What is the most effective or best-received wellness program you have offered your employees?
Scott Elser
CEO
Digital Current
Sector: Marketing and Advertising
We use an incentive-based program where employees who opt-in can earn additional PTO for participating in monthly challenges and bonus activities.
The monthly challenges are designed to promote wellness with simple, achievable and, most importantly, fun activities. This month, we’re promoting cardiovascular fitness by challenging participants to engage in two walking meetings per week. We’ll promote healthy eating in October by incentivizing participants to contribute healthy recipes to a Digital Current cookbook and participate in a potluck. Another example, in November participants will write down one thing they’re grateful for each day to promote mental wellness.
This is a program born from feedback collected primarily through Officevibe, and we continue to get feedback and ideas anonymously through that platform. But what’s most telling of the program’s success is the positive peer pressure. Just last month, we were challenged to take the stairs three times a day. Before a meeting, an employee and I needed to use the restroom. All she said was, “Upstairs?” and, just like that, I was making a healthier decision.
Scott Elser is the CEO of Digital Current, a full-service digital marketing agency in Mesa, Ariz. Prior experience includes leading the agency at Harte Hanks and founding Launchpad Advertising, along with leading large client relationships at Grey and McCann-Erickson. Scott is a leader, strategist, marketing consultant, entrepreneur, business coach, speaker and contributing writer for Inc. Magazine and Forbes.
Mary Lyn Hammer
President and CEO
Champion College Services Inc.
Sector: Educational Resources
Here at Champion College Services, we have always strived to provide all our employees different vehicles to assist them in all their health challenges. Everyone has different needs and goals, and, with the variety of products and services we provide, there is something for everyone.
Last year, we were fortunate to discover Kinessage. We decided to incorporate Kinessage into our overall employee health program and had Kathleen Gramzay in our office for eight live trainings over a few months that taught our employees techniques to tackle multiple issues they faced, which included musculoskeletal, migraines and knee problems. We believe the results speak for themselves. By combining the program with what we were already doing, absenteeism decreased and our team’s ability to focus and serve our clients improved.
Addressing our health challenges has not only contributed to the well-being of the individual employee but to our culture as a whole.
Mary Lyn Hammer is president and CEO of Champion College Services Inc., a respected advocate for higher education that has been providing default prevention services to student loan borrowers across the United States since 1989. She remains politically active as an expert advisor to education officials, lawmakers and industry liaisons in her drive to maintain student loan integrity and quality education for all students. It is through her vision and passion that Champion continues to lead the way in student loan management and default prevention.
Teresa Snyder-Lamberger
VP of Marketing & Strategic Solutions
Benchmark
Sector: Engineering and Manufacturing
Benchmark recently constructed our new global corporate headquarters from the ground up in Tempe, and something we felt was important to add to the new building was a fitness center. We reasoned that, by having a fitness center on-site, our employees wouldn’t need to travel to the gym in rush hour traffic or use much of their free time to squeeze in exercise — the fitness center would provide easy access to a workout facility to use whenever it best fit their schedule.
Since opening the facility in January, we’ve already seen the positive effects the fitness center has had on our employees. Regular exercise promotes restful sleep and releases endorphins that boost morale, allowing our employees to come to work feeling happy and ready to take on the day. Exercise is also one of the most effective ways to increase overall health, especially given the toll that sitting at a desk all day can have on wellness. The gym has been a popular addition to the Benchmark wellness program and instrumental in promoting a healthy lifestyle.
Teresa Snyder-Lamberger is a veteran marketing professional with more than 20 years of experience. She demonstrates a deep understanding of technology, which she brings to her role as the vice president of marketing and strategic solutions at Benchmark, a Tempe-based solutions provider for Original Equipment Manufacturing customers. Snyder-Lamberger graduated from Northern Arizona University with a degree in public relations and marketing.
