Working Well Employer Spotlight on Kershaw County
Kershaw County joined Working Well in July of 2020 through funding support from Healthy People, Healthy Carolinas, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite challenges that all organizations were facing to maintain daily operations amidst the crisis, Kershaw County made a commitment to prioritize the health of their employees by launching an employee wellbeing initiative. While the rest of the world was simply trying to survive, Kershaw County’s leadership made a commitment to help their employees thrive. They understood that taking care of their employees is paramount to achieving organizational goals and priorities.
County administration, along with assistance from the LiveWell Kershaw Coalition (LWK) and Working Well, began working through a process to establish the foundational elements of a comprehensive employee wellbeing initiative to ensure the effort is a success. In October 2020, they began by forming a diverse and representative wellness committee, including employees from all levels and across various departments. The County wanted to put the infrastructure in place to ensure that employee health and wellbeing would remain a priority long after the COVID-19 pandemic ended.
The committee worked together to build the foundations of their employee wellbeing initiative, by:
- developing an organizational commitment to wellness,
- implementing an employee health assessment (47% response rate),
- analyzing the assessment data to identify the greatest employee risks, needs, and interests, and
- developing strategic goals in four key areas to address the identified needs.
The four areas identified are: Wellness Culture, Physical Activity and Nutrition, Mental and Emotional Wellness, and Perks and Policies. As the committee moves forward in prioritizing goals for the next six months, they will continue to utilize proven best practices, resources, and strategies from other organizations within the Strategy for Wellbeing Platform. The committee looks forward to the positive impacts on employee wellness that are to come as a result of this effort!