FRAMINGHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Virgin Pulse, the market leader in the rapidly growing employee health engagement category, today named the winners of its first-annual Virgin Pulse Life Changers Awards. This honor recognizes and showcases companies that have changed their employees' lives for good and made their companies better by making employee engagement, health, and well-being a priority with the help of Virgin Pulse.
The winners of the 2014 Virgin Pulse Life Changers Awards are, in alphabetical order:
- Aera Energy, one