Motivating Employees to Take Charge of Their Health at First South Financial Credit Union: Case Study Review

Cyral  Callender III, Tiara Marshall, Jessica Brown, Marissa Ayres

Department of Health, Purdue University Global

EF310 Current Trends in Exercise and Fitness-Aging Well Across the Life Span

Unit 9 Final Group Assignment

Professor Mark Maule

August 2020

Description (Tiara Marshall)

              First South Financial Credit Union (FSFCU) is an institution out of Bartlett Tennessee, with over 100 employees and 15 branches spread throughout the state. Acknowledging that healthier employees are happier, FSFCU set out to create a health and wellness program to benefit their employees and their families. They started a program of their own, but found  it lackluster and wanted to do more. They enrolled in the National Healthy Worksite Program (NHWP) to beef up their existing program and gain additional skills in the implementation and effectiveness of their wellness programs. “CDC’s National Healthy Worksite Program is supported through the Affordable Care Act’s Prevention and Public Health Fund, and is designed to assist employers in building successful workplace wellness programs by implementing science-based disease prevention and wellness strategies to help reduce chronic diseases.” (cdc.gov, 2013)

Addressing Obesity in the Workplace and Community (Cyral Callender III)

              When it comes to employers addressing obesity in the workplace, there are a few different factors that come into play. Within this case study, FSFCU states that their leadership members cared about employees’ well-being and knew that their healthier behaviors could benefit their family’s behaviors as well. This ensured their ability to reach further than just their organization, and be able to help their employees’ families, while improving their community at the same time. This would be good for business, since it would lower their health care costs within their organization. Management also believed that this would benefit their competitiveness within their field, by potentially recruiting healthier people from the beginning because of their beneficial wellness programs (Employers in action, 2019). According to Luann Heinen and Helen Darling, employers pay for more than 20% of all health care costs that involve their employees’, so if they give their employees the incentive to live a healthier lifestyle, all parties benefit from such endeavors (Heinen, et al, 2009).

Community Stakeholders and Interventions (Jessica Brown)

FSFCU used the CDC’s NHWP from 2013 to 2015 “with the hope that it could increase the effectiveness and scope of its health and wellness initiatives” (Employers in Action, 2019) which were already in place. The wellness committee at FSFCU decided on three (3) goals that focused specifically on weight management by using nutrition and physical activity with the help of the NHW Program. FSFCU also incorporated other outside organizations to help its employees reach their weight loss goals like the Arthritis Foundation’s Walk with Ease Program as well as participating in the Gibson Guitar 5k Race in Memphis Tennessee. The wellness committee created a healthy eating map that included locations within walking distance from work that offered healthy lunch options since there was not a cafeteria on site. This was intended to give information on healthy eating options from nearby establishments as well as encouraging physical activity by walking at lunch time.

Motivational Strategies (Jessica Brown)

FSFCU used many different motivational strategies to help its employees make healthier choices. The wellness committee at FSFCU started a walking initiative that allowed for employees to earn points, and then trade them in for a variety of incentives such as free lunch or a casual dress day. The wellness committee also organized a year long Olympic Challenge with many individual competitions throughout the year. Gold, Silver, Bronze, and honorable mention awards were given by senior management at an award ceremony at the end of the challenge. The credit union also organized different activities that did not offer incentives but offered support and encouragement which provided motivation. A member from senior leadership started a boot camp at the largest branch with exercise classes twice weekly to help encourage physical activity. The committee organized a weight loss challenge that offered specific exercise challenges such as a plank challenge and a squat challenge to encourage participation and success. 

Obesity Support (Cyral Callender III)

              FSFCU helped obese employees by setting goals for them, that they gained incentives from. They set the following goals: helping them lose 5-10% of their excess weight through physical activity, and decreasing the number of employees that are obese by 5-10%. Also, increasing their employee’s knowledge on nutrition and improving their mental and physical health through physical exercise (Employers in Action, 2019). They set an Olympic Challenge within their organization that consisted of a few different lifestyle changes. The Olympic challenge included the following: Eat five fruits and vegetables a day for five days a week, drink 64 ounces of water a day, engage in 30 minutes of moderate physical activity five days a week, and find some sort of stress relieving activity five days a week (Employers in Action, 2019). These goals, were well obtainable for any person that is obese or slightly overweight. Being able to obtain these goals, within a timely manner can also help with time management skills. By being able to manage their time better, another stress reliever can be achieved because of not stressing over having time to do certain things daily.

Healthier Employees (Marissa Ayres)

By implementing the NHWP, FSFCU hoped to gain increased knowledge on nutrition, and a happier, healthier workplace environment. The entire point of the program was to not only influence the employees to be healthier, but influence their families as well.  Lowering Healthcare costs, and attracting new employees was another gain the company hoped to make. FSFCU created a workplace environment that encourages teamwork, while allowing for people to practice self-discipline to take charge of their personal health choices. In addition to this, FSFCU set specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely goals for the employees. The company hoped to achieve a loss in their excess weight by 5%-10% (Employers in Action, 2019). This combined with the group challenges are why the program was successful in some aspects, and has the potential to increase success in the upcoming years.

The implementation of the program will continue to be successful if they keep implementing it. So far, in the year that they did it, people participated in the activities they set up. They did not reach the goal set of reducing the amount of overweight/ obese employees by 5%-10%, but people did lose weight. Over 80% of the employees gained knowledge from the nutrition and health information they received. Plus, 88% of them agreed that the procedures implemented had a positive impact on their mental health, which by itself is a huge gain for the company.  The program was effective because the employees actively participated in a 5k, the “Walk Across First South” challenge, and 25% of the employees won some type of medal for the challenges during the 2014 year.  Continuing with the challenges, will increase success in the years to come. 95% of the employees liked the changes, which shows adherence and effectiveness (Employers in Action, 2019). There is an environment of positive change, which is evidenced by all of the ideas and activities they had. Leadership has been involved from the beginning, which shows buy in from the highest levels, and will likely continue to have a positive impact on current and future employees.

Because FSFCU did not reach their goal of reducing the amount of employees who were overweight or obese, here are some ideas that would make them more successful. I think they could have the employees write the number of pounds they want to lose down, and mark it off once they have hit a certain weight goal. This would still keep their weight private to everyone else, and they can track it themselves. I believe that people are more successful when they have a tangible item to make adjustments to. Employees could also keep a food journal, where they can track food intake, and or an exercise journal, with weekly goals. Marking little goals like that off will make them more likely to lose those extra pounds, and stick with the new lifestyle changes. The company could also create a points system for doing small things like biking to work, stretching for 10 minutes, running a mile, hitting a calorie goal, drinking water, or many other choices. Whoever has the most points at the end of each month, or each week, could win a reward (White, n.d.) There are many apps that can track these small adjustments too, which could be another way to score points! If FSFCU continues with the program and tries some new ideas, I think they will see great results.

References

Employers in Action. (2019, February 19). Retrieved August 28, 2020, from: https://www.cdc.gov/workplacehealthpromotion/tools-resources/employers -in-action/index.html

Heinen, L., & Darling, H. (2009). Addressing obesity in the workplace: the role of employers. The Milbank Quarterly, 87(1), 101–122. Retrieved August 2020 from: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0009.2009.00549.x

Press Release. (2013, June 10). Retrieved August 30, 2020, from: https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2013/p0610-worksite-program.html

White, M.J. (n.d.) Workplace Wellness Challenges-Fun, Effective, and Free! Retrieved from https://www.corporatewellnessmagazine.com/article/workplace-wellness-challenges