Teaming up for Health with Motion Connected
CASE STUDY
City of La Crosse
Background
The City of La Crosse is a vibrant, mid-sized municipality in western Wisconsin, known for its scenic riverfront location, strong community values, and commitment to supporting the health and wellbeing of its public employees.
Industry: Municipality
Active Participants: 250
Highlights
- High Engagement – 67% of employees are motivated to stay active in the program.
- Employee Camaraderie – The annual city vs. city vs. city challenge creates a strong theme and friendly competition.
- High Health Impact – 97% said the program has positively impacted the decisions they make about their health.
Introduction
The City of La Crosse has long prioritized the health and wellbeing of its employees. In 2021, inspired by a peer from the City of Green Bay, Wellness Coordinator Heidi Stein initiated a pilot wellness program specifically designed for the city’s police officers. Seeing strong engagement and positive outcomes, the city expanded the program the following year to include non-represented employees and transit staff. Now in its fifth year, the partnership with Motion Connected has grown to support 250 employees.
WHY MOTION CONNECTED?
- Dedicated support team – They appreciate the ongoing support they receive with our Client Engagement Specialists outstanding customer service.
- Employee AND admin resources – They enjoy the resources Motion Connected provides for both the employee and the admin:basic benefits education messaging, program materials, webinars, newsletters, reporting capabilities, and more.
- Platform Customization – The ability to create a customized platform that works well for their diverse population and culture.
Whole-Health Wellness, Powered by Motion Connected
La Crosse’s workforce includes employees working various shifts and spread across multiple locations. Making it difficult to implement a one-size-fits-all wellness solution. The city needed a flexible, cost-effective program that could meet the needs of a diverse employee base.
Furthermore, they wanted a program that extended beyond physical wellness to include mental, financial, nutritional, and social wellbeing.
Partnering with Motion Connected gave the city of La Crosse a customizable, app-based wellness platform that caters to different wellness dimensions.
Employees can earn points for healthy behaviors such as physical activity, attending wellness events, tracking health metrics, and engaging in mental wellness challenges.
They also focused on creating a variety of fun ways to earn bonus points throughout the year (National Wear Red Day, Wear Green for Mental Health Awareness, Little Heart Scavenger Hunt for Mental Health Awareness, volunteering, wellness check-ins, etc.)
THE OUTCOMES
“Our wellness program sets us apart from other employers… It leads to increased job satisfaction, healthy, and happy employees.”
Heidi // Wellness Coordinator
Since adopting the Motion Connected platform, the City of La Crosse has seen:
- Increased employee engagement
- Improved physical and mental health
- Enhanced job satisfaction and productivity
97% said the program has positively impacted the decisions they make about their health
63% reported they are more physically active
52% are taking more time for self-care/stress management
EMPLOYEE FEEDBACK
“I just began using the Motion Connected app in March, and it has already been a significant motivator for healthy lifestyle changes.
The ability to turn my steps and activity into points has increased my active minutes per week from a sedentary lifestyle to the recommended activity level of at least 150 minutes per week (and sometimes more)!“
“The program continues to push me to be consistent and to pay attention to the importance of eating well and overall taking care of myself.”
“I appreciate the wellness program! It motivates me to work out and eat better.
“Our wellness program and the incentives that go along with it have an immense impact on my satisfaction with work.
I enjoy coming to work knowing I am supported in taking short breaks to benefit my health and wellbeing. I enjoy the opportunities that are provided to us to experience new health/wellness activities and hope they continue!”
What would you say to other people considering Motion Connected?
“Whether you’re just starting a wellness program or looking to enhance an existing one, the team at Motion Connected will assist you in developing a program that fits the needs of your employees and culture.”
Heidi // Wellness Coordinator