Administrator’s GuideJANUARY 2014

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The WalkingWorks® program is a Blue Cross and Blue

Shield turnkey consumer engagement program that

addresses the health challenges of the U.S. population.

WalkingWorks moves consumers from “learning about”

to “doing something” about their health.

The program, developed in cooperation with the

President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports,

uses pedometers or time to track daily walking activity.

An interactive Web site also is available to record and

track progress online.

The goal of this program is to positively impact employee health and productivity in several important ways:

• Incorporate physical activity into one’s daily routine.

• Track personal progress.

• Support continued participation with other ongoing health tools and resources.

During this program, you can expect to see motivated and engaged individuals, some friendly team rivalry (if utilizing the competitive program) and teambuilding among participants.

This Facilitator Guide gives you the information necessary to make your WalkingWorks program a success. The Guide describes your role in implementing the program and provides week-by-week instructions regarding its facilitation. Your role is described later in this booklet, but we’ve made it easy for you. Honest.

Introduction

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You are the Facilitator — the person key to keeping

the program on track. You may choose to manage the

program yourself or you may decide that someone else

should assist as the team leader for your WalkingWorks®

Challenge. In either case, we recommend that you

select someone to fill in for you in case you are ever not

available to facilitate the program.

Here’s what you will do:

(Relax. While the list seems long, it’s really not that time-consuming.)

• Select a back-up person to assist you if you are not available.

• Determine a date for the program launch and communicate this to all participants.

• For competitive challenges, consider designating a “team leader” for each team. The role of the team leader is to encourage participation in the program.

• Determine how the WalkingWorks team leader (if someone other than yourself) will communicate to the participants. For example: email, mailboxes, voicemail each week of the program.

• You also can use or customize the marketing materials included in this toolkit to promote your program.

• Be available to answer questions about the walking program.

• Determine if and how incentives such as gift certificates, hats, water bottles and t-shirts are used to motivate participants.

• Implement a walking session during the day (at lunchtime, for example). You could walk in the parking lot or around the block, beginning slowly and working up to longer walks throughout the program.

Your Role

Communicate with your Team members: You can use or customize the marketing materials available through your BCBS Company to promote your program. Above is an example of a WalkingWorks email blast for the facilitator to use to communicate program information.

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As the Facilitator, it is up to you to determine the scope of your

WalkingWorks event. This entails deciding on the program format,

length, potential incentives and how members track their participation.

Event Scope

FORMAT OPTIONS:

There are two primary formats for a WalkingWorks program:

Competitive Program with Multiple Teams:

• Employees sign up as a part of a team. (e.g. department vs. department, work site vs. work site)

• Teams compete against each other to see which can walk the most total miles over the length of the program and/or which team has the most average miles per walker.

• Winning team(s) could receive an incentive.

Self-Directed Program:

• Employees sign up as individuals on the employer’s team.

• Facilitator can track the progress of individuals and the group as a whole.

• Individuals could potentially compete against each other.

• Winning individual(s) could receive an incentive.

TRACKING OPTIONS:

There are two ways that individuals can track their progress through WalkingWorks:

Pedometer-based Program (Distance):

• Participants use a pedometer to track the total number of steps walked each day and then enter this total regularly into the WalkingWorks online tracking tool.

Time-based Program (Duration):

• Participants keep track of the total number of minutes walked and then enter this total regularly into the WalkingWorks online tracking tool.

Studies show that when an individual uses a pedometer, there is an increase in the amount of physical activity performed (the WalkingWorks website is compatible with both programs).

Individuals with disabilities may participate by logging minutes traveled in a wheelchair, swam in a pool or time spent performing another form of physical activity.

PROGRAM LENGTH: We suggest a program length of at least six weeks.To avoid participation drop off, we recommend implementing multiple, shorter programs throughout the year (e.g. Spring and Fall Challenge).

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Promoting WalkingWorks

4-6 weeks before the program:

• Coordinate ordering of pedometers and printing of participant guides (if applicable).

• Consider ordering incentives (e.g. t-shirt, water bottle, insulated lunch bags) to promote participation.

• Familiarize yourself with the WalkingWorks online Administrator Tool and participant registration process.

• Customize and print any marketing materials you wish to use (e.g. posters).

2-3 weeks before the program:

• Place marketing materials in high-traffic areas (e.g. hallways, conference rooms, cafeterias, break rooms).

• Send a pre-launch email announcement from a company executive.

• Place sign-up information in relevant publications, such as employer newsletters or on the employee intranet home page.

