WellTech: Out with the Old and In with the New

We’ve been talking about digital transformation for ages now, but something different is happening in WellTech. We’re seeing that the large platforms created years ago cannot keep up with the requirements — the speed, the integrations, the feel — of more modern solutions built using today’s technology.

Most of the HR professionals I talk with share their experiences with these platforms, investments they made before the pandemic, when their goals were vastly different from today. They needed a solution to serve as a hub for all employee health benefits, which probably grew to include third-party “point solutions” to serve select worker populations needing support for diabetes, MSK issues, or other specific areas of concern.

But when it comes to supporting a modern wellbeing program, the focus of most HR benefits programs today, the platforms can’t accommodate. HR leaders don’t have the time and IT bandwidth to administer and implement a solution that requires continuous upkeep.  

Grokker Innovation Labs’ recent research into corporate wellbeing platforms found:

• Over 60% of enterprises are considering augmenting or replacing their current corporate wellbeing platform.

> The top 3 reasons they’re making a change from their wellbeing platform are because:

• Their current platform doesn’t drive employee engagement
• It requires complicated third-party integration
• It doesn’t offer content across all areas of wellbeing (i.e., fitness, nutrition, sleep, mental health, financial wellbeing)

> The top 3 attributes for a replacement solution are:

• Engagement
• Cost
• Features/User Experience

So what is a modern solution?

Supporting a diverse, inclusive, and equity-based team is essential in today's workforce. It needs to fully deliver in the most critical areas to employees: personalization, community, and an integrated, holistic experience.

Here are ten red flags that your current wellbeing investment has out-stayed its value: 

1. Can’t show proof of meaningful employee engagement through life-changing outcomes and increased retention

Employee engagement software solutions are expensive as they often require a per-user fee. Companies want to get the most out of their employee engagement investments, but some wellbeing programs can feel like a money pit. Companies need to know where their money is going and how the investment impacts action.

Grokker helps HR leaders show proof of engagement through our extensive reporting capabilities. With a click of your mouse, you can see where employees spend their time on the platform. Do you need to report on the effectiveness of Grokker? We share metrics like average minutes watched (otherwise known as Wellbeing Minutes™ - those minutes that members are investing to support their wellbeing) and the number of videos completed so you can confidently share engagement with stakeholders.

2. Cannot deliver employees a personalized, guided wellbeing experience

Wellbeing is incredibly personal. Employees need a solution that they can quickly tailor to their needs while getting expert advice. Most employee wellbeing programs are rigid and may not consider the different lived experiences your employees might have.

The Grokker dashboard provides employees with a myriad of customization options. As employees watch and interact with the platform, the platform recommends better videos to meet their needs. Grokker users can quickly jump into a video that fits their needs with the search tools available based on the time they have available, what they want to work on, and their fitness level.

3. Lacks “fresh” content to keep employees engaged with the latest trends across all areas of wellbeing

Working on the same content for an extended period can get boring. While we all have our tried and true strategies, employees need new content to keep things interesting as they work on their fitness journeys.

Grokker is consistently investing in fresh content across all specialization areas. New content keeps our platform fresh and exciting for every user. We currently have 4,000+ videos in our library. Coupled with employee challenges, your team members will always have something to do.

4. Requires complicated and extensive third-party integrations that necessitate ongoing IT resources

IT is a strained department. Companies rely on the IT department to put out fires like employee log-in issues and upgrades to the company tech stack. It can be challenging for HR to pull IT off their current projects to work on wellbeing software. Companies are moving away from old-school technology to implement new wellbeing strategies without ongoing IT resources.

When you implement Grokker, many of the solutions you need are built-in. Employees can access wellbeing content, challenges, and incentives all in one platform. By investing in Grokker, you can cut down on the amount of IT intervention needed to run your employee wellbeing program. Say goodbye to brittle integrations!

“Grokker’s wellness solution is built on an industry-leading proprietary platform. Our engineers don’t wait for the state of the art. They create it,” shares one of our Grokker engineers. “I think the greatest selling point isn’t that we necessarily use the newest technology, our stack has been around for almost a decade at this point, and the bulk of our architecture has been in place since 2015. What we do better than our competitors is in-house expertise.”

Grokker engineers work tirelessly to ensure that we can innovate and create what our customers need. We want this system to flow with your systems, and we’re willing to build the products our customers ask for. We want our system to benefit your organization’s IT department, not a detriment.

5. Is expensive to implement and keep running

Employee wellbeing is a consistent expense for employers. There are costs associated with the platform and the ongoing need to drive employee activity through monetary incentives. Before you know it, a cheap program can get bloated and expensive for company leaders. As incentives need to be retired to save money, pulling a wellbeing program may feel like an easy fix.

At Grokker, we’ve created a system to handle many different wellbeing tasks. Since you can utilize one platform, you are already creating savings for your workplace. On top of that, we have an easy-to-follow pricing structure that allows you to easily keep your employee wellbeing program in place for years to come.

