Wellbeing at Work: Insights into the City of La Crosse's Employee-Centric Approach

One of the ways Heidi and her team have achieved such great employee participation is by offering more than 20 employee engagement initiatives for its 500 employees.

Here is an overview of all the different offerings that the city has in its employee engagement program:

During our interview with Heidi, she was able to give us details about a few of her most popular employee engagement initiatives. These included a unique Reusable Container Program, an Employee Wellness Garden, a Wellness Recharge Room, the City’s Employee Appreciate Lunch, and the Tri-City Step Challenge.

The Reusable Container Program is a partnership between the City of La Crosse and the Union Market at Western Technical College. The program allows the city’s employees the option to purchase a set of reusable containers for $5 which they can bring to the Union Market to fill up with healthy food for a discounted price. 

This plan is great because it not only offers a financial incentive for employees to eat healthier, but it also helps get the participants to be more active, engage with the community more often, and boost the local economy all in a single program. A real wellness home run!

In 2018, the City of La Crosse decided to grow a Wellness Garden on Heidi’s suggestion in a plot of unused space in partnership with the City’s Park and Rec Department. Since the garden’s first year, the city’s employees have taken ownership of the garden by planting the seeds, tending to the crops, and even deconstructing the garden when winter arrives. 

The employees now grow anything from tomatoes, peppers, and herbs to squash, onions, peas, beans, and even raspberries. The employees also have a picnic bench which they can use during their downtime to enjoy some much-needed quality time outside.

The Wellness Recharge Room is a safe and quiet place for the city’s employees to come to if they ever feel the need to step away from work to recharge. An employee can find amenities such as relaxing music, a water fountain, calm string lighting, beautiful artwork, plants, an essential oil diffuser, yoga mats, yoga balls, and comfortable zero-gravity chairs.

The room is divided into three private spaces so more people can enjoy a slice of peace and solitude simultaneously. The space is also available 24/7, so nighttime workers like police officers, can come in to recharge after a stressful situation takes place.

Each summer, the City of La Crosse throws an enormous event to show its appreciation for its employees. The city brings in food trucks, hires live music, provides ice cream sundaes, and gives out door prizes, all while being on paid time. 

One exciting opportunity that the city provides its employees is the option to dunk their manager in a dunk tank! The employee will exchange $1 for 3 balls to throw in hopes of dunking their manager, but the best part is that the money collected from this game will be donated to a preselected non-profit organization.

The final employee engagement initiative that the City of La Crosse engages in is The Tri-City Step Challenge. This is a three-way competition between the Wisconsin cities of Appleton, Green Bay, and La Crosse to see who can get the most steps by the end of the summer. 

Heidi admitted that Green Bay took home the traveling Tri-City Step Challenge trophy for 2023, but La Crosse is looking to step up their game and prevail in 2024. She went on to say how her team enjoys this healthy competition and also finds the program particularly fun.

Heidi offered invaluable advice to organizations that are beginning to embark on their first wellness journeys. She stressed the significance of senior-level support, whether that’s your supervisor, manager, CEO, or mayor, without their support, it can be hard to attain the resources needed to create a successful employee engagement program.

The second tip that Heidi talked about was not being afraid to make connections outside of your organization. She’s found these connections helpful in finding out what works and what doesn’t work in engaging with your employees. 

Next, she champions the idea of creating a wellness team. This team can provide feedback on wellness initiatives, provide a vision for future goals, and help promote the program throughout the company.

Her fourth suggestion is to provide time during the workday to complete wellness activities. She believes that this sends a message to employees that the company sincerely cares about everyone’s well-being and isn’t simply doing it for publicity.

Lastly, she cautions that wellness and employee engagement programs aren’t always going to go well 100% of the time. Some programs might be a complete flop while others may be a huge success, but it is in your belief that these programs are beneficial to the lives of the employees that can help you stay creative in coming up with new ideas.

As the session drew to a close, Heidi offered invaluable advice for organizations embarking on their wellness journey. She stressed the significance of senior-level support, the benefits of external connections, the creation of a wellness team, and the necessity of trial and error in finding what works best for your organization.

Our conversation was a testament to the evolving landscape of workplace wellness. The insights shared by Heidi Stein, painted a picture of a corporate world increasingly aware of and committed to the well-being of its employees.