• Consider sending an introductory voicemail from a company executive to promote participation.

1 week before the program:

• Resend the pre-launch email announcement as a reminder to sign up.

• Consider sending another voicemail promoting participation.

• Consider using incentives (e.g. t-shirt, water bottle) to promote registration.

• Distribute participant guides (electronically or in hard copy).

• Place a registration table with Internet access in a cafeteria or other high-traffic area.

• Display or distribute any remaining marketing materials.

Program begins:

• If implementing a pedometer-based program.

• If implementing a time-based program.

Promotional items such as water bottles and pedometers are good incentives for motivating team participants and overall engagement in your WalkingWorks program.

IMPLEMENTATION TIMELINE:

Use this checklist to guide you through the promotion

of your WalkingWorks program:

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→ REGISTRATION OR LOG IN:

➊ If you have not previously registered for the program, start here.

➋ If you already registered, you can log in here.

➌ Contact your program’s administrator or click “Forgot Password”if your login and password do not work.

The new WalkingWorks site design has better functionality, tracking and

content available at your fingertips! Use this step-by-step guide to get started.

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Home Page Guide

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Register as a Participant:• Go to www.walkingworks.com and click “Register Now”.

• A window will appear to fill in your personal information. Fill out the registration form with your email, name, and work zip code. If you are participating as part of a group, choose your group, program and team names from the dropdown menus.

• Choose and confirm a password.

• Choose a participation level.

• Click “Update Profile”.

You will receive a confirmation email that you have registered successfully. Now you can start tracking your progress.

Register as an Administrator:To register as a WalkingWorks Administrator, please contact your Blue Cross and Blue Shield company representative. He or she can give you an administrator login and password to access the WalkingWorks online Administrator Tool.

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→ PULLING PROGRAM REPORTS:

➊ Choose a category: Team Standing, Top Walkers, Participation Rate or Plan Activity Summary from the side navigation.

➋ Select your Plan, Group and Program.

➌ Click on “Go”.

➍ Select a begin and end date for your report.

➎ Click on “Filter” to filter dates.

➏ Export report to Excel.

To pull a program report, go to “Program Reports” in the top navigation

within the admin function and follow the steps below.

Pulling Program Reports

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To set up a program, go to “Manage Community” in the top navigation within

the admin function. You’ll be taken to “Managing Community” in the left-hand

navigation where you can add new groups, programs, teams and users.

Managing Community

→ SETTING UP PROGRAMS:

➊ Type name of new group and click “Add.”

➋ Once you have added a group, make sure that it is checked before you add the program.

➌ Once you have that confirmed, type the name of the program.

➍ Add the start and end date of the program. Click “Add”.

➎ Make sure that the program is checked.

➏ Type team name and click “Add”.

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Adding Group Administrators

→ ADDING A GROUP ADMINISTRATOR:

➊ Input all of their personal information.

➋ If you would like the group administrator to participate in the program, add them to the group, program and team.

➌ Check the “Make employer admin” box to give administrator privileges.

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To add a group administrator, go to “Manage Community” in the

top navigation within the admin function and choose “Add User”

in the left-hand navigation.

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To pull a participant list, go to “Manage Community”

and choose“Search User” in the left-hand navigation.

Pulling a Partcipant List

→ TO PULL A PARTCIPANT LIST:

➊ Select your Plan.

➋ Select your Group.

➌ Select all your Teams.

➍ Click “Search”.

➎ Click “Export List to Excel”.

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WalkingWorks Fact Sheet

What is a GROUP? A group is the name of the employer.

What is a PROGRAM? A program is a competition within a group (i.e. Spring Challenge, Summer Fitness Challenge, etc.)

What is a TEAM? A team is one or more individuals participating in a specific program.

EXERCISE CONVERSIONS

Walking:

2,000 steps = 1 mile15 minutes = 1 mile

Aerobic/Fitness Class:

181 steps per minute

Bicycling (easy pace):

130 steps per minute

Dancing Class:

109 steps per minute

Hiking:

172 steps per minute

Swimming (leisure):

174 steps per minute

Running (12 minute mile):

178 steps per minute

Rowing Machine:

212 steps per minute

Yoga:

45 steps per minute

Pilates:

91 steps per minute

Refer to the information below for help with WalkingWorks

terms and exercise conversions:

For more information about the WalkingWorks program, please contact:

Francisco Ruizfrancisco.ruiz@bcbsa.com312-297-6686