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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 8, 2021
EquipmentShare Employees Log Enough Steps to Walk 38 Laps Around the Earth Through 2020 Wellness Challenge
The company makes wellness an integral part of its culture, awarding $8,000 between three winners and over $35,000 worth of gift certificates to participating team members.
COLUMBIA, Mo. — EquipmentShare, an equipment and digital solutions provider serving the construction industry, hosted a wellness challenge to motivate employees to prioritize health and fitness in 2020. Challenge participants logged fitness activity and nutritional information to earn points. Employees with the most points could win gift cards, vacation days or winnings totaling $8,000. More than half of the company’s employees participated and subsequently tracked enough steps to lap the world nearly 38 times and walk around 930,000 miles.
“Workplace wellness programs and perks—they’re not new concepts when it comes to employee benefits,” EquipmentShare CEO and Co-founder Jabbok Schlacks said. “Wellness benefits have come to be expected now and are a deciding factor for many prospective employees. The way our team stepped up to this challenge shows EquipmentShare’s commitment to wellness, employee health and happiness.”
Using the Wellable app, EquipmentShare team members earned points by tracking their progress, which included meal choices, fitness activity, calorie burn through exercise and daily steps. By the end of the year, participants earned more than $35,000 worth of gift cards and over 1,200 hours of paid time off.
The latest wellness challenge makes EquipmentShare not only a company dedicated to leading in the construction tech space but also one that views employee wellness as a foundational component for its overall success.
“We take great pride in our employees and their wellbeing,” said Danielle Schlacks, wellness champion and member of EquipmentShare’s leadership team. “Without our people, we would have never achieved the success we’ve had thus far. Their health is an integral factor in being able to show up to work and feel ready to take on the day, but it’s more than that: We want our team members to lead healthy lives so they can enjoy time with family and friends. This is all about our employees taking time for themselves and creating habits that would set them up for a lifetime of health.”
The challenge awarded grand prizes to three employees with the highest points scores. To be considered for the grand prize of $5,000, employees had to submit a short written piece about their wellness journey. Chris McKinley, a delivery driver based at EquipmentShare’s Little Rock, Ark., branch, and his story about teaming up with his teenage son to focus on their health earned him the grand prize.
McKinley and his teenage son agreed to increase their activity level, eat better and focus on health as his son prepared for the U.S. Navy. At the conclusion of the challenge, the father-son duo lost a combined 65 pounds.
“Our 30-minute walks turned into hour-long walks and weight lifting,” McKinley said in his essay submission. “It was great for any parent of a teenager who doesn't get as much quality time with their kid as they used to. The wellness program gave me the motivation to not only concentrate on my own health and wellbeing but also my child’s. The end of the challenge will be the beginning of a new year and a continuation of a happier, healthier me for years to come.”
EquipmentShare’s executive team chose McKinley because he made a lifestyle change for himself and his family, proving to be a shining example of hard work, dedication and wellness for others in the company. Watch the video announcing McKinley as the winner.
“Good health is truly a blessing,” Schlacks said. “And like any other job, it takes work. Chris really took our challenge to a new level. He ranked in the top five of overall participants in this latest challenge and shared this opportunity with his son to show support for a life-changing goal. At EquipmentShare, we want our team to know we support their wellness journeys when they are on and off the clock.”
“It’s great that EquipmentShare empowers its employees to make our personal health as high of a priority as we can,” Eli Marchbanks of EquipmentShare’s Customer Experience team said. “Good health practices, whether they are for physical, mental or emotional health, are important to me, and I've never had an employer be this supportive of that.” Marchbanks took second place in the contest and won a $2,000 prize.
Jessica Heisler also prioritized her health and received third place in the challenge, taking home a $1,000 prize.
Collectively, the EquipmentShare team checked in to track their activity nearly 35,000 times. The company plans to run another challenge for its employees for 2021. Glassdoor recently named EquipmentShare one of the top growing companies in the country, despite the pandemic. To learn more about careers with EquipmentShare and apply, visit equipmentshare.com/careers.
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Headquartered in Columbia, Mo., EquipmentShare is a nationwide construction solutions ecosystem provider that solves industry pain points through smart jobsite technology and equipment rental, retail and service distribution. More than a rental company, EquipmentShare’s cloud platform enables construction and industrial companies to gain a real-time view into the connected jobsite. EquipmentShare’s enterprise suite is OEM-agnostic and can track any piece of equipment, regardless of brand, to help fleet managers monitor assets, prevent theft and machine misuse, track employee hours and shifts, increase machine utilization, streamline maintenance and prevent unplanned downtime. Founded in 2015, EquipmentShare employs nearly 2,000 team members of diverse perspectives that push the boundaries of possibilities to create unparalleled customer value, support their communities and empower construction professionals to work more efficiently. EquipmentShare’s growing presence of more than 70 locations, which includes equipment and service yards, research and development sites, administrative offices and specialty solutions, serve the rapid demand for the company’s equipment and digital solutions. To learn more about the company, visit equipmentshare.com.
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