Administrator s Guide JANUARY 014
Introduction The WalkingWorks program is a Blue Cross and Blue Shield turnkey consumer engagement program that addresses the health challenges of the U.S. population. WalkingWorks moves consumers from learning about to doing something about their health. The program, developed in cooperation with the President s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, uses pedometers or time to track daily walking activity. An interactive Web site also is available to record and track progress online. The goal of this program is to positively impact employee health and productivity in several important ways: Incorporate physical activity into one s daily routine. Track personal progress. Support continued participation with other ongoing health tools and resources. This Facilitator Guide gives you the information necessary to make your WalkingWorks program a success. The Guide describes your role in implementing the program and provides week-by-week instructions regarding its facilitation. Your role is described later in this booklet, but we ve made it easy for you. Honest. During this program, you can expect to see motivated and engaged individuals, some friendly team rivalry (if utilizing the competitive program) and teambuilding among participants.
Your Role You are the Facilitator the person key to keeping the program on track. You may choose to manage the program yourself or you may decide that someone else should assist as the team leader for your WalkingWorks Challenge. In either case, we recommend that you select someone to fill in for you in case you are ever not available to facilitate the program. Here s what you will do: (Relax. While the list seems long, it s really not that time-consuming.) Select a back-up person to assist you if you are not available. Determine a date for the program launch and communicate this to all participants. For competitive challenges, consider designating a team leader for each team. The role of the team leader is to encourage participation in the program. Determine how the WalkingWorks team leader (if someone other than yourself) will communicate to the participants. For example: email, mailboxes, voicemail each week of the program. You also can use or customize the marketing materials included in this toolkit to promote your program. Communicate with your Team members: You can use or customize the marketing materials available through your BCBS Company to promote your program. Above is an example of a WalkingWorks email blast for the facilitator to use to communicate program information. Be available to answer questions about the walking program. Determine if and how incentives such as gift certificates, hats, water bottles and t-shirts are used to motivate participants. Implement a walking session during the day (at lunchtime, for example). You could walk in the parking lot or around the block, beginning slowly and working up to longer walks throughout the program.
Event Scope As the Facilitator, it is up to you to determine the scope of your WalkingWorks event. This entails deciding on the program format, length, potential incentives and how members track their participation. FORMAT OPTIONS: There are two primary formats for a WalkingWorks program: Competitive Program with Multiple Teams: Employees sign up as a part of a team. (e.g. department vs. department, work site vs. work site) Teams compete against each other to see which can walk the most total miles over the length of the program and/or which team has the most average miles per walker. Winning team(s) could receive an incentive. Self-Directed Program: Employees sign up as individuals on the employer s team. Facilitator can track the progress of individuals and the group as a whole. Individuals could potentially compete against each other. TRACKING OPTIONS: There are two ways that individuals can track their progress through WalkingWorks: Pedometer-based Program (Distance): Participants use a pedometer to track the total number of steps walked each day and then enter this total regularly into the WalkingWorks online tracking tool. Time-based Program (Duration): Participants keep track of the total number of minutes walked and then enter this total regularly into the WalkingWorks online tracking tool. Studies show that when an individual uses a pedometer, there is an increase in the amount of physical activity performed (the WalkingWorks website is compatible with both programs). Individuals with disabilities may participate by logging minutes traveled in a wheelchair, swam in a pool or time spent performing another form of physical activity. Winning individual(s) could receive an incentive. PROGRAM LENGTH: We suggest a program length of at least six weeks.to avoid participation drop off, we recommend implementing multiple, shorter programs throughout the year (e.g. Spring and Fall Challenge). 4