6. Doesn’t provide dedicated customer support to ensure an effective pre- and post-launch experience and month-over-month success

Wellbeing programs aren’t a launch-and-go experience. Unfortunately, it can be challenging to get over some of the stigma associated with wellbeing programs, so you may not get the adoption you want at first.

Grokker helps our customers by providing dedicated customer support. We want to help you create a wellbeing success story. So we work with our customers consistently to ensure your program is effective pre- and post-launch. 

7. Doesn’t have program communications support to drive new registrants and encourage ongoing engagement

Gaining traction and adoption for a new wellbeing program isn’t easy. Some employees might sign up and forget to log on after a few weeks. A good chunk of your employees may never sign up, especially if you don’t remind them about the option to join. 

Grokker works with your organization to pull more employees into the system. One of the first things administrators see on their dashboard is a look at current enrollment. We send regular communications to employees to ensure they know about Grokker and sign up at their earliest convenience. Once an employee is signed up, they get frequent reminders about what they can do in the system.

8. Doesn’t offer access to members of employees’ households

We are in an era of sharing passwords. Users expect that they will be able to share what they are doing with others. On top of that, working out with a buddy has tremendous benefits for motivation and consistency. Family members add another layer of accountability for your employees.

Grokker can be easily shared with household members. By streaming content, employees will be able to share meditations, recipes, and yoga classes with their families.

9. Isn’t accessible to employees via connected devices and streaming services

Employees require flexibility in how they use wellbeing resources. Being tethered to a computer isn’t acceptable today. Instead, employees need access on their phones, televisions, and computers. For example, employees may want to take a fitness class on their phone at the gym or do a meditation in bed on their smart TV. The programs you use must accommodate what people need.

Grokker has spent time perfecting and creating applications across various platforms. Employees can access Grokker on their computers, phones, tablets, smart TVs, etc. No matter where employees want to focus on wellbeing, we have a space for them.

10. Doesn’t adequately support an inclusive culture/community

Wellbeing isn’t always inclusive. Certain wellbeing programs and challenges don’t account for diversity in the workplace. Your program must instill belonging across employees from different age groups, ability levels, and goals. If your programs don’t consider how different groups connect with wellness, you are doing your employees a disservice.

Grokker does a tremendous job creating an inclusive environment for employees. Employees aren’t expected to spend hours working out while still managing their lives. Instead, Grokker encourages employees to focus on wellbeing when they can. As employees log on to the Grokker dashboard, they’ll see quick videos and actions they can take. If you have 5 minutes, you can find a video to watch. If you have 60 minutes, you can work on a class or extensive program.

What sets Grokker’s tech apart: Agility, support, and speed

The benefit of Grokker’s "new, fresh tech" is that new clients can get up and running relatively quickly, sometimes 30 days, and our implementations don't require tons of customer IT resources. 

“We liked the ease of implementation. We've learned that Grokker will actually listen to customization requests, so we feel we can give input and customize things for well-being programs that we need," shares Suzanne McDermott, the Senior Director of Operations at Boston Children's Hospital.

We're also able to make custom changes quickly and by customer request. Our engineers have worked to create a technology stack that allows for updates and adjustments. We want to build something that your organization can use, and we’ve frequently made updates to make the Grokker platform work for customers.

“We realized really quickly that Grokker could build something that could grow and innovate with us,”  adds Jae Kullar, Delta Airlines General Manager of Global Health & Wellbeing.

  The company’s HR organization discovered Grokker in 2018, recognizing early on that it offered a more comprehensive solution than their existing tool. Before Grokker, they used an “incentives engine” that offered very basic educational wellbeing content and lacked the functionality required to meet the changing, large-scale needs of the carrier’s diverse and dispersed, mobile workforce.

“Technically, I could tell Grokker was much more advanced,” adds Jae Kullar, attributing much of Grokker’s appeal to its strong technical foundation. “There were single sign-on capabilities to directly integrate Grokker with our internal social media platform, enabling us to continue expanding engagement into the social realm.”

Additionally, the solution quickly survived the process of “passing” supply chain, legal, and IT scrutiny, while meeting all GDPR compliance.

We are here to support you and your employees on the specific wellbeing journey your team members might be on. The support we offer our customers is unmatched. Wellbeing is varied, and we strive to create a program that helps your team discover how it fits in their life.

Grab a free copy of the Buyer's Guide: Workforce Wellbeing Solutions for Today’s—and Tomorrow’s—Employees

Engaged employees are involved in and enthusiastic about their work and workplace, and they show up ready to give their best, even when times are tough.

Setting employees up for success requires employers to take a modern approach to delivering whole-person wellbeing support — not only to help their people live full, balanced lives, but to encourage work engagement and ultimately improve retention.

This guide will help you understand the 2022-2023 workforce wellbeing solution marketplace and know what to look for in a solution that will meet your organization’s needs and employees’ preferences.