'UBY' platform uses blogs, videos, healthier options to engage employees
Building and sustaining any health-oriented regime within a corporate environment is a difficult task that demands commitment from the employee and the employer.
When assigned to amplify the Air Canada Wellness Program, Sobora Duy, manager of mental health and wellness, had worked in several different departments within Air Canada, where he developed an understanding of global differences among customers and employees across six continents.
Then COVID-19 arrived. The pandemic proved extremely difficult for Air Canada, as the company laid off nearly 50 percent of its employees, raising anxiety, lowering morale and accentuating the need for a true wellness resource that offered practical help and direction.
Through the Yammer platform, the airline's internal social media platform for employees, “UBY” was brought to life.
Duy and his team promoted two-way conversations with professionally produced videos highlighting individual employees’ stories dealing with a range of wellness topics across four health categories: Work, Mental, Physical and Financial, all under the banner of “Unlock the Best in You” or “UBY”.
Built on CoreHealth’s comprehensive wellness platform, the UBY site helps employees deal with both personal and workplace issues. Many have chosen to share personal experiences in blog posts, videos and testimonials. Numerous support systems were also established in-house, including strong peer support in numerous offices through volunteer UBY ambassadors.
The UBY initiative received strong buy-in from the senior leadership team, including Air Canada chief medical officer Jim Chung.
The program represents a sizeable investment on the part of Air Canada and includes healthier meals and vending machine snacks, “10 at 10” or a 10-minute break at 10 a.m. every Wednesday to motivate employees to take a break from their work and computer screens, and a rebuilt employee gym.
The results of UBY are difficult to quantify, but internal research has noted a significant upswing in employee participation. Air Canada HR’s platform like UBY helps support and engage employees, which benefits both employees and the company alike.
