A School District Keeps Ahead of the Curve in Employee Wellbeing: a Case Study

INDUSTRY: Education

COMPANY: Brookings Schools

EMPLOYEE POPULATION: 500

LOCATIONS: 8

UNDERLYING BACKGROUND

Brookings, like many school districts, had been struggling with staff burnout and stress leading towards unusually high turnover rates and difficulty in recruitment. Leadership had not been able to integrate a wellness plan that effectively addressed the underlying cause and was seeking to provide a long-term, sustainable solution for staff members. A tight school day schedule coupled with regular school calendar breaks presents unusual challenges for education organizations. Maintaining employee engagement is difficult, and participation is inconsistent due to time away and scheduling.

STRATEGIC APPROACH

HealthSource Solutions worked with Brookings School leadership to organize a plan that would incorporate a new wellness infrastructure, year-long programming, leadership alignment, and social connections.

• Work with leadership to implement an infrastructure to support the program
• Establish annual goals and metrics to enhance consistency
  and outcomes
• Measure the effectiveness of targeted Initiatives
• Develop social support using Champion networks and
  building leadership
• Plan focused initiatives that align with breaks in the school calendar
• Achieve a dedicated wellness space in each building

SOLUTION OVERVIEW

Working closely with district leadership, HealthSource Solutions helped plan and implement the much-needed infrastructure for the district to make sweeping wellness changes that could be measured, over time. Starting with the health portal, which was used to track activity and collect data, HealthSource Solutions built out a Champion-only section to foster interaction and accountability. To support the busy start of the school year, Recharge, Connect, and Grow has become an annual anchor. Photo shares and dress-up days are uploaded to the portal to highlight community collaboration and connection!

OUTCOMES

• Leadership aligned with Champions to shift the culture to
  a “wellness first” approach
• Special campaigns like “Good News Home” helped teachers present more positive outlooks to families
• Site Champions embraced the portal’s Champion-only feature, which equated to less turnover in Champion positions
• Performance metrics:
  - 97% portal activation for two consecutive years
  - 88% increase, over three years, in those who earn
  the max wellness credit
  - 88% of staff completed annual wellness exams
  - 74% of staff received flu shots