Workplace Wellness: Three Apps to Help Encourage Employee Engagement
Posted by Amelia K. on Thursday, October 16th, 2014 with Comments Off on Workplace Wellness: Three Apps to Help Encourage Employee Engagement Comments
With the explosion of workplace wellness programs among companies across the country, you probably already know that there are things you can do to help your staff improve their health. After all, with chronic diseases like diabetes, poor heart health and obesity accounting for 78 percent of American health care spending, it’s clear that employers need to encourage their staff to lead healthier lives. But instituting healthy options for your staff is actually the easiest piece of the wellness process–getting employee buy-in, and participation is where many businesses struggle. In fact, most companies see about 15 to 20 percent staff participation in healthy initiatives, which certainly shows that there is room for improvement.
So, if you feel stuck and are trying to get more employees to participate in your program, where should you start? Believe it or not, there are several great apps that can support your workplace wellness series and encourage more employee participation, helping your staff take charge of their health, which leads to happier and longer lives. To help you find the right apps to supplement your program, we’ve outlined three of the best options below.
Using an app to supplement your workplace wellness series can improve employee engagement.
Image source: Flickr user USAG-Humphreys
Keas
The Keas platform is fun, social and promotes employee engagement both within your company and in your team’s actual work. It’s a turn-key program that requires little help to set up and allows employees to track their fitness and activity levels, suggests actions that team members can take if risks are identified (like high blood pressure) and also includes mind stimulating games and quizzes to encourage your team to learn more about their health. It can also be integrated with external apps such as Fitbit, which can help further encourage your employees to participate in your workplace wellness program. Plus, it offers a social component that allows your team to connect outside of the office by sharing photos, healthy recipes, exercise tips and more. Not only will the Keas platform help you to spread the word about your healthy living programs, it can help create stronger bonds among employees and more company loyalty over time.
Maxwell Health
While this platform was initially developed as an innovative way to shop for great health plans, it’s evolved into much more. The Maxwell Health app helps your team understand and stay engaged with their health plan beyond the open enrollment period. It empowers them to take advantage of tools that will show them how to lead a healthier lifestyle and understand what health care options are available to them. It also integrates with, and helps your team find, the right kinds of products to support their healthier lifestyle, like the Fitbit, Doctor on Demand, and Hello Fresh — programs that support fitness, health and healthier eating. Plus, it encourages employee engagement by offering incentives for meeting their health goals, like gift cards to Amazon and Starbucks. Since it does all the heavy lifting for you, encouraging your team to participate in your workplace wellness program can become a breeze!
FitLinxx
Understanding that not getting active is what’s driving many of America’s health care concerns today, FitLinxx helps you to implement the best workplace wellness program for your office, and helps your employees stay engaged, as well as accountable for their own health. Their Pebble+ Activity Tracker is a small device that your team can clip onto their belts. It encourages them to take little steps throughout the day — taking the stairs, parking further from the building, and moving more over their lunch hour — to become more active. Your team can easily sync their activity and track their progress both on their own and through detailed monthly reports that are only available to them. It’s an easy way to help your team understand the benefits of healthier living, get on the right track, and encourage them to participate in your wellness series.
Healthier Employees
Helping your staff lead a healthier lifestyle should be one of your top priorities. Not only are employees more loyal to companies who offer unique wellness opportunities and care about them beyond what their able to produce, encouraging your team to become more active and eat better can significantly impact your company’s bottom line through the amount you spend on health care costs. Giving your employees the tools to better manage their health can help to make this a higher priority for them, and encourage your staff to make more of an effort to participate in the programs your business offers.
When you’re ready to take your workplace wellness series to the next level, consider offering some healthier eating opportunities through Waiter.com’s corporate catering or virtual cafeteria service. After all, a well-rounded wellness program can help your team live better and understand all of the things that impact their overall well being.
When it comes to feeding employees and coworkers, make your company's food program really count! If your workplace dining plan needs to take it up a notch — or if you don't have one at all — Waiter.com is here to help. From Virtual Cafeteria Service to diverse menus to local takeout & delivery, Waiter.com offers customizable dining solutions for every business and budget. Contact us today to get started!
