About the health system
Located in the heart of Southern California, this mid-sized (5,000+), community-based healthcare system had a wellbeing program that was already considered strong. Policies were established, participation was steady, activity was rewarded, and the evidence-based boxes were checked. Yet, despite these practices, something was missing. The program was “good,” but it hadn’t fully captured the deeper engagement and lasting impact the organization envisioned.
The turning point came when leaders decided to reimagine their approach—not by adding more programs, but by shifting the focus. Instead of designing wellbeing for employees, they began designing it with employees. By putting staff voices, experiences, and everyday challenges at the center, the organization uncovered insights that reshaped its entire wellbeing strategy. The result was a program that felt personal, connected, and transformative.
This case study explores how that shift unfolded, the strategies that made the greatest difference, and the lessons other organizations can adapt on their own journey from “good” to “great.”
Goals
This vision led to 5 intentional strategies:
- Elevate wellbeing beyond the basics: Support the whole person—physical, mental/emotional, spiritual, social, environmental, financial, occupational, and recreational—while nurturing resilience, not just risk reduction.
- Foster a culture of care and belonging: Integrate wellbeing into everyday work/life so staff feel seen, valued, and genuinely supported.
- Improve engagement and retention: Design wellbeing initiatives that are diverse, talked about, and inspiring.
- Reduce stress and burnout: Address systemic drivers of stress while equipping staff with tools and strategies to recharge and sustain their energy.
- Create measurable, sustainable impact: Track outcomes beyond participation rates to ensure programs adapt to evolving employee needs and deliver lasting results.
Program Enhancements
The client originally rolled out the Personify Health platform at the beginning of 2024. Since then, they’ve incorporated program enhancements like:
- Incorporating a full-time onsite Health & Wellbeing Specialist/Coach, who supports program administration, offers Coaching sessions, and more.
- Providing members with Total Population Health Coaching to help support their lifestyle and condition management goals. These Coaches offer dedicated 1:1 telephonic or in-app messaging coaching sessions.
- Providing free Max Go activity trackers.
- Introducing Personify Health’s weight management program, Transform—with an average of 14 lbs of weight loss.
- Creating a group of Wellness Influencers and enlisting them to promote the program and send communications to employees (e.g., via email, during staff meetings, during lunch, etc.).
- Building community partnerships, discounts, and an onsite farmers market.
At the core of the program enhancements was an intentional shift in mindset. Rather than focusing on transactional, one-size-fits-all processes, the organization embraced a more human-centered, empowering approach:
“Just wanted to say how much I love the Personify app! It’s been such a game-changer for me. It really helps me stay on track with my healthy habits, and it’s a constant source of motivation to keep working out and eating clean. Honestly, it makes the whole wellness journey feel more doable and even fun!”
“Thank you to the wellness team. I want to especially shout out Matt for all the help and coaching he’s given me through some harder times. I’ve been dealing with some anxiety and occasional panic attacks and since the wellness fair everything has changed for the better. I have been doing weekly meditations with him. There are some weeks I’ll go 2x a week. Never would I have thought I’d be doing meditations, but they are very helpful.”
Check out a few of their
pro-tips
This organization has used many of Personify Health’s recommended programs and has also found creative ways to introduce, innovate, and entice employees to engage:
Make a game out of encouraging employees to explore the app
Want to help staff discover all the available resources on the platform? Hide an image, like a leprechaun on St. Patrick’s Day, and anyone who finds it is entered into a drawing.
Reward for more than typical wellbeing activities
Honor work anniversaries, birthdays, vacation/staycations, and key company initiatives like volunteering, rideshare, or donating blood.
Dig into the data to know employee’s interests and pain points.
What videos, journeys, and healthy habits are your people clicking on? This organization discovered alcohol use was a common category, so they decided to do a “Dry January Challenge” that proved to be their most highly enrolled program in 2025.
Create a little FOMO for those not using the platform
An on-campus scavenger hunt was designed for all staff. Those enrolled in the Personify Health app had access to video hints.
