Change is hard. It’s hard for people – and perhaps harder for organizations.
Fortunately, Day 2 of Thrive was full of actionable advice for creating meaningful, sustainable change that helps people live their best lives.
Dozens of in-person attendees began the day with an early morning walk/run along the Colorado River, taking in the sunrise over Austin.
Personify Health CEO Chris Michalak then pumped up the volume – and the audience – with an inspirational keynote address where he shared touching stories of how we’re changing lives for good by helping users take small but important steps toward improving their health and wellbeing. Stories of real people who started eating better, increased physical activity, lost weight, got help managing their diabetes, and more – people who realized life-changing impact by building healthy habits and behaviors and, in the process, became better parents, partners, friends, and colleagues.
Chris’s keynote was followed by a full day of learning and workshops led by wellbeing experts and industry innovators, and uplifting talks from special guests, including author and entrepreneur Michelle Courtney Berry and retired marine sergeant and Paralympic bronze medalist Rob Jones.
Key themes and takeaways from Day 2 include:
Amplifying Engagement
Did you know that only 12% of people have sufficient literacy to navigate the healthcare system? Massive barriers to finding and accessing care mean everyday people who are sick and vulnerable don’t get the care and support they need. Today, Personify Health previewed new solutions to overcome these challenges. Jeff Yoshimura, Phil Fiero, and Robin March introduced exciting enhancements to Homebase for Health® that will simplify and amplify health and wellbeing engagement for millions of members – including a new digital front door design to personalize the user experience, improved navigation, and transparency, and expanded live services for even greater one-on-one support.
Several breakout sessions also provided strategy and actionable insights for leaders to foster greater employee and member engagement and support their personal health and wellbeing journeys. Thrive participants learned how to engage hard-to-reach people, create comfortable change, destigmatize mental health, and much more.
See how Personify Health creates one destination for an engaging, rewarding employee experience.
Invigorating Company Culture
Right now, 65% of people are looking for another job. That’s a devastating statistic and one that keeps HR leaders across industries up at night. To reverse the tide of attrition, leaders need to rethink their approach to organizational culture by putting people first.
Michelle Courtney Berry and other Thrive presenters talked about the need for organizations to have a human-centric culture and take a 360° approach to support employees. As Michelle said, “To heal our world, banishing burnout must be our number one priority.” She and others stressed the importance of emotionally intelligent leaders who respect each person’s uniqueness and who provide personalized, holistic support for their employees’ minds and bodies.
HR and wellbeing leaders from Allstate, Equinix, and other organizations shared examples of how they leverage Personify Health resources, campaigns, and live support to build meaningful connections with employees and members, reduce presenteeism, increase productivity, foster loyalty, and improve profitability.
Supporting DEI & Wellbeing
As we learned in many sessions today, DEI has a profound impact on the health and wellbeing of people and organizations alike. Acknowledgment, understanding, inclusion, and belonging are core to our sense of selves – and to our wellbeing. One-hour DEI training is not enough to create meaningful change – and never has been. As Personify Health’s own Dr. Marlette Jackson and other DEI experts shared, to truly support their employees and members, leaders must understand them on a deeply personal level and support their physical, mental, emotional, and social wellbeing.
Dr. Jackson said, “When employees feel like you’re investing in them, they’re going to invest in the company.” To do this, we must meet people where they are. We have to understand the issues they face in their everyday lives and create safe spaces at work for them to have real, authentic conversations about those issues – and provide personalized resources to help them be the best version of themselves.
Rob Jones also noted it’s important to identify and work toward a greater purpose. At Personify Health, we’re driven by a mission to help change lives for good. We know change is incredibly hard but, as Rob said, we must “remove the phrase ‘I can’t’ and replace it with ‘I can’t yet.’ That’s a motto we can all be inspired by.
Through the Thrive Summit and through our platform, we’re providing resources and support to help people take small steps that can lead to bigger leaps and long-lasting healthy behaviors.
Day 3 of Thrive Summit included even more thought-provoking discussions, opportunities for peer learning, and strategies for turning wellbeing up to 11.