The Vitality. Champ Guide

Transcription

1 The Vitality Champ Guide

2 Index 2 You re a Vitality Champ! Manager Champs Cheerleader Champs Expectations of a Vitality Champ Support You Can Expect Ways You Can Encourage Engagement in the Vitality Program... 6 Ways You Can Promote Wellness Outside of Vitality Let the Fun Begin! Record Attendance and Format Event Attendance File Frequently Asked Questions Proposal Template Directory... 13

3 You re a Vitality Champ! 3 Congratulations on your new role! It is one that will spotlight you among your coworkers as a Vitality program expert, and provide you with numerous opportunities to encourage, inform, inspire, lead and motivate them to live their healthiest lives. Undoubtedly, you ll probably meet some of them for the first time. Who knows? Perhaps you ll make some new friends! We know that being a new Champ can be a bit daunting in the beginning, and you may not feel like a program expert who is ready and able to answer every question or address every concern your fellow employees may bring to you. You may not feel like you re a perfect specimen of physical fitness, health and wellness. Not to worry! A Champ can be someone who is fit and healthy, or someone who is the process of transitioning to a lifestyle of good health and wellness. All Champs share a common goal: to ignite and maintain a culture of wellness at his or her worksite and to encourage and inspire others to do the same. As a Vitality Champ, you will have the opportunity to contribute to the overall well-being of your coworkers as well as the privilege to impact their lives in significant ways when you encourage and help them reach their own personal health and wellness goals. For you personally, being a Champ will help you develop, practice and strengthen a variety of personal skills including: Leadership Public speaking Team building Creativity Organization Project planning Networking and more Again, congratulations on your new role as a Vitality Champ!

4 Manager Champs Manager Champs exist in groups that have more than one Champ per location or department. He or she may communicate, organize and participate in the following kinds of activities, including but not limited to: 4 Onsite Vitality Checks (biometric screenings) Vitality Health Review completion contests Athletic events, such as a corporate 5K Health Fairs and monthly messages Manages the Champ program and attends monthly HR calls Facilitates monthly calls Agendas Presentations Event calendars As a Vitality Champ, your main point of contact for answers, encouragement, guidance and ideas will be your Manager Champ. Cheerleader Champs Like Manager Champs, Cheerleader Champs exist in groups that have more than one Champ per location or department. Cheerleader Champs assist Manager Champs with activities while encouraging participation in the program by cultivating a culture of wellness throughout their site. They assist the Manager Champ when necessary, and are encouraged to participate in as many activities as possible, all the while setting examples of healthy living for others. Cheerleader Champs listen to and assist their fellow coworkers with program-related ideas, issues and questions. They step up to assist on special projects when needed. Mostly, it is important to remember that we encourage Champ participation at every level. If you are not comfortable taking the lead, there are still plenty of opportunities for you.

5 Expectations of a Vitality Champ 5 As a Vitality Champ, you can expect that your coworkers will look to you for answers to their questions, guidance in their journeys, encouragement in their healthy pursuits, celebration in their achievements and understanding should they fall short of what they set out to do. While you are not expected to be an expert, the more you understand and participate in the Vitality program, the better Champ you ll be. Here are some of the things expected and not of a Vitality Champ: You ARE expected to: Have a good knowledge and understanding of the Vitality program to correctly answer coworkers questions Be an active and consistent program participant who leads by enthusiastic example Encourage employees to engage in the program Facilitate, attend, encourage attendance at and possibly track coworkers participation in workplace wellness events Publicize, promote and participate in local events through which coworkers can earn Vitality Points Make an effort to attend and actively participate in Champ training and meetings Use creativity to help break down barriers and help facilitate a culture of wellness You re NOT expected to: Have the answer to every question coworkers ask about Vitality Track individuals progress in the program Complete every Vitality activity Manage employees Vitality accounts or do their work for them Log or track employees personal health information Forego job or personal responsibilities to work on Champ activities Reinvent the wheel! Other Champs have promoted Vitality very successfully among their coworkers and you are free to use or build on their ideas. Support You Can Expect Yours is an important role, and as you learn it and continue to grow in it, you will need and can expect to be supported in a variety of ways from a variety of sources. As a new Champ, you can turn to the following for whatever assistance you may need setting goals, planning activities, establishing timelines and data management: Manager Champ Champ training Champ meetings Champ resources and materials

6 Ways You Can Encourage Engagement in the Vitality Program 6 There are many ways you can promote the Vitality program and encourage your coworkers to engage and participate in it. Here are a few: Introduce yourself throughout your organization as a Vitality Champ. Offer to help your coworkers achieve their personal goals and highlight Vitality activities. Organize wellness events, i.e., a walking club, Lunch n Learns, a Healthy Snack Day, etc. Link company wellness events to Vitality. Publicize local community events that you are aware of that can help coworkers earn Vitality Points, i.e., first-aid certification classes, 5K walks and runs, flu shot availability. Let others know of your own planned participation in community wellness events and invite them to join you. Establish and promote a points-earning Vitality Goal of the Week that all can strive to achieve. Publicly recognize Vitality Superstars -- coworkers who are making or who have made significant progress on the Vitality program. Post their photos and tell stories in your company newsletter or on a company bulletin board or present them with a certificate or star they can display in their workspaces. Encourage others who are consistently engaged in the program to consider becoming a Vitality Champ. Solicit personal testimonials about coworkers Vitality experiences. Get approval on any activities not established. Always refer employees to the Earning Points page on the Vitality website for details about the program.

