How a local school district has used their wellbeing program during COVID-19 to increase employee engagement and help reduce stress

The challenge

A 1,178-employee school system in Iowa, Linn-Mar Community School District worried about the impact COVID-19 could have on their culture and engagement.

Working to balance the risk of exposure to teachers and students and ensure seamless education, all while juggling constantly changing social distancing guidelines and attendance policies, was a huge task—and leadership knew that administrators and faculty were at a very high risk for increased stress and burnout.

With employee safety and mental health as a first priority, knowing they couldn’t continue educating students effectively without healthy and fully engaged teachers, Linn-Mar CSD kicked their Navigate wellbeing platform into high-gear.

Strategies and solutions

Working with Navigate’s hands-on account support and utilizing our flexible technology, Linn-Mar Community Schools adapted their program—and specifically their customizable incentive tracking table—to account for the unexpected:

• Promoting safety first: The team created a “safety shoutout” incentive, where employees can recognize others and earn points for practicing safe behavior.
• Encouraging physical activity: They added at-home wellbeing activities to promote healthy behavior during these more sedentary (and gym-free!) times.
• Maintaining social bonds: They emphasized virtual group challenge participation in communications, using the platform’s online leaderboard and social features to maintain camaraderie and togetherness.
• Continuously gathering employee feedback: Leadership actively sought employee input—one new incentive on the activities table simply asked, “What do you want in your wellness program?” and offered employees the opportunity to submit suggestions.

“Schools were especially impacted by COVID-19, and we knew it was important for Linn-Mar to make adjustments to their program so their employees still had the opportunity to participate and stay connected with teammates. We worked together to add new platform resources and features, and to brainstorm work-from-home activities so their employees could remain focused on their wellbeing from their new virtual learning environment, said Liza L., Navigate Account Manager.

Results

The results speak for themselves. Linn-Mar Community School District saw a huge increase in their wellbeing program participation. In just one year, their engagement rates spiked nearly 50%.

Many organizations across the U.S. are realizing the critical importance of a strong, flexible and engaging wellbeing program can have right now. Few industries have been impacted as much as education systems and Linn-Mar Community School District is a shining example of how to keep faculty and administrators engaged and supported during a truly difficult time. Throughout the country, Navigate partners with over 20 different school districts and universities as they adapt to the ever-changing demands of the past year.