Promoting WalkingWorks IMPLEMENTATION TIMELINE: Use this checklist to guide you through the promotion of your WalkingWorks program: 4-6 weeks before the program: Coordinate ordering of pedometers and printing of participant guides (if applicable). Consider ordering incentives (e.g. t-shirt, water bottle, insulated lunch bags) to promote participation. Familiarize yourself with the WalkingWorks online Administrator Tool and participant registration process. Customize and print any marketing materials you wish to use (e.g. posters). - weeks before the program: Place marketing materials in high-traffic areas (e.g. hallways, conference rooms, cafeterias, break rooms). Send a pre-launch email announcement from a company executive. Promotional items such as water bottles and pedometers are good incentives for motivating team participants and overall engagement in your WalkingWorks program. Place sign-up information in relevant publications, such as employer newsletters or on the employee intranet home page. Consider sending an introductory voicemail from a company executive to promote participation. 1 week before the program: Resend the pre-launch email announcement as a reminder to sign up. Consider sending another voicemail promoting participation. Consider using incentives (e.g. t-shirt, water bottle) to promote registration. Distribute participant guides (electronically or in hard copy). Place a registration table with Internet access in a cafeteria or other high-traffic area. Display or distribute any remaining marketing materials. Program begins: If implementing a pedometer-based program. If implementing a time-based program. 5
Home Page Guide The new WalkingWorks site design has better functionality, tracking and content available at your fingertips! Use this step-by-step guide to get started. REGISTRATION OR LOG IN: ➊ If you have not previously registered for the program, start here. 1 ➋ If you already registered, you can log in here. ➌ Contact your program s administrator or click Forgot Password if your login and password do not work. Register as a Participant: Go to www.walkingworks.com and click Register Now. A window will appear to fill in your personal information. Fill out the registration form with your email, name, and work zip code. If you are participating as part of a group, choose your group, program and team names from the dropdown menus. Choose and confirm a password. Choose a participation level. Register as an Administrator: To register as a WalkingWorks Administrator, please contact your Blue Cross and Blue Shield company representative. He or she can give you an administrator login and password to access the WalkingWorks online Administrator Tool. Click Update Profile. You will receive a confirmation email that you have registered successfully. Now you can start tracking your progress. 6
Pulling Program Reports To pull a program report, go to Program Reports in the top navigation within the admin function and follow the steps below. 1 4 5 6 PULLING PROGRAM REPORTS: ➊ Choose a category: Team Standing, Top Walkers, Participation Rate or Plan Activity Summary from the side navigation. ➋ Select your Plan, Group and Program. ➌ Click on Go. ➍ Select a begin and end date for your report. ➎ Click on Filter to filter dates. ➏ Export report to Excel. 7
Managing Community To set up a program, go to Manage Community in the top navigation within the admin function. You ll be taken to Managing Community in the left-hand navigation where you can add new groups, programs, teams and users. SETTING UP PROGRAMS: ➊ Type name of new group and click Add. 1 ➋ Once you have added a group, make sure that it is checked before you add the program. ➌ Once you have that confirmed, type the name of the program. ➍ Add the start and end date of the program. Click Add. 4 ➎ Make sure that the program is checked. ➏ Type team name and click Add. 5 6 8
Adding Group Administrators To add a group administrator, go to Manage Community in the top navigation within the admin function and choose Add User in the left-hand navigation. 1 ADDING A GROUP ADMINISTRATOR: ➊ Input all of their personal information. ➋ If you would like the group administrator to participate in the program, add them to the group, program and team. ➌ Check the Make employer admin box to give administrator privileges. 9
Pulling a Partcipant List To pull a participant list, go to Manage Community and choose Search User in the left-hand navigation. 1 4 5 TO PULL A PARTCIPANT LIST: ➊ Select your Plan. ➋ Select your Group. ➌ Select all your Teams. ➍ Click Search. ➎ Click Export List to Excel. 10
WalkingWorks Fact Sheet Refer to the information below for help with WalkingWorks terms and exercise conversions: What is a GROUP? A group is the name of the employer. What is a PROGRAM? A program is a competition within a group (i.e. Spring Challenge, Summer Fitness Challenge, etc.) What is a TEAM? A team is one or more individuals participating in a specific program. For more information about the WalkingWorks program, please contact: Francisco Ruiz francisco.ruiz@bcbsa.com 1-97-6686 EXERCISE CONVERSIONS Walking:,000 steps = 1 mile 15 minutes = 1 mile Aerobic/Fitness Class: 181 steps per minute Bicycling (easy pace): 10 steps per minute Dancing Class: 109 steps per minute Hiking: 17 steps per minute Swimming (leisure): 174 steps per minute Running (1 minute mile): 178 steps per minute Rowing Machine: 1 steps per minute Yoga: 45 steps per minute Pilates: 91 steps per minute 11