SPARC Case Study
Igniting the SPARC
SPARC may be the government agency charged with getting people up and active but turning that message inward and motivating its own staff is a new challenge.
The organisation is working with the Ministry of Health on the Government Walking the Talk initiative. It's aimed at encouraging state sector employers to help staff become more physically active and eat healthy food.
Organisational Development Manager, Donna Ransom, believes 'SPARCies' are already a pretty fit lot but she's still feeling the pressure. 'We're supposed to be the gurus when it comes to fitness so naturally all eyes are on us to see how well we do.'
Workplace wellness programmes are all the rage overseas and already well established in some New Zealand businesses. The idea is that if employers take a more holistic approach to workers' health they'll reap the benefits in lower absenteeism and greater productivity.
Staff are being offered the opportunity to take part in two health-related activities. The first is free health checks and the second is a team challenge aimed at boosting fitness as well as promoting teamwork. Teams have been formed, go bags distributed and all the communications done.
'People are pretty excited and there's quite a buzz around the place but there's a big difference between talking and action!' says Donna.
Just getting to this point has been a huge exercise in research and planning. Donna says much of her time has been spent looking for the right programme to suit SPARC's needs.
'There are private organisations out there that offer everything from health checks to corporate fitness programmes so it was a matter of checking them all out and comparing prices and products.'
After some research SPARC decided to go with Synergy Health/Southern Cross because it's a 'one-stop shop' offering both employee health checks as well as a fitness programme.
The fitness component is the international Global Corporate Challenge (GCC), which has just been introduced to New Zealand. SPARC is one of the first government agencies to sign up with the intention of 'road testing' it for other state employers.
Both initiatives are being launched during a health and wellness week. Staff will be offered free health checks that include tests for diabetes, high cholesterol, blood pressure, body fat and eyesight. The 30-minute sessions are carried out in-house by a registered nurse.
Donna has been quick to assure staff that the results are confidential. 'We were really worried staff would have concerns about confidentiality and some would be put off but people seem satisfied with the assurances.'
Of the organisations 94 staff, 70 have signed up for the Global Corporate Challenge, which involves staff getting into teams and recording their daily walking activity with a pedometer. Every step moves them further along a 'virtual walk' around the world. There's a daily target of 10,000 steps. The challenge runs from May to September and along the way staff can compare their progress with other SPARC teams as well as with organisations around the world.
Just getting everybody signed up and informed has been more time consuming than Donna expected. 'No matter how easy the system looks there's always an administrative side to it that you've underestimated.'
That's one of the lessons learned, along with the importance of choosing the right people in the organisation to help. Donna says she was careful about selecting team captains who would motivate and encourage their peers and, with the launch date approaching, that's paid off.
Something that's given the challenge a real boost is the enthusiasm of CEO, and former NZ hockey captain, Peter Miskimmin, who's reportedly already plotting ways to notch up his daily step count.
Sitting at her desk, surrounded by paper and a few spare resource packs, Donna Ransom's hoping her months of planning will count for something when the programme finally kicks off.
Watch this space!
