Recess collected employee input at every stage in the game to ensure success.

“It takes a conscious decision on my part to do what I need to do and the Wellness program has really helped motivate me. ” –Cheryl Snider, Bullivant employee

Bullivant: The Employees

The wellness teams at Bullivant knew that engagement would be the name of the game. After working hand in hand with Recess coordinators and facilitators to create and market their programs they wanted to believe that everything would work out swimmingly.

Of course, they'd never actually rolled a wellness program before so they had little idea of what to expect. What they found was their programs were varied, simple and fun enough to engage the majority of employees in ways that were not only interesting, but that employees could tailor to their unique lives and circumstances. As a result, 63% of Bullivant employees chose to participate in the wellness program.

Program popularity

Recess created a series of campaigns featuring: on-site, online, telephonic and off-site health risk intervention programs.

A survey of Bullivant's employees revealed that the on-site classes were considered the most enjoyable compared to online healthy living modules.

Twice as many Bullivant employees chose to enroll in on-site classes rather than online modules. While fewer than half of online program participants completed their 6 week healthy living programs, more than 75% of those enrolled in on-site programs attended an average of 5.4 hours of on-site sessions each.

Onsite and interoffice challenges were also popular. Patrick Woodbury is Bullivant's Director of Information Technology. His team of 17 people were actively engaged in wellness programming and inter-office fitness challenges (such as the Step it Up Challenge).

His staff's engagement was contagious. "For the Step It Up Challenge, they wanted to win. On the last day of the challenge one of my team members did 20 flights of stairs. That was pretty inspiring," said Woodbury.

What employees said:
  • Changes at lunch break

    “I loved to see coworkers getting enthused about wellness and seeing the changes in what people were fixing for themselves for lunch in the lunchroom.”

  • Going to work refreshed

    “I really enjoyed the stretching class. Not only did it help me meet and briefly socialize with co-workers I otherwise would not have, it also was a great way to de-stress and come back to my desk ready to tackle my work.”

  • Taking information home

    “I enjoy doing some of the stretching exercises at my desk, and find I have fewer uncomfortable days (and nights). I am much more aware of what I'm eating and feeding my family.”

Program effectiveness

Apart from their popularity, Recess' on-site classes and prevention campaigns were considered by employees to be the most effective at changing their health behaviors as compared to all programs offered through Bullivant's employee assistance program, which most employees did not consider effective (all scored a 3 or less on effectiveness).


Employees found that programs were helpful beyond the classroom, "All of the classes have been very helpful for me. I just learned so much. I've taken good notes and have shared with family members what I learned," said a participant in the Recess Cooking and Nutrition program.

"The scope of our programs has been fabulous," said Marie Porter, a wellness team member and Office Manager at the Portland office,"We have a bit of all of the critical elements."

The stories behind the stats: