All posts by mgagne

Well-being…trendy term or science backed concept?

The term well-being is not new but it is only in recent years that the term has become more mainstream.  While there is no consensus around a single definition, there is general agreement that at a minimum, it includes the presence of positive emotions, the absence of negative emotions, satisfaction with life, a sense of fulfillment and positive functioning (1).  In 2010, New York Times best selling authors, Tom Rath and Jim Harter released their seminal book, “Wellbeing: The five essential elements”. In it, the authors define well-being as “the combination and interaction between our love of what we do each day, the quality of our relationships, the security of our finances, the vibrancy of our physical health and the pride we take in what we have contributed to our communities (2).   This definition highlights the five domains of well-being: career, social, financial, physical and community.

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Wellness vs. Well-Being

What is the difference?

Employee wellness programs have been around since the 1980s.  Historically these programs have focused on physical health and have included initiatives such as biometric screenings (blood pressure, cholesterol, weight, etc), health risk assessments (questionnaires to assess health behaviors) and fitness and nutrition components.  However, in recent years employee wellness programs have expanded into much more holistic programs which may be referred to as employee well-being programs.

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GMHEC Technology Initiative Updates

GMHEC, along with our consortium partners have been actively reviewing and interviewing implementation partners for our Oracle, ERP and HCM project. We have also been reviewing and interviewing external project manager teams to support our Oracle projects and our Blackbaud project our Advancement group.   We are grateful for the over forty leaders and functional area experts for their deep involvement in this important selection process.   The next several weeks will include reference checking and deep dive discussions with potential partners.

Blackbaud held its annual users conference, BBCCON 2017 in Baltimore last week.   We had 10 people from the GMHEC member schools attend.  Great opportunity for the team to engage together and  learn from others as we enter into deeper project planning for the January 2018 implementation start.

 

GMHEC Final Vendor Selections

Member colleges of GMHEC including Champlain College, Middlebury College and St. Michael’s College have selected leading edge cloud technology solutions for the continued success in supporting our students.  Our chosen vendors, Blackbaud for advancement and Oracle for HCM, finance and potentially student demonstrated strength in technology solutions and understanding of our specific needs.  This selection process included a significant amount of time and input from stakeholders amongst all schools. The first Steering Committee meeting was held recently and the planning phase is well underway for these important implementations.