Case Study: Adopting a People-Centric Approach to Wellness during the Pandemic

April 21, 2021

Guest post by Mandy King, founder of HEAL Wellness.

In late-2020, Klick Health knew they needed to continue adapting their employee wellness program for COVID. As the world’s largest independent health marketing agency with offices in Toronto, New York, and Philadelphia and known for its award-winning, people-first culture, they had already introduced virtual fitness and meditation programs when they moved to Work-from-Home operations in early March, ahead of the curve.

But like the entire world, their people were feeling the effects of isolation from lockdown and working virtual, and Klick’s leadership team was concerned some might fall into a ‘pandemic slump’ from an eating and exercise perspective. If that wasn’t enough, the long, cold, winter months were approaching and they wanted to prioritize mental and physical wellness.

Klick decided to kick off the New Year internally with the 8-week HEAL Wellness Challenge. The online program focuses on nutrition, mental health, and movement -- addressing the most common issues facing companies right now: burnout, anxiety, stress, lack of connection, and lack of work-life balance.

Almost 500 Klicksters signed up and teamed up with three or four of their peers, giving their teams fun names and cheering each other on. Each week, they tackled a different theme, such as Boosting Energy, Stress & Self Care, Blood Sugar & Weight, Sleep, Quitting Sugar & Happiness. Participants were also given helpful resources to support them in achieving their daily challenges - things like weekly meal plans, meditation resources, and workout guides.

In addition to providing daily challenges that focused on healthy eating habits, getting more movement throughout the day, and building in more work-life balance, we challenged participants to connect virtually with colleagues or team members once a week (outside of work meetings) and we were excited to see many Klicksters getting creative, doing activities together, like virtual workouts and virtual coffee breaks on Zoom.

To further support the program, Klick created a dedicated #WellnessChallenge channel on Slack, giving HEAL access to monitor the program and quickly answer any participant questions. The Slack channel also fostered more friendly banter and competition throughout the program and encouraged colleagues, who might not typically connect with each other throughout the day, to interact and become more engaged and invested in the Wellness Challenge.

When surveyed at the end of the Wellness Challenge, 93% of participants said they felt more connected to their colleagues, and 86% felt the program made work more fun. A whopping 92% of participants felt working from home was more enjoyable with the challenge.

Wellness challenge programs can address the most prevalent mental health conditions AND support team members to reduce any feelings of isolation.

In both good and challenging times like a pandemic – these wellness challenge programs can help companies foster added team-building, connection, and camaraderie across their organization. 

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Mandy King is a Holistic Nutritionist and the founder of HEAL Wellness. HEAL provides Corporate Wellness programs for major organizations including Google, Odlum Brown, KPMG and Telus to improve stress, burnout, lack of connection, and the pandemic fatigue we're all experiencing, through wellness programs. Mandy is a regular on CTV Morning Live and HEAL has been praised for her lighthearted and actionable approach to wellness. And as a testament to the success of HEAL Wellness programs, many of their clients go to them for support, again and again.

To learn more about HEAL’s Corporate Wellness Challenges and how HEAL can help your employees live their healthiest lives, please contact them here.