A Real-Life Management Story

We got employees excited about weight-loss program: Here's how

Made reducing health risks into a friendly competition

We wanted our employees to get serious about wellness – especially weight management- without alienating them. That meant we had to do it in a way employees found non-threatening.

Instant buy-in

We started a 13-week "Biggest Loser" contest, and invited our employees to sign up for the company-wide weight-loss game.

More than 65% of our employees signed up for the chance to win prizes.

In fact, enough folks signed up for us to set up three teams, which made the contest even more fun and competitive.

The game was a smash hit. But we still had to keep our people interested so they’d stay committed to maintaining a healthy weight.

Otherwise the contest would be a waste of time – and cost more money than we’d save in the long run.

Mixed it up

So we started looking at ways to expand the wellness program to keep employees from getting bored.

First, we invited a registered nurse to make regular onsite visits. We started doing regular blood pressure screenings and weight checks.

Many of the employees who participated in the Biggest Loser contest kept the weight off and also maintained normal blood pressure.

After the initial success of the game, they were also more receptive to starting a workout program.

The nurse who did our employee health coaching suggested we start weekly onsite yoga classes, which focused on stress management and greater flexibility.

After that,  we added nutrition seminars and CPR classes to the mix.

Once the program had been in place for a while, we started hearing employees boast about how their overall health had improved ever since they first participated in the Biggest Loser contest.

Reported the progress

Some of our high-risk employees had made such dramatic improvements that their doctors had taken them off of blood-pressure medications.

We wanted to make sure our insurance carrier knew about our success. It was a way of letting them know we expected to be rewarded come policy renewal time.

Instead of waiting around, we got on the phone months ahead of renewal and highlighted our programs – and results – to the carrier.

We pointed specifically to the decrease in prescription claims, and the sharp decrease in high-risk (overweight and high blood pressure) enrollees on our health plan.

"We're saving you money," we said.  "Now help us out, too."

Our premiums lost weight, too

Our presentation to the insurer worked: At renewal, our premiums were cut by 6%.

We've taken the savings and invested them back into our wellness program. The long-term savings should be even more dramatic.

(Carmen Dunne, office manager, J. Davis Architects, Raleigh, NC)

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