Thermo Fisher Scientific Goes the Distance to Make a Difference in Employee Engagement
As we continue to highlight ways corporations can encourage employee health and wellness throughout early 2021, we wanted to share how our customers were implementing some of these techniques in real-time, making an impact in their workplace and communities.
Thermo Fisher Scientific’s corporate social responsibility team wanted to create an engagement opportunity for employees that incorporated a fitness challenge. What originally started as an idea for a simple virtual walk during remote working times, quickly transitioned into an opportunity for participants to challenge themselves to raise money for non-profit organizations of their choice.
To enter the challenge, employees signed up through an engagement element on Thermo Fisher’s employee engagement platform and donated a minimum of $15 to one of three organizations leading COVID-19 relief efforts as designated by the CSR team (UNICEF USA, Direct Relief, Project HOPE). These donations were matched, and the platform triggered the delivery of a digital race packet to the employee, including a bib and mileage tracker.
For two weeks, participants challenged themselves by walking, running, or hiking as many miles as possible while wearing their mileage trackers. Upon completion of the two-week period, participants submitted their mileage to qualify their donation and receive credit for their hard work. Over 500 Thermo Fisher employees participated in the challenge, contributing more than 13,500 miles over the two-week period.
During the Thermo Fisher Charity Fitness Challenge, employees raised more than $25,500 for COVID-19 relief through initial entry funds, and were able to donate an additional +$80,500 to other nonprofit organizations with the donation credits awarded to participants based on mileage logged. Not only did it raise money for these organizations, but introducing a health and wellness-based engagement opportunity into the CSR program increased the percentage of new donors by 65%!
After completing the charity fitness challenge, the Thermo Fisher CSR team is ecstatic about the results and full of ideas for the next years’ challenge.
“We are thrilled with the number of colleagues who participated in and embracedthe challenge to get out and exercise as a way to give back. After the success of the pilot, we plan to expand the challenge in 2021, welcoming more colleagues to participate.” said Katie Panzica, communications and engagement program manager, Corporate Social Responsibility.
To provide an even more extensive wellness opportunity for their employees, Thermo Fisher hopes to expand to allow tracking of other forms of exercise including biking, rowing, and kayaking. With optimism that we will be back in a more social environment soon, they are additionally looking into opportunities to host challenges at sites with designated tracks to keep employees engaged and encouraged while staying healthy.
