Employee Wellness Spotlight: Implementing the Holiday Challenge

Sheila Bannister is the Health and Wellness Director for ONI Risk Partners in Indianapolis, Indiana. Even as newcomers to the Holiday Challenge, Sheila developed creative strategies to involve her employees and clients. She shares her experience and strategies below. Way to go, Sheila and ONI Risk Partners!

Employer Testimonial: Implementing the Holiday Challenge

As the Health and Wellness Director for ONI Risk Partners, I promoted the Holiday Challenge to five of my clients, in addition to our ONI Associates.

I first reviewed the Holiday Challenge Worksite Guide and found many helpful resources. Next, I decided what I felt was most important to emphasize, and developed a point system for participants based on that criteria. Finally, I chose how I wanted to incent ONI Associates to participate and helped my clients do the same.

Because I wanted to encourage participants to really engage with the Holiday Challenge, my point system included the following.

To participate:

• 1 point for weighing in AND weighing out. If you did not weigh-in AND weigh-out you were not eligible to earn any points for the prize drawing. I wanted to add some accountability with an actual weigh-in, and this brief time with employees resulted in a lot of great conversations, allowing employees to share what they struggle with. What a win for someone designing a wellness program!
• To earn extra points, participants could do any or all of the following:
  • 1 point for sending a screenshot of the welcome email, which a participant receives immediately following the Holiday Challenge registration. I felt that the biggest benefit of this challenge was the seven weeks of support employees receive when they register on the site, so I offered a point.
  • 2 points for sending a screenshot of the Pre-Survey completion screen. I wanted Eat Smart, Move More, Weigh Less to benefit from as much data as they could collect, so I offered two points.
  • 2 points for sending a screenshot of the Post-Survey completion screen. I wanted Eat Smart, Move More, Weigh Less to benefit from as much data as they could collect, so I offered two points.
  • 1 point for maintaining your weight during the Holiday Challenge.
  • 1 point for every 3 pounds lost. Many ONI Associates and clients were asking for a weight loss incentive, so I paired it with this challenge since they were getting so much support on healthy eating habits!

I utilized the publications in the Worksite Guide to promote the challenge and posted tips and recipes on my wellness bulletin board throughout the challenge. After the final weigh-in, I calculated how many points each participant had accumulated, and that is how many entries they had in the prize drawing. Prizes were different for each client based on their budget, ranging from one $25 gift card to three $50 gift cards.

In all, we had 240 participants register for the Holiday Challenge, and heard great feedback. I learned about the challenge just a few weeks before it launched, so I was very pleased at how easy it was to implement. I will definitely start promoting this earlier next year so more of my clients can take advantage of this amazing resource! Thank you Eat Smart, Move More, Weigh Less!

-Sheila Bannister, Health and Wellness Director, ONI Risk Partners

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