You might expect to find yoga and spin classes, fitness facilities, bucolic views, nutritious cuisine and abundant natural light at a luxury spa resort, not your workplace. Unless you work at Hillwood.
The five-acre campus on Turtle Creek Boulevard that houses Perot Companies, including Hillwood, was specifically designed to nurture the health and well-being of the people who work there. “We had a lot of discussion about how to create a collegiate environment and what makes a quality, environmentally friendly and healthy place to work,” explains Ken Reese, executive vice president of Hillwood Urban. The campus, which is on the popular Katy Trail, is a physical manifestation of the people-first philosophy of Ross Perot Jr. and his father.
Related:Beyond the call of duty: How Hillwood paves new paths for veterans
Ross Sr. located the headquarters of his first company, Electronic Data Systems, on a 176-acre parcel of land in North Dallas that was home to Forest Hills Golf Course, which was going bankrupt. The purchase of the property came with a golf course, tennis courts, a pool and a fitness center that Perot decided to maintain and make accessible to all EDS associates. That was pretty much unheard of back in the 1970s.
FWD>DFW
“It’s a culture that’s hard to beat,” observes Darcy Anderson, a 40-year veteran of the company. “Most of us don’t ever leave.” Take Joe Bass, who joined Hillwood in 2000 and is executive vice president of development. Bass guided daily fitness boot camps when the firm was at Victory Park and switched to teaching spin classes when the new headquarters opened in 2017. He led his 200th spin class in June.
“It’s about fostering a supportive and collaborative environment at work,” Bass says. “My motivation stems from a desire to help others by promoting how health and wellness have had a positive impact on my life, but it’s about much more than fitness. Seeing our associates grow healthier and more connected through these classes has been immensely rewarding.”
Hillwood encourages its associates to embrace a healthy lifestyle outside of work by sponsoring them in charitable sporting and health-related activities, such as the J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge.(Courtesy Hillwood)
The company encourages exercising outside of work, too, by sponsoring associates in charitable sporting and health-related activities. Most recently, over 50 associates participated in the J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge, the world’s largest corporate running event. Hillwood offers comprehensive wellness benefits for associates and their families, including free preventive medical exams and reimbursement for health club fees and weight management programs. Plus, 24/7 access to mental health services is available through Enterhealth, a company that offers concierge-level mental health and addiction treatment services.
Hillwood also collaborates with supplemental benefits firms, such as Cariloop, which offers coaching and resources for caregivers and individuals facing challenging or chronic health issues. Hillwood has a longstanding partnership with Cooper Clinic, rooted in the relationship between Ross Perot Sr. and founder Dr. Kenneth Cooper. UT Southwestern is another valued partner, assisting associates with specialized care — as is the Mayo Clinic, which provides comprehensive evaluation services. Additionally, Hillwood provides a diabetes management program and an employee assistance program at no cost to associates.
Since nutrition is key to good health, Hillwood conducted a rigorous selection process that prioritized healthy menus before awarding its cafe’s food service management contract to Bon Appétit Management Company. Furnishing scratch-made menu options crafted from seasonal, regional and often organically grown ingredients, the cafe serves breakfast and lunch and offers prepared dinner meals to take home, all priced below normal restaurant rates.
“Ross always looked at nutrition as preemptive to good health,” Darcy Anderson explains. “If you are going to pay health insurance for an associate, maybe you could enable them to spend less for healthier breakfast and lunch meals, and in the big scheme of things you have a happy, healthy associate who probably doesn’t have as many visits to the doctor. It’s a really big concept, a kind of holistic approach to associate wellness.”
When COVID-19 hit, Hillwood went beyond standard procedures, such as giving out personal protective equipment and adding protective glass barriers around workstations. It installed ultraviolet lights in HVAC systems to kill microorganisms and bacteria, hosted free vaccination clinics and deployed full-time nurses to conduct health checks. Hillwood was also one of the first companies in Dallas to make effective COVID testing available to its associates and their families, and continued to provide testing throughout the pandemic. Dr. David Winter and Jack Martin from Baylor Scott & White Health served as strategic advisors to Hillwood during COVID-19, helping the company successfully navigate the constantly changing environment and aiding its associates and their families in healthy interactions.
By design, Hillwood’s Dallas-based associates work in light-filled environments with views of trees, landscaping and Turtle Creek. “There are a lot of studies done on light quality and connection to nature and what that does for blood pressure, energy and mental wellbeing,” Reese notes. “It’s really important.” Most office buildings are 120 to 130 feet wide; Hillwood planners cut that roughly in half.”
Hillwood collaborated with the Center for BrainHealth at UT Southwestern, leveraging insights from its leading cognitive neuroscientist, Dr. Sandi Chapman, to design workspaces that promote optimal productivity. This approach ensures that associates are working in environments that minimize distractions.
“You are near a window wherever you are in the building,” Reese points out. “Light is as much of an emotional thing as a productivity thing. You know how you feel when it’s cloudy five days in a row. It’s kind of depressing. The idea is that you go to the office and it’s a nice, bright space.” Sensors on window treatments switch off overhead lights to maximize light quality as well as conserve electricity in the LEED Silver–certified structure, he notes.
Hillwood’s campus is more than just a place to work; it’s a testament to Ross Perot Sr.’s visionary leadership and enduring legacy. “Our approach to workplace wellness is holistic,” says Ross Perot Jr. “We are committed to fostering associate wellness through strategic corporate policies, comprehensive health care access, superior nutrition, innovative workplace design and robust mental health support. It’s part of our family legacy to ensure our associates thrive in every aspect of their lives.”
This commitment to nurturing the well-being of its team ensures that Hillwood remains a pioneering and exceptional place to work, where health, happiness and productivity flourish together.