Create engagement opportunities at the jobsite
Coaching Open House, private Health Stations (tracking health metrics: weight, blood pressure, and BMI), Random Acts of KIND bars as employees come and go from the shifts, wellness fair, onsite biometric screening, Coffee with a Cop, and the roving Hydration Station.
Combine annual observances with Personify Health tools
World Gratitude Day is September 21st, employees were given double points when sending and receiving Shoutouts.
Allow other departments the opportunity to offer wellness points.
Several departments are trying to increase engagements with their own initiatives—this organization offers special points for the safety forum, team building, Good-Catches, employee of month, and nursing Magnet champions.
Results
Introducing a new wellbeing platform can look like a shiny penny that initially gets attention—but the shine quickly rubs off without adding purpose, culture, and connection. Below is how this Southern California health system went from good to great:
Purpose & Meaning
Employees are more motivated when wellbeing connects to something bigger. Wellbeing tools now include Personify Health Journeys, such as Finding Joy and Purpose at Work, Creating a Purposeful Life, Guide to Exploring Spirituality, and The Healing Power of Nature.
Culture & Environment
This client successfully built a program that goes beyond a digital platform by integrating wellness into the organization’s core mission, policies, and leadership practices which include onboarding, recognition, and community partnerships.
Personalization
One-size-fits-all programs often fail. Employees have been given options that reflect their diverse needs from specialized physician mental health support to wildfire victims’ relief to financial wellbeing.
Connection & Belonging
People stick with wellbeing when it strengthens community. Examples include peer challenges, Step-Away scavenger hunts, Stitch-Shift knitting crew, pickleball and basketball tournaments, and cultural celebrations.
Leadership Commitment
Leaders are modeling wellbeing—taking Holiday+2 breaks, setting out-of-office boundaries, using resources, engaging in wellness committees– it signals permission and priority for the entire workforce.
Sustainability & Impact
Supervisors and coworkers actively encouraging one another to prioritize health and leaders have provided resources to bolster staff wellbeing. Wellbeing efforts are producing measurable improvements in health, happiness, and retention:
- 51% of employees enrolled and 69% are engaged in the program.
- Non-enrolled members had an attrition rate of 18.6% while enrolled members had an attrition rate of 6.1%, demonstrating tangible benefits of enrollment.
- Increased 1st year employee retention to 81.5% .
- 14 lbs. average weight loss per Transform member who participated for at least 9 weeks and lost at least 5% of their weight.
- 2025 Employee Engagement resilience score 4.23 out of 5 (from a bi-annual engagement survey through Press Ganey).
- 285 members completed 728 Coaching Calls.
- Physician burnout is 14.8% lower than national average.
- Received American Medical Association’s Joy in Medicine Bronze-level award as a leader in enhancing physician wellbeing.
- Achieved #6 Healthiest Employer in California award celebrating the “best of the best” in corporate health and wellbeing.
- 14,770 Personify Health related touchpoints recorded and 20,731 workplace wellbeing touchpoints, totaling a 922% increase from 2023.
From Good to Great—and Beyond
This organization’s journey shows the differences between a “good” wellbeing program and a transformational one. Their journey proves that the real power isn’t just in the tools—it’s in how those tools are used to create a culture of care. By designing wellbeing with employees, not just for them, they built a program that is deeply personal, highly engaging, and undeniably effective.
The results speak volumes:
- 69% platform engagement, exceeding industry benchmarks by 19%.
- 14.8% lower physician burnout than the national average.
- 81.5% first-year employee retention, reflecting a workplace people want to stay in.
- Recognition as one of California’s Healthiest Employers.
The real success goes beyond the numbers. Employees now feel heard, supported, and connected—at work and in life. Leadership models the way, wellbeing is embedded into policies and culture, and staff engagement continues to climb.
For other organizations ready to move from “good” to “great,” the roadmap is clear:
Lead with authenticity by aligning words, actions, and trust.
Listen deeply to employees’ experiences and needs.
Design for the whole person, not just risk factors.
Build culture and connection into every initiative.
Measure impact on engagement, retention, and wellbeing—not just participation.