Summary
Affinity Fire Engineering implemented Pacer for Teams to foster a culture of wellness and increase employee engagement. By running monthly wellness challenges, combining step-based goals and creative activities, the company has successfully motivated both remote and office-based employees to stay active, improve their health, and build team cohesion.
Introduction
Affinity Fire Engineering, a leading fire engineering consultancy, has made significant strides in building a culture of wellness within its workforce. With a mix of office-based and remote employees, the company recognized the importance of promoting both physical health and overall well-being. By incorporating Pacer for Teams into their wellness strategy, Affinity Fire Engineering successfully fostered employee engagement, encouraged healthy competition, and built a sustainable wellness program that supports long-term employee health.
Company Background
Affinity Fire Engineering specializes in fire strategies and engineering analyses for new and existing buildings. Their services extend to fire risk assessments, external wall inspections, and compartmentation surveys. As a growing company with a mix of on-site and remote employees, Affinity Fire Engineering understands the importance of fostering engagement and well-being across their workforce. Amber Norman, Senior HR Advisor, has been instrumental in leading the company's wellness initiatives, which are designed to promote daily movement and create a supportive work culture.
The Challenge
Before adopting Pacer for Teams, Affinity Fire Engineering faced several challenges with their previous wellness platform, which often failed to accurately track steps and required manual entry. This not only created frustration but also led to inefficiencies and high costs. The company needed a more reliable, cost-effective solution that would provide precise tracking, engage employees in meaningful challenges, and help them establish long-term wellness habits.
Choosing Pacer for Teams
Affinity Fire Engineering selected Pacer for Teams after thorough research and comparisons with other platforms. They were impressed by Pacer’s ability to track steps precisely and its user-friendly interface. The company also valued Pacer’s excellent customer service. The platform’s ability to integrate both individual and team-based challenges, coupled with a competitive yet fun environment, made it the ideal choice.
Wellness Challenge Implementation
Affinity Fire Engineering runs monthly wellness challenges that combine both physical and creative components. The wellness challenges include:
- Step-based Challenges: Employees participate in Step Challenges and Daily Step Goal Challenges to track their progress, with the aim of encouraging daily movement and improving overall fitness. The integration of precise step tracking was a key feature that enabled the company to run effective challenges.
- Creative Challenges: Each month, the company also includes a creative challenge, such as photo submissions, allowing employees to engage in non-physical activities that bring teams together and promote creativity.
These monthly challenges are designed to engage employees across different departments, including remote teams, and are structured to make wellness accessible for everyone. Employees are encouraged to participate with the added incentive of earning tokens for a tombola system, with the possibility of monetary bonuses for top performers.
Employee Engagement and Community Building
The integration of leaderboards and friendly competition has played a significant role in keeping employees engaged throughout the challenges. Participants who accumulated over 500,000 steps in January, have earned recognition for their achievements. People's dedication to the challenges not only highlights personal success but also serves as an inspiration to the team.
The real-time leaderboard adds a fun and competitive edge to each challenge, keeping employees motivated and engaged. Seeing their progress unfold live encourages active participation and fosters a strong sense of camaraderie across the team.
Results and Benefits
Since adopting Pacer for Teams, Affinity Fire Engineering has seen measurable results in both employee engagement and health:
- Improved Employee Engagement: Employees have become more actively engaged in the wellness challenges, with participation remaining high across departments. Regular reminders and app-based notifications have kept the team motivated.
- Health Improvements: Many employees reported increased physical activity, with several noting improvements in their joint health and overall fitness. The physical challenges have encouraged employees to integrate movement into their daily routines.
- Stronger Team Cohesion: The challenges have helped break down silos between departments, bringing remote teams together. The social and competitive aspects of the challenges have fostered a sense of unity, even among employees working in different locations.
- Sustained Participation: The incentives, such as monetary bonuses and the tombola prize system, have contributed to long-term engagement. The monthly nature of the challenges ensures that employees are continuously motivated to stay active.
Future Plans
Building on the success of the initial challenges, Affinity Fire Engineering plans to expand their wellness program. Future initiatives will include more creative challenges, as well as introducing charity-based challenges to further engage employees and give back to the community. The company is also exploring ways to incorporate mental wellness initiatives into the challenges to support the overall well-being of their workforce.
Conclusion
Affinity Fire Engineering’s use of Pacer for Teams has transformed their approach to employee wellness. Through engaging step-based and creative challenges, the company has created a culture of wellness that promotes physical activity, team collaboration, and long-term engagement. The positive impact on employee health, morale, and community-building highlights the value of a comprehensive wellness program that can adapt to the needs of a diverse workforce. As Affinity Fire Engineering continues to expand its wellness initiatives, the company’s partnership with Pacer for Teams serves as a model for organizations seeking to foster a healthier, more engaged workforce.
