Employees On The Move

Written By: Grady Brown

In human resource circles, wellness programs are often discussed, promoted, and evaluated. Many of these programs struggle to attract interest from employees and fail to inspire even small changes toward physical or emotional health. Even though 'Employee Wellness' is universally acknowledged to positively contribute to organizational productively and engagement. However, measuring progress toward these goals is difficult at best.

At the beginning of 2018, here at Med One, we launched our first ever organized effort toward employee wellness. The fundamental design of the initiative included measurable goals in regular physical activity, annual health exams, and at least 40 hours of community service. With this high standard of activity, health care and service, several incentives were offered to motivate participation. As the months of 2018 have advanced, several realizations have emerged.

41% of Med One’s employee base is participating, along with just over 50% of senior management.

Many participating employees moved from being sporadically active or inactive physically to very active.

Participation included an annual health, dental and eye exams. Several employees reported that the findings of these exams produced helpful information in proactively managing ongoing health issues and previously unknown information valuable in addressing current health concerns.

The minimum requirement of 40 hours of community service produced hundreds of hours of community involvement not previously provided. Heartwarming examples of Med One employees volunteering included: humanitarian aid fund raising, neighborhood renovation and cleanup projects, serving the elderly and disadvantaged, helping to lead youth sports, and assisting in the harvest and packaging of food bound for hunger relief. Other services included staffing soup kitchens, homeless shelters, adoption centers and battered women care facilties.

As employees completed the program requirements, their documentation was approved by local management and forwarded to HR for record keeping. It has been truly amazing to me to witness so many employees making the difficult changes toward physical activity and in reaching out in their communities across the country. Now as we look toward 2019, we hope to include over 50% of the Med One employee base in our wellness initiatives.

We are excited at the individual and collective good that will come as a result of these efforts.

The measure of employee wellness most important at Med One is employee happiness. Employees who are active, contribute in their communities and are engaged in their jobs are happy. We’re glad they are with us and we realize that the world is a little bit better because of our efforts.