7 Ways You Can Promote Wellness Outside of Vitality 7 The more you participate in the Vitality program, the healthier your lifestyle becomes from the things you eat to the activities in which you participate. You will find if you haven t already that what initially are conscious, healthy choices on your part eventually become second nature to you. Everything you do for the sake of health and wellness is not necessarily tied to the Vitality program. The following are ways you can promote good health outside of the Vitality program: Publicize wellness events in your local community, i.e., a lecture on nutrition. Participate in activities that promote safety, i.e., a bicycle safety workshop. Be an example, i.e., shop at your local farmers market. Patronize fund raisers that benefit children s athletic teams or organizations, i.e., bakes sales, car washes. Share pertinent, interesting or humorous health-related articles with your coworkers via . Implement healthy menus at meetings where food will be served. Replace unhealthy foods in the vending machines with healthy snacks. Let the Fun Begin! Our suggestion to you right now, as a new Champ, is to start out small: organize and promote a single, simple activity within your employee group. It s a good way to get your name out there among your coworkers as their Vitality Champ, to generate buzz about the Vitality program and to encourage your coworkers engagement in it. The following are some simple activities with which you can begin: A Lunchtime Walking Club: What could be simpler? Post signs around your workplace letting your coworkers know that once or twice a week at lunchtime, you will lead them on a walk out of the office and around the neighborhood. If possible, choose a path on which you ll pass something interesting like a beautiful garden, a historic house, a local landmark, or some wonderful architecture. Encourage your fellow walkers to take their pedometers with them and possibly earn Vitality Points. Encourage them to take their cameras too! Example: Create a 12-week series and award points for 10 walks. Healthy Box Lunch Exchange: Set a date for a group lunch and invite those who would like to partake to create a box lunch containing only healthy fare to exchange with another participant. This is a good way for people to meet and get to know each other in a healthy setting. Example: Award 35 points for participating.

8 Healthy Recipe Sample and Swap: Pick a day and invite a few people to each prepare a healthy dish that others can sample during either the lunch hour or a designated healthy break time. Perhaps they d like to prepare one of the recipes on the Power of Vitality website. In any case, ask them to provide copies of the recipes for the tasters who might request them. The next time, invite a few others to prepare the healthy dishes and share the recipes. 8 Example: Award person with most popular recipe points. Encourage employee cafeteria to prepare and offer the recipe. 5K Run or Walk: Odds are that a local organization or charity in your area will sponsor a weekend 5K run or walk. Get the details out to your members and encourage them to participate for the health of it. Once they complete the run or walk and submit their documentation to Vitality, they ll receive 250 Vitality Points! Example: Athletic Event worth 250 points. Once you have the task of organizing, promoting and overseeing your first Vitality event under your belt, we re pretty confident that you ll be ready to take on other more challenging activities. There are many ways you can promote the Vitality program among your coworkers, encourage them on their personal pathways to better health, inspire them to earn Vitality Points and increase their Vitality status. The other Champs particularly your Manager Champ within your company will be more than happy to assist you! If you are a Champ in a remote location, there are still ways you can reach out to your coworkers and encourage their engagement in the program. Here are some ideas: Webinar Lunch N Learn: Host a webinar Lunch N Learn on either a health-related topic or one of the many aspects of the Vitality program. Publicize it among your coworkers and invite them to attend. Ask them to submit ideas for future webinars on subjects in which they may be interested. Example: Award 35 points for participation. A Challenge: Present a challenge and invite your coworkers to complete a certain activity, i.e., completing a Vitality nutrition course, completing the Mental Well-being Review or engaging in one of the athletic events in their local communities (5K, bike ride, etc). Everyone who completes the activity can be entered into a drawing for a simple prize. Example: Award 35 points for participation. Vitality Quiz: Send weekly s for a number of weeks to your coworkers that contain questions relative to the Vitality program or subjects (and answers!) that are presented on the Power of Vitality website. Those who reply with the most correct answers throughout the timeframe will be declared winners and receive a simple prize or certificate. Example: Award 35 points for participation.

