BACKGROUND
Since 2009, Ozark Schools Benefits Association (OSBA), a non-profit organization, has provided employee benefits & insurance solutions for public school districts throughout the entire state of Missouri.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Boosted Employee Engagement – 98% of users have participated in 2 or more initiatives.
- Better Health Outcomes– 75% of users reported they started exercising/walking more.
- Time-Saving Centralization – Successfully managing 100+ locations.
The mission of OSBA is to provide quality insurance products at a reasonable price using economies of scale to help reduce the cost to member districts. To further help reduce the cost of employee benefits, OSBA introduced a wellness program when they had a total of 19 schools. The goal of adding wellness offerings was to control the loss ratios of the group plans, as anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medications were some of their biggest prescription costs.
Krista, the wellness coordinator at OSBA, shared that by encouraging healthier lifestyles (like daily physical activity) they could improve their population's health outcomes, including mood enhancement and lower risk factors for high blood
pressure and diabetes.
THE CHALLENGES
As OSBA's collective grew to include over 40 institutions, the organization faced challenges in managing the responsibility of visiting each school to establish program contacts and provide training on the program details.The increasing number of schools in the program made it difficult to keep up with the growing demand.
Consequently, OSBA started the search for an ideal employee experience platform that would promote employee wellness and enhance benefits communication. Aligned with OSBA's goal to reduce costs, the organization initially opted to manage their wellness program via their insurance carrier, enticed by the financial benefits of a no-cost solution.
However, challenges soon emerged regarding the program's functionality and the level of customer support provided, prompting a reevaluation of options.
THE PLAN
After considering alternatives from about half a dozen different vendors, Motion Connected was selected, not just for being cost-effective but more importantly, for its ability to overcome OSBA’s challenges and match their priorities for a vendor:
1. SAVING TIME & CENTRALIZING THE EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE
As noted earlier, the current program delivery had outgrown its ability to communicate effectively with site contacts and hence participants. Motion Connected simplified this process by introducing an application accessible to all employees on any device, whether personal or work-related. This solution enhanced program communication, enabled push notification reminders, and provided access to challenge leaderboards and personal achievements, ensuring everyone stayed connected and informed.
Additionally, with the program's strong emphasis on physical activity, the Motion Connected app's capability to sync with personal cellphones and/or wearable devices facilitates an uncomplicated way of monitoring movement.
This meant a teacher who walks between classes throughout the day could easily link their steps to the app. This integration also offered OSBA's team numerous advantages, such as simplicity in use, detailed analytics for administrators, streamlined experience for employees, and much more.
3. LEVERAGING CUSTOMIZABLE USER EXPERIENCES
With several schools under the Ozark Schools Benefits Association, customizability was essential to meet each facility’s needs. The Motion Connected app offers a high degree of customizability in both challenges and user interface.
Motion Connected makes it easy to get started with ready-to-use themed activity challenges and wellness activities, which OSBA seamlessly integrates into their program. Elevating their approach, OSBA capitalizes on the customizable platform to craft an epic step challenge dubbed The Amazing Race. Entirely developed in-house, this pivotal event drives their highest level of engagement. This year they had over 150 teams compete!
During the challenge, participants are divided into teams of 10, who engage in a friendly competition against one another. The teams begin the event by being given a clue they must use to decipher the first of five virtual destinations. Whichever team reaches the final destination first wins - unlocking the $250 grand prize that’s distributed at the end of the year.
2. BUILDING IN OPPORTUNITIES FOR INCENTIVES & REWARDS
2. BUILDING IN OPPORTUNITIES FOR INCENTIVES & REWARDS
OSBA’s points-based program, with incentives at 3 different levels of achievement, has encouraged over 3,000 employees to make healthier lifestyle choices. Participants earn points through activities like preventive services, wellness fairs, weight checks, well-being challenges, daily activity goals, step challenges, and educational activities. OSBA rewards employees who reach certain point thresholds with monetary bonuses, offering up to $250 annually for the highest achievers.
The significance of robust reporting capabilities helps facilitate these rewards and incentives. Krista highlighted the significance of this feature, saying, "The reporting capability was huge for me because I can run a report on everybody for whatever, and it was very difficult when I was relying on others to get me information." This streamlined access to data not only simplifies the administration of the program but also enhances its effectiveness by ensuring timely recognition and reward of employee engagement.
4. FINDING A ROBUST CUSTOMER CARE TEAM
One of OSBA's primary frustrations with their previous free carrier program was the lack of adequate support for both employees and administrators. Krista recalls the carrier's failure to address issues and shared ”That's the main reason I haven't looked elsewhere since joining Motion Connected. I know if there's a problem, I just need to contact support, and it gets resolved."
Motion Connected offers hands-on support from engagement specialists and a customer care team. This team assists with setup, seamless launches, and ongoing assistance for OSBA's administrative tasks. A significant factor in OSBA's satisfaction is Motion Connected’s readiness to address issues promptly with responsive support, allowing more time to innovate and confidently execute wellness events.
THE OUTCOMES
OSBA continues to grow, now boasting over 100 school districts. Krista, the wellness coordinator noted they have seen a reduction in prescription costs related to anxiety and depression since beginning their wellness journey.
The well-being program has also got the OSBA group moving, with participants averaging 192 minutes of physical activity per week, surpassing the recommended CDC guidelines of 150 minutes.
In the last year, an impressive 98% of participants engaged in two or more well-being activities, and over half (56%) reached at least one reward level. The most popular activity among participants was earning daily activity goal points.
According to their year-end wellness survey:
- 97.4% of participants were satisfied with the program
- 97.6% agreed that it positively impacted their health decisions
- 75% reported that they started exercising/walking more with the program
One fun group achievement is that over the last year, employees with OSBA took over 6 billion steps.
That’s enough steps to walk around Earth 121 times!
EMPLOYEE FEEDBACK
“I love the motivation the
program gives!”
“This program pushes me
to be more active!”
“I love being able to
challenge my coworkers!”
When asked whether they would recommend Motion Connected to other companies looking for an employee experience platform, Krista, responded, “You will not be sorry: you will be very happy with your decision!”