Identifying the Challenge: RA Nelson, a full-service general contractor in Colorado with offices near Vail and Aspen, has always had a culture of wellness. Their sweet spot is building high-end residential and vacation homes, but they have plenty of resort, hospitality, and educational projects as well.
RA Nelson had a wellness program, but it required manual data entry and staff worried that it invaded their privacy. Simply put: interest in that program fizzled out. Becky Baugh, Human Resources at RA Nelson, wanted to implement a corporate wellness program that made it easy to track activities, didn’t impede on personal information, and would create a formal reward process. Most of all, RA Nelson needed a wellness program that would build upon employees’ number one priority: living a healthy life.
Considering the Options: RA Nelson didn’t need a program that would encourage people to prioritize wellness; rather, they needed something fun, easy, and accessible that would supplement what their staff was already accomplishing—and reward them for it.
There was a caveat, however: English is not the first language for many of the field staff. This meant the new program needed to be intuitive so staff could be self-sufficient in tracking their challenges. Additionally, the platform for tracking needed to be easily accessible through an app or text messaging for the field staff.
The RA Nelson team heard about WellRight through the Association of General Contractors online HR forum and based on that, WellRight seemed to check all the boxes.
Building a Solution: Fortunately, due to RA Nelson’s location, there’s no lack of outdoor wellness activities to offer, whether it’s fresh-powder ski runs or sun-filled morning hikes. By paying careful attention to the staff’s wellness needs and habits, WellRight developed a program that would support and add to RA Nelson’s preexisting culture. To jump-start the program, Becky and some other RA Nelson staffers created teams that compete for prizes, offering $600 vouchers to top point earners. Field workers are typically the most difficult to engage, but having text reminders sent directly to their mobile phones and access to the app at any time encourages and boosts participation.
RA Nelson uses the WellRight platform to provide wellness rewards to staff that can be used in any way that improves their health and happiness, ranging anywhere from paying for ski passes or a gym membership to chipping in to purchase a wedding dress. Beyond vouchers, the customization and flexibility of the program enables RA Nelson to create its own challenges, such as volunteering to pick up litter, ringing the bell for the Salvation Army during the holidays, or helping build homes through Habitat for Humanity.
Loving the Results: WellRight has taken the administrative burden off Becky’s shoulders—she’s able to coordinate mostly everything by herself.
And as for employee wellness? The results speak for themselves: RA Nelson won Healthiest Business in Vail Valley. Knowing that the Valley is an extremely active area, winning this award is a pretty big feat. Becky states, “Our employees live here for the lifestyle. We should be out there enjoying this awesome place, not stuck behind our desks. So, we try to build upon that and make it a part of working at RA Nelson.”
Becky notes that RA Nelson’s wellness program participation rate has soared to over 80%. “We have participants I never thought would participate. Not only that, but they’re some of our frontrunners!” Becky remarks.
– Becky Baugh, Human Resources,
RA Nelson
