Elevating Louisiana with OneDay

What could you accomplish in a single day? If your creativity was unencumbered, if you had autonomy to work on what you were passionate about, and a like-minded team surrounded and supported you, what sort of initiatives could you bring to fruition? How much good could you accomplish in just one day?

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The answers to these questions are precisely what LWCC set out to find in the first-ever OneDay event.

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Elizabeth Briggs, participant and LWCC Human Resources Business Partner, explained the event succinctly, saying, “We always say, ‘One day I’m going to do that,’ or ‘One day, when I have the time, I’ll make it happen.’ That’s where the name comes from. This is our ‘one day.’”

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The Event

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OneDay’s mission is simple yet powerful: Twenty-four hours to elevate Louisiana. For the inaugural event, LWCC employees led or signed up for cross-departmental teams and were given one full day to innovate a product or initiative of their choosing. The only caveat was that whatever they developed would need to support Louisiana Loyal, whether that was improving LWCC, the community, or the state. The results yielded incredible ideas, fantastic innovation, and a strong sense of connection among all who participated.

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“We have one person from finance, a few people from the IT department, people from claims, and even one policyholder services employee,” said Wes Meador, team leader and LWCC Facilities Manager. “It’s been an awesome, awesome crossover experience. I never get to work with these people on this level.”

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The Inspiration

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The idea of OneDay was sparked by the most recent LWCC Speaker Series featuring best-selling author and business thought leader Daniel Pink. At the event, Daniel shared five ways to navigate what’s next in business. One of those ways was carving out an island of autonomy where employees are encouraged to pursue ideas outside of their existing daily projects, sparking creativity and innovation. Similar programs, like Atlassian’s ShipIt Days, laid the groundwork for OneDay, an initiative that fulfills each of LWCC’s core values, iLWCC:

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• Innovation - Dedicated time to explore new ideas and approaches to solving problems
• Learning - Relentlessly pursuing new knowledge
• Will - Doing extraordinary things and achieving extraordinary goals
• Connections - Fostering deep relationships with our employees, customers, and community
• Caring and Commitment - Doing the right thing for the right reasons

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“The goal of OneDay is, first and foremost, to truly give people the space and freedom to work on whatever they want,” explained Seth Irby, LWCC Chief Marketing and Customer Experience Officer. “We want to inspire to let them use that time to lean into creativity and innovation and discover all that can come from that autonomy.”

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The Work

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The 24-hour timeline of OneDay began on Thursday, March 9 and concluded with project presentations and the selection of winners on Friday, March 10, 2023. In total, 12 teams comprised of 87 participants worked on projects that ranged from a competitive pricing tool to a community garden. These teams were supplied with workspace for collaboration, unlimited access to LWCC facilities over the 24-hour period, tools such as flip charts, notebooks, and presentation templates, and the gift of infinite possibilities.  

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Undertakings by teams included external research with subject matter experts such as CATS and BREC, 3D printing of new devices, measurements and schematics for new proposed spaces, and prototypes for new software. For some, the ideas were brand new. For others, OneDay allowed them to flesh out concepts they’ve had for quite some time.  

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Niles Watson, LWCC Associate Underwriter and a team leader, saw in OneDay the opportunity to develop a comprehensive competitive pricing tool he had long envisioned, saying, “I’ve had this idea, and everyone has known about this idea. But now I get to put it on paper, really flesh it out, and get it out in front of everyone.”

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The Results

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At the end of OneDay, each team was given five minutes to present their projects to a panel of judges, including LWCC President and CEO Kristin Wall, LWCC Board Vice Chair Tommy Huval, and Young Entrepreneurs Academy Chair and Champion of Louisiana Deborah Sternberg. Complete with walk-up music, each team’s presentation was delivered with thoughtful and thorough detail.

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In the end, two teams were selected as winners. SecuriCube, an integrated, smart workstation security system took the judge’s award, while In Our Own Backyard, an overarching plan to elevate the Valley Park community just outside LWCC’s doors, took the people’s choice award.  However, to say that there was anything but winners of the OneDay event would be a disservice.

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“What you’ve just done is not easy,” remarked judge Deborah Sternberg. “LWCC is full of entrepreneurial spirit. You know your jobs and your community, whether it’s in the building, next door, or even broader. You see problems, and you’ve presented solutions to those problems. They are excellent ideas, all of them.”

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What began as a spark of an idea months ago has grown into 12 innovative initiatives that could support LWCC, our work, our community, and the state of Louisiana. And now that the spark has become a flame, the work begins to keep the fire going.

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“I am so proud. All of the ideas were spectacular,” said Kristin Wall. “Now, my challenge to all of you is how might we keep this energy and engagement going? How might we execute some of these fabulous ideas?”

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So... what can you do with OneDay? Learn more about creating your very own program.

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