Work

Helping Employees Around the World Own Their Well-being

Summary

The O’Keefe Group (OKG) partnered with a global consumer health company to launch Own Your Well-being, a year-long employee communication and engagement campaign focused on physical, emotional and financial health. Recognizing that employee well-being influences resilience and performance, the company sought to increase awareness and utilization of company-sponsored well-being programs. OKG created a globally consistent, locally adaptable campaign to reach approximately 22,000 employees across more than 100 countries. The project was launched while the company was undergoing an acquisition, creating unique communication and engagement complexities.

Challenges

• Aligning stakeholders: Building consensus and aligning messaging across a complex global matrix and existing well-being initiatives was crucial.
• Balancing global and local needs: The strategy had to integrate globally available resources with country-specific benefits, local well-being programs, and diverse cultural perspectives on health and preventive care. 
• Reaching non-desk workers: Engaging approximately 8,000 plant and manufacturing employees without regular computer access required alternative channels and creative delivery.
• Overcoming language barriers: Translating communication assets into local languages was essential despite budget constraints.
• Engaging people leaders: Sustaining momentum required first equipping managers to actively champion healthy behaviors and support their teams through ongoing workplace uncertainty.

Solutions

OKG developed a year-long communication strategy anchored by a simple, actionable message: Own Your Well-being. Following a launch and awareness phase, each quarter focused on a core dimension of health:

• Physical well-being
• Emotional well-being
• Financial well-being

To ensure alignment and consistency, OKG created quarterly key messaging documents that reflected campaign goals and content priorities. A two-step communication cascade engaged people leaders before employees, strengthening leadership visibility and support. Leadership updates and a campaign dashboard kept key stakeholders informed of progress and results throughout the year.

The campaign also featured:

• A wellness challenge for each quarter that encouraged employees to build healthier habits through practical, achievable activities
• A centralized Own Your Well-being digital resource hub
• Locally adaptable communication toolkits
• Quick reference tools including one-page overviews, an infographic and actionable checklists
• Eye-catching digital display screens with QR codes connecting non-desk employees to resources and campaign content
• An innovative interactive emotional well-being quiz to encourage reflection and resource discovery
• Materials translated into seven company-supported languages using AI-enabled tools plus human validation—a faster, more cost-effective approach to global translation without sacrificing accuracy.

Regional Total Rewards and communications leaders tailored campaign materials to reflect local needs and cultural nuances while maintaining global consistency. In EMEA, for example, local leaders brought the campaign to life through a dedicated emotional well-being and resilience session for their women’s employee resource group with more than 300 attendees.

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Results

The campaign delivered clear, measurable increases in employee engagement, resource utilization, and well-being outcomes across several client-identified indicators. These included increased participation in their Global Well-being Reimbursement (GWR) program, completion of financial health check-ups, taking at least 75% of vacation entitlement, and feeling recognized for good work.

Year-to-date results: 

• 3,560 employees on 866 teams participated in the voluntary Global Step Challenge, representing nearly 16% of the global workforce. 
• There was a nearly 10% increase in GWR program participation.
• The number of employees taking at least 75% of available leave jumped 28%.
• Employee recognition scores exceeded the target, reaching 79% compared with the 76% baseline.
• Participation in preventive health and financial well-being programs remained on track to meet annual goals. 

Beyond the Numbers
Perhaps the most powerful result came from an employee in Brazil who scheduled an executive health screening after receiving campaign communications encouraging preventive care. During the evaluation, clinicians discovered a serious heart condition in time for potentially life-saving treatment. This reinforced one of the campaign’s core goals: connecting employees with resources to improve their health. As an internal email noted, “Stories like this reinforce the importance of continuing to encourage and influence our employees to complete their annual preventive health screenings. Early detection made timely intervention possible before the situation could have had a very different outcome.”

Why it Matters

The business case for employee well-being is clear. Studies have shown that healthy behaviors lead to better performance, lower absenteeism, improved safety, and reduced company medical expenditures. During times of change, it’s critical to sustain focus, increase resilience, and enhance coping skills.

Own Your Well-being demonstrated how strategic communication can move employees from awareness to action. By helping employees better understand and use the resources available to them, the campaign encouraged healthier habits, made well-being feel more accessible, and boosted participation. Most importantly, it connected employees with support that can make a real difference in their lives.