Wellness Champions

Are you a University employee interested in advocating for wellness within your workplace? Become a Wellness Champion! 

Wellness Champions are Ohio University employees who wish to support their colleagues along their wellbeing journeys. We understand that wellness is a unique journey for each individual and every department on campus has different opportunities for wellness in the workplace. That's why we need advocates across all of our campuses!

How It Works

Wellness Champions stay connected through regular interaction via our Teams Group and Sharepoint site dedicated to Wellness Champions. There, Champs share their ideas and needs while also receiving interesting information to be able to share out with their colleagues. This online hub makes the resources available to Wellness Champions more accessible to a larger number of individuals, while streamlining the sharing of resources.

Champs can also participate in monthly live conversations via Teams where news is shared and Champs can troubleshoot with each other on how to enhance the wellbeing culture of their unique operational areas. 

What Do Wellness Champions Do? 

LEARN: Learn about wellbeing resources available to employees by reviewing the materials on the Sharepoint site and shared in the Teams chat! The OHIO Wellness team will work to produce easy-to-understand and fun-to-share materials about the various wellbeing resources available to University employees. A new topic will be pushed out each month on the group chat and the Sharepoint site will house all historical resources.

SHARE: Champs are asked to take the information shared through the group chat and Sharepoint site and send it out to their colleagues in whatever format is right for their team. This step is key for ensuring our employees are receiving information relevant to them in the format that they are most likely to consume. Wellness Champions are best poised to know how to communicate with their colleagues and share information in a meaningful way.

LISTEN: Wellness Champions are asked to listen to their colleagues and other Wellness Champions to learn more about the wellness needs that exist within our OHIO community at any given time. Champs will be trained in Motivational Interviewing (optional training session) to be able to best learn how to listen and communicate in meaningful ways. This will arm them with the tools they need to offer genuine support to OHIO employees in real-time. 

RELAY: Wellness Champions have a unique insight into the needs of their colleagues. A key aspect of their role, therefore, is to relay the wellbeing needs of each operational or geographic unit to the Wellness Champ community. This will ensure that that proper resources are being shared with employees when they are needed. It will also allow for the Wellness Champion community to create shared experiences at OHIO in response to identified needs. 

INTERACT: Each of our Wellness Champions has a unique background with valuable skills and experiences. Therefore, we encourage Champs to interact with each other to share ideas, brainstorm, and have fun! With Champs representing diverse operational units on all of our OHIO campuses, this program provides participants with a unique opportunity to interact with colleagues they may have never had the chance to work with otherwise.

REPEAT: Wellbeing is a unique journey. We’re all on different paths at different paces. In fact, many of us are on multiple paths at any given time! Wellness Champions will continue to listen, learn, share, relay and interact with their colleagues and peers to help build a culture of wellbeing at all of Ohio University’s campuses. Champs may need to share the same resources multiple times and/or they may discover a completely different need each week.

What is Expected of a Wellness Champion?

Wellness Champions serve their departments or regional campuses as an advocate for programming, resources and support that fit the unique micro-cultures across Ohio University. 

The expectations of Wellness Champions are simple; serve as an advocate for your colleagues and share resources as needed. More specifically, Champs will be asked to:

• Participate in ongoing discussions on Teams via the Chat feature. These discussions will not be time-bound and, therefore, Champs are able to engage when their schedule permits.
• Speak with and/or survey their colleagues about their current wellbeing journey to be able to gauge needs.
• View resources on the Champs' Sharepoint site and share resources to colleagues when they are relevant to their colleagues' unique experiences.
• Optional: Champs will have the opportunity to participate in monthly social gatherings via Teams to be able to connect and share with one another.

What are the Benefits of Becoming a Champion?

Employees who choose to become a Wellness Champion can expect the following benefits: 

• Establish a social circle of peers from a diverse set of backgrounds.
• Access to wellbeing resources.
• Tools for speaking with their colleagues to gauge the current workplace environment and identify needs.
• Recognition for your efforts: 500 points on Virgin Pulse (annually) and an annual recognition ceremony.
• Empowered to be an advocate for colleagues and an agent of positive change, when needed.
• Optional: Champs can participate in a FREE Motivational Interviewing training from a National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach.

Are You Ready? 

To become a Wellness Champion, simply complete this low-stress application form:

Become a Wellness Champion

Questions? 

Please email us at WellWorks@ohio.edu.