RALEIGH – Workplace Options, a Raleigh-headquartered wellbeing provider with 375 Triangle-area employees, announced a partnership agreement with the private equity firm WindRose Health Investors, LLC this week.
The company, which said in a statement that it “is responsible for the emotional, practical, and physical wellbeing support of more than 75 million employees in 200 countries and territories,” plans to use the capital investment that comes as a part of the agreement to expand its global operations. The company employs about 900 total people globally, a spokesperson for the company told WRAL TechWire.
The company is currently hiring and the spokesperson noted that service delivery roles, including counselors and work-life representatives, are most in demand.
“WPO sought out a like-minded partner who could further accelerate the Company’s innovation and growth initiatives, which include an expanded global footprint and increased market share in key areas,” said Dean Debnam, chairman of the board, in a statement. “WindRose’s investment underscores that WPO is well positioned for growth at a time when demand for employee wellbeing support has never been higher.”
Debnam will retire from the role of chair, as “is consistent with the full sale of his shares to WindRose,” King told WRAL TechWire.
The full board of directors has not yet been selected, nor appointed, according to the spokesperson. King will remain as the company’s top executive following the agreement, he confirmed to WRAL TechWire in an interview.
The company will also enhance its technology offerings and develop new wellbeing products, according to Alan King, the president and CEO of the company.
“WindRose’s depth of capabilities, expertise, reputation, and financial backing allow us to broaden our reach in current markets and extend into new ones,” said King in a statement. “We are now better equipped to deliver the innovative solutions needed to support the post-pandemic workplace.”
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The company was already experiencing growth, King noted, with revenue increasing by more than 25% during each of the prior two years, growing by more than 300 employees during the same period.
A recent study from the company that tracked 24,000 people throughout a three-month period found that 32 percent of employees contacting its service centers seeking emotional support were experiencing workplace issues. The top three issued identified were workplace stress (45 percent), conflict/tension (24 percent), and performance issues (16 percent).
The future of the workplace is changing, noted King.
“The workplace has experienced and is still experiencing a roller coaster of change and uncertainty like never before in history,” he said. “This has left everyone feeling some degree of vulnerability and it will take years before we truly understand how deeply the workforce has been impacted.”
There is hope for the future, though, said King. “It can look very positive if organizational leaders recognize the tremendous opportunity they have to craft a work environment, whether physical or virtual, that values employees’ emotional, physical and practical wellbeing,” King said.
Financial terms of the agreement with WindRose were not disclosed.
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