Starkey Hearing CEO Brandon Sawalich is now offering $1,000 incentives to all U.S. employees who get, or have already received, the COVID-19 vaccine. Sawalich spoke with News Talk 830 WCCO's Cory Hepola about his decision to offer the incentive.
Listen to your favorite News/Talk station now on Audacy.
The hearing aid manufacturing company based in Eden Prairie employs more than 5,000, according to a report from 2019. With the rise in cases from the Delta variant, Sawalich wants to make sure that his employees are healthy and safe.
"We believe in our people, we know that you're only gonna be as good as the people you have, and we wanted to also reward the ones that have received the vaccine," Sawalich said.
Currently, Starkey does not require employees to be vaccinated. However, the campus in Eden Prairie is following health and safety protocols and taking time to educate staff to make sure they know as much as possible about the vaccine, the original strain of Covid, and now the Delta variant.
"Yeah, no, we're not there," he said. "I don't believe in the mandate or the requirement. We are doing well with the safety and protocol here on campus."
From the start of the pandemic, the company went 470 days with its employees working from home. The decision to reopen the office to those willing came on July 6, now with the uptick in cases, another shutdown may happen.
"We've been monitoring and watching the Delta variant and getting and collecting the facts," Sawalich said. "My approach has always been 'I want to stay ahead of this.' What can we do to be proactive and help our employees and their families."
The company has spent more than $2 million remodeling its headquarters to make sure that employees have safe working conditions.
While in-person collaboration is what Sawalich says drives innovation, he still puts safety for his employees above all else.
Right now, masks are required on campus no matter employees' vaccination status, and Sawalich shared that the company will continue to work to make sure Starkey does what's best for its community.
