Rainmaker is Finland's most successful sales, customer care and HR solutions service company. The company employs more than 1,000 specialists in Finland and Spain and provides a wide range of business support to its clients. Rainmaker operates responsibly and it is important for the company to take care of the wellbeing of its employees - because a healthy workforce is the foundation of the company's success.
From wellbeing support to community
Rainmaker wanted to find more ways to support staff wellbeing and build a sense of community. The solution was HeiaHeia, where challenges and theme weeks have brought together hundreds of employees from different locations. The result has been joy, new ideas and a stronger sense of belonging throughout the work community.
Importantly, the solution can have a positive impact on staff wellbeing and job satisfaction - while reducing sickness absence. When the first HeiaHeia challenge was launched, the team was immediately enthusiastic and the company realised that annual challenges could be a great way to strengthen both wellbeing and community spirit.
Why HeiaHeia?
As an alternative, a continuous break exercise program was initially considered. However, at Rainmaker they wanted something more inspiring — something that would engage the whole team and also attract those who aren’t already “fitness enthusiasts.”
HeiaHeia responded to this need by offering a varied package combining exercise, recovery, everyday wellbeing and community-based competitions. There are so many ways to get involved - from collecting steps to choosing the right way to exercise from over 500 different sports.
"HeiaHeia also includes competitions and community elements, not just active breaks. It encourages employees from different backgrounds to get involved - by collecting steps or doing any one of more than 500 sports."
- Nelli Jauhiainen, HR and Recruitment Coordinator, Rainmaker
The theme weeks brought variety and new insights
The first challenge was carried out team by team, and based on the experience, Rainmaker developed a richer concept for the next round. Individual objectives, weekly themes and photo competitions were included. Each participant was able to share pictures on the HeiaHeia community wall, which increased the sense of community and also brought out the leisure side of the employees.
Themes ranged from exercise to food and culture: favourite exercise, exercising with a workout buddy, a food week with everyday food tips, movie and book tips and the importance of recovery. On Fridays, a new theme was published and participants had a week to react to it. There were also Teams competitions to reward participants - and the positive energy spread throughout the work community.
"It's been really nice to see people get excited and get involved. The community wall is building nicely as the challenge progresses."
- Nelli Jauhiainen, HR and Recruitment Coordinator, Rainmaker
Easy deployment and broad participation
The rollout of HeiaHeia at Rainmaker was a breeze. Almost 200 employees from different parts of the organisation took part. Internal communication and video presentations were used to highlight themes and encourage sharing of images.
The results have been impressive: since the launch, Rainmaker staff have already accumulated around 85 million wellbeing points, logged 14,000 hours of physical activity and shared over 50,000 incentives with colleagues.
The feedback from staff has been very positive: weekly themes and individual goals were found to be inspiring, and the pictures created a whole new sense of community. "It has been great to see new sides of our colleagues, and the feedback has helped us to develop the challenges to be more functional," says Jauhiainen.
Community is the best thing about HeiaHeia
Rainmaker feels that the best thing about HeiaHeia is the sense of community and working together.
"When a company organises a challenge like this, it sends a strong message that the employer wants to take care of its employees. The encouragement creates a feeling that we are all in the same boat and support each other."
- Nelli Jauhiainen, HR and Recruitment Coordinator, Rainmaker
During the challenges, employees learned new things about each other and the community wall was filled with inspiring pictures and stories. One of the most popular themes was a favourite hobby, which revealed many surprising and inspiring aspects of colleagues.
Photo: collage of photos shared on the Rainmaker community wall
Looking to the future
The next HeiaHeia challenge will be launched at Rainmaker in early autumn, with the theme of conquering the world. We'll be heading around the world next - and why not to the moon or other planets later.
In this way, the challenges will create an ongoing and truly impactful wellness programme, rather than one-off events.
A recommendation to others
Rainmaker recommends HeiaHeia to any company that wants to build community, support employee wellbeing and inspire people to get moving.
"We recommend HeiaHeia to companies of all sizes - it creates a positive atmosphere and spreads energy throughout the work community."
- Nelli Jauhiainen, HR and Recruitment Coordinator, Rainmaker
