On the Road to Wellness
May 01, 2008 | Various Authors

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A creative approach to wellness

RBC believes that the promotion of wellness in the workplace makes good sense. At the end of the day, good health is good for our people, for our business and, ultimately, for the clients we serve.

In 2006, our first employee health risk assessment provided valuable information that helped us refine our wellness strategy. It showed that the top health risks for employees were nutrition, physical activity and stress, and that our employees were ready to make lifestyle changes.

RBC’s wellness strategy, Living Well, is a three-pronged approach built on awareness, engagement and incentives.

Awareness. The Living Well section of our intranet provides employees with targeted health information and tips with emphasis on nutrition, physical activity and mental well-being. It also profiles employees who are putting wellness into action, showcases our online nutrition and workstation wellness videos and healthy recipes, and links to our many healthy workplace initiatives. We also build awareness year-round with our e-bulletin about important benefits events.

Engagement. We engage employees through several campaigns, including the “Have you walked your 10,000 steps?” challenge, the “Eating for Life” campaign where employees participated in a food diary challenge, and the “Feeling Good” campaign. We also provide an online fitness and wellness program to support employees with their physical activity goals.

An exciting feature of our wellness campaigns is our partnership with the RBC Olympians. These inspirational Olympic and Paralympic athletes are excellent role models for healthy living. They tell their inspirational stories, share healthy living tips and help promote and encourage employee participation in our wellness initiatives.

Incentives. We have also introduced a number of financial incentives to influence and reward healthy behaviours. During our annual benefits enrolment, employees have an opportunity to earn wellness credits toward the purchase of flexible benefits. Participating employees are entered into draws for fun prizes, such as insulated lunch bags, re-usable water bottles and personal MP3 players.

Julie Gaudry is RBC’s wellness manager.