prior to, during and after work. It only costs $10 per month, but if Team Members go 10 times in a month then it is free.
• $100 Monthly Product Training Certificate: Each Team Member receives a $100 product training certificate every month ($1,200 annually) toward Melaleuca’s portfolio of 400+ products: vitamins and supplements; eco-friendly cleaning products; laundry detergents; shampoos and conditioners; skin care, soaps and lotions; high-end cosmetics and beauty products; baby products and wipes; and more. This benefit drives product feedback and insight while also helping families enjoy Melaleuca products and reducing the amount of money they need to spend at the grocery or drug store each month.
• Tuition Reimbursement: Melaleuca offers tuition reimbursement for industry certifications and bachelor’s and master’s degrees, while providing many other benefits for Team Members to further their education and professional development.
• Flexible Schedules for Part-Time Work: Melaleuca recognizes that having a work-life balance is important for everyone. To meet this need, Melaleuca offers various part-time schedules, including the Hotshot program, which allows Team Members to work only 3-5 days each month. Having this kind of flexibility allows many women to have a foot in the door until they decide to dedicate their time fully to their families or transition to a more permanent work arrangement.

Julie Johnson, Melaleuca’s Vice President of Global Marketing Executive Experience, recently reflected on her career at Melaleuca.

“Melaleuca rises to the top as a company that focuses on the individual,” Julie said. “I have been treated as a human being first and an employee second. And I have had every opportunity in the world at Melaleuca. We really are a family company with a strong culture that prioritizes growth, innovation, and hard work, both personally and professionally.”

But Melaleuca’s support for women extends far beyond these exceptional benefits and workplace initiatives.

A Culture That Encourages and Rewards Growth

Melaleuca has developed an inclusive workplace culture that prioritizes the well-being and professional development of its Team Members. It all adds up to them staying and growing at Melaleuca.

For example, the company’s average tenure is approximately seven years, roughly 75 percent longer than the national average of four years. This is because Melaleuca has a strong promote-from-within culture and actively trains and develops employees for advancement into different positions based on their talent and potential.

In the first quarter of 2024 alone, Melaleuca promoted 109 Team Members, and in 2023, 349 Team Members were promoted. In the two years before that, Melaleuca made 743 internal promotions.

To celebrate their decision to go the distance with Melaleuca, the company offers a Loyalty & Long-Term Contribution Bonus Program that rewards tenure, further fostering employee growth and retention. The program pays $5,000 for five years with the company, $10,000 for ten years, and so on. In 2023, Melaleuca gave out $3,431,489 in longevity bonuses to its Team Members.

Since it began in 2007, this bonus has paid over $39 million to thousands of Team Members.

Nicki Bowden, a Policy Administration Manager who has been a Melaleuca Team Member for 35 years, expressed gratitude that her longevity bonuses will enable her to enjoy a great retirement.

“I love my job and the opportunity to work at Melaleuca,” Nicki said. “Working here has allowed me to do so many things for my family and to enjoy so many professional experiences. And I have a solid retirement to look forward to!”

Melaleuca Empowers Female Entrepreneurs

Through a unique referral marketing model, Melaleuca customers do the advertising—and receive compensation on the purchases of those they refer. Of these referrers, called Marketing Executives, the majority are women and mothers.

Melaleuca is especially proud of its Marketing Executives, most of whom are women. No other business in Idaho has created more female entrepreneurs than Melaleuca. To date, Melaleuca has paid over $7.2 billion to its Marketing Executives for referring customers to Melaleuca.

Through Melaleuca, these amazing women have paid for their children’s schooling, dug their families out of debt, paid off mortgages and so much more. Many of them have become exceptional business leaders in their teams and exemplars to all Melaleuca Marketing Executives. Melaleuca owes its growth and stability to these powerful leaders.

Forbes and the Alturas Institute Name Melaleuca a Top Employer for Women

In 2021, Melaleuca was recognized as part of Forbes’ list of America’s Best Employers for Women. This award was given to only 300 companies in the entire United States, out of thousands of eligible businesses. Melaleuca was the only Idaho-based company that made the Forbes list.

Additionally, Forbes ranked Melaleuca on its list of America’s Best Employers after recognizing the company in 2023, 2022 and 2021. Forbes also named Melaleuca as part of America’s Best Employers by State in 2020 and 2021.

To create their “Best Employers” list, Forbes uses data from Statista, a well-known, independent research firm. The firm anonymously interviews tens of thousands of US-based employees at companies with at least 1,000 employees. Statista’s survey contains inquiries about overall job satisfaction, work-life balance, opportunities for advancement, employer reputation, compensation, and the employees’ willingness to recommend their employers to peers.

Last year, Melaleuca was honored with the Susan B. Anthony Award, presented by Dr. David Adler, President of the Alturas Institute. During the awards ceremony, Dr. Adler praised Melaleuca for its efforts to support working women in their professional and personal growth.

“Melaleuca is committed to supporting women in the workplace,” said Dr. Adler. “We look forward to seeing Melaleuca’s continued efforts in helping working women achieve their professional goals.”

Melaleuca’s Mission: Driven by Women

Melaleuca gratefully acknowledges these recognitions are only made possible by the dedication and hard work of its Team Members and Marketing Executives. The Empowering Women Award specifically underscores the invaluable contributions of the women who empower and enable The Wellness Company to enhance the lives of those we touch by helping them reach their goals.

Becky Zehtner, a Melaleuca R&D scientist, summarizes her 30-year Melaleuca experience this way: “Not everyone has the opportunity to learn and grow in one place. I love my job because each day it brings something new and different, something that excites me. I have had a direct influence on the creation of many Melaleuca products and patents, and I have seen how those products really have changed the lives of our customers. It’s been an incredibly rewarding experience so far, and there is much more to come!”

Through a comprehensive range of benefits and initiatives, including paid maternity leave, daycare, mothers’ lounges, flexible scheduling, an inclusive culture, exceptional wellness products, and the company’s incredible business opportunity, Melaleuca is steadfast in helping women reach their goals, both personally and professionally.

If you are interested in joining with Melaleuca: The Wellness Company to enhance lives, visit MelaleucaJobs.com.