Whole Life Challenge Recap
At VideoAmp our values are the DNA of the organization, lived out everyday: Create Trust, Do More With Less, Figure It Out, Ship It Fast, Make It Fun, Grow Exponentially, Be A Legend and Embrace Wellness. Embracing Wellness is a differentiating factor that has been ingrained in our culture since the day the business was founded in 2014. Our Vampers can hop on a Zoom to participate in Yoga, Pilates, HIIT or attend an in-person workout, we continue to support them to take both physical and mental breaks daily. In addition to our daily wellness programming, we also come together to compete in a way that makes all of us better through our various challenges throughout the year.
In the spring, over 100 Vampers took part in the Whole Life Challenge – a six week program that started in April and ended in May. We chose the Whole Life Challenge due to its focus on holistic well-being, not just fitness. The intent being that participants create and maintain healthy habits around nutrition, exercise, mobility, sleep, hydration, reflection and overall well-being. “They focus on all types of wellness. I thought the nutrition guidelines were reasonable and worked well for me (unlike Whole30, Keto, etc.) which are too restrictive to be valuable to me,” Catherine Chilton, our Senior Product Manager, shared this with us in her reflection at the end of the challenge.
The winning teams were based on a point system – participants tracked their progress and received points for completing (in their own way) activities across the seven daily habits. At the end of the six weeks, the individuals with the most points attended a trip, with their plus ones that also participated, to Miraval in Austin, Texas, a Wellness and Spa resort with a twist. The resort values digital disconnect to allow you the ability to focus on time for yourself. As one resort staffer explained, “We ask everyone to use technology only in designated locations to practice being mindful of the moment and respectful of fellow guests.” Along with all the typical spa services, the activities included are pilates, yoga, meditation, challenge courses, kayaking, cooking classes, hiking, farm tours, honey tasting, and so much more.
We not only took this year’s winners of the challenge, but we also extended this to our 2020 challenge winners who were not able to make their original trip due to the pandemic. Our time at Miraval was the perfect blend of team bonding and relaxation. Allowing us time to unplug while also connecting with each other was the ultimate gift especially after two years of limited time together in-person – for most attendees this was their first time meeting each other after spending time together on zoom at VideoAmp! Dari Cohan, our Senior Strategic Client Manager, shared with us what she gained most from her time at Miraval, “The power of unplugging and living in the moment is extremely valuable. It is hard to get outside of our 24/7 working routine and this allowed us time to unplug, focus on ourselves, and get to know our co-workers in a new way.”
We are grateful to give premium experiences to our Vampers. This challenge and trip was a reminder that Embrace Wellness is not just a value on paper, but in principle. We work hard to make sure all employees take advantage of every opportunity we offer to support holistic wellness and are excited to see the participation and prize for our next Whole Life Challenge. A quote from our Senior Director of Onboarding & Coaching, Amber Lachapelle Menard, truly sums up why we do this challenge and what we gain: “One of the things I was not expecting to gain from this challenge but did, was a more balanced way of looking at health in general. As with many things, my reflexive attitude towards most of what is covered in this challenge tends to be all or nothing. If it cannot be ‘perfect,’ why bother doing it? Having things like indulgences, rest days, etc… and having the amount of exercise required be below what I would typically count as exercise, gave me opportunities to look for areas where small improvements could be made or trade-offs could happen.”
As we embrace wellness together, that is all we could hope for: incremental daily progress toward wellbeing that when we look back amounts to changing lives and lifestyles for good.
Our next challenge is underway to bring teams together through fitness activities culminating at our all company HMCMNG in Miami – expect to hear about more epic travels for the next winners circle. This is the way we grow together at VideoAmp.