9 Record Attendance and Format Event Attendance File 9 When you host or help organize an event, keep a spreadsheet of participants and include their ID numbers. You may use their Employee or Vitality ID. Be sure to use the Vitality spreadsheet and save it as a.csv file. (First, click SAVE AS and then select.csv under the Save as type.) It may be helpful to start from a master template, and check members in at the event using the template. Here s an example of what it should look like: Employee ID Role EE/SP/CH* Event Code Date First Name (optional)** Last Name (optional)** EE ECF1 08/25/14 Vitality ID Role EE/SP/CH* Event Code Date First Name (optional)** Last Name (optional)** EE ECF1 08/25/14 *EE = Employee, SP = Spouse/Domestic Partner, CH = Child Dependents (SP, CH - if applicable to your program) **First and last name are optional fields for employee and spouse submissions, but REQUIRED when submitting children. Vitality Core Activities (EE & SP Only) Event Code Description Points Earned AEV1 Athletic Event Level AEV2 Athletic Event Level 2 AEV3 Athletic Event Level CPRC CPR Certification 125 FACR First Aid Certification 125 FSHT Flu Shot 200 SPRL Event Code Sports League Employer-Sponsored Activities (EE & SP Only) Description Points Earned ECE1 Employer Custom Education Event Tier 1 35 ECE2 Employer Custom Education Event Tier 2 ECF1 Employer Custom Fitness Event Tier 1 35 ECF2 Employer Custom Fitness Event Tier 2 ECH1 Employer Custom Healthy Living Event Tier 1 35 ECH2 Employer Custom Healthy Living Event Tier 2 FTNG Custom Group Fitness Series Tier 2 Healthy Kids Activities (CH Only) Event Code Description Points Earned KFT Athletic Event or Sports League FSHT Flu Shot 200 CHIM Child Immunization 400

10 Frequently Asked Questions Q. What if I m not in perfect physical shape myself? A. That s OK! What s most important is that you actively participate in the Vitality program and lead by enthusiastic example. Your engagement in the program may inspire others. 10 Q. How long can I be a Vitality Champ? A. In order to be effective in your role and to build momentum among your coworkers, we encourage you to be a Vitality Champ for at least one full program year. Q. What if I decide I no longer want to or can be a Vitality Champ? A. We understand that situations may arise that can prevent you from continuing your role as a Vitality Champ. Should you find yourself dealing with such a situation, please inform your Manager Champ as soon as possible. Q. Am I expected to administer the Vitality program at my work location? A. No. You are expected to publicize, promote and attend wellness events at your work location. This may be a simple message to your colleagues, organizing a weekly walking club or starting a group to plan wellness events throughout the year. You are also welcome to publicize and promote other programs and events featuring activities which offer employees other opportunities to earn Vitality Points. Q. What advice can I give employees about exercise, medical conditions or benefits? A. Your role is to promote and encourage your coworkers participation in the Vitality program. If your coworkers have concerns or questions about a specific exercise, medical condition or benefit, you should advise them to ask an appropriate professional. Q. What if a coworker has a medical condition that keeps him or her from participating? A. If it is unreasonably difficult for an employee to earn points for any activity or standard under the Vitality program due to a medical condition or any other disability (or if it is medically inadvisable to do so), have the employee download and complete a medical waiver (located in the Forms section of the Vitality website) or call a Vitality Specialist at who will assist them. Q. How do I respond to a coworker who expresses a privacy concern about participating in Vitality? A. You can assure the individual that privacy is a top priority at Vitality, and they are committed to maintaining the highest level of confidentiality with all of the information they receive from members. Q. Does Vitality follow HIPAA (The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996) regulations? A. Yes, Vitality is HIPAA-compliant and any and all information Vitality receives from its members is maintained with the highest degree of confidentiality.

11 Q. What do I advise a coworker who has an issue with his or her fitness device? A. For Fitbug issues (including replacement of devices under warranty), contact Vitality. For all other device issues, contact the device manufacturer. Fitbit: help.fitbit.com Garmin: Polar: or customer.service.usa@polar.com MapMyFitness App: 11 If a coworker is having trouble operating his or her fitness device, you may show him or her how to use the device. It could be particularly helpful to teach your coworker how to upload data to the device. For assistance linking devices to Vitality or concerns about receiving Vitality Points for workouts recorded with a fitness device, please contact Vitality. Q. What are the Champ conference calls for? A. Champ conference calls provide you with an opportunity to converse with other Champs including Manager Champs as well as a representative from Vitality about planning and promoting various activities at your site, program updates, different issues you may encounter, etc. They are also a chance for you to share with others some of the things you have done as well as some of the things you are planning to do. Q. What do I do when I myself have questions? A. Depending on the question, you may ask your Vitality Manager Champ or you may contact Vitality Customer Care at , 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Central time, Monday through Friday or via at wellness@powerofvitality.com. Privacy is a top priority at Vitality, and we are committed to maintaining the highest level of confidentiality with all of the information we receive from our members The Vitality Group. All rights reserved.

12 Proposal Template Activity, Challenge or Communication Proposal Template Name of Event: Type: Description: Activity Challenge Communication Participating Locations: Purpose: Vitality Point Structure: Main Contact Leading Project: Additional Champs Assisting: Outreach Goal How many members do you anticipate being affected or participating? Designated Recorders taking attendance: Instructions for approval and submission:

13 Directory Manager Champ: Name: Phone: Cheerleader Champ: Name: Phone: Cheerleader Champ: Name: Phone: Cheerleader Champ: Name: Phone: Vitality Customer Care Center: Phone: , 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Central time, Monday through Friday Fax: Website: PowerofVitality.com Link to Champ materials: Privacy is a top priority at Vitality, and we are committed to maintaining the highest level of confidentiality with all of the information we receive from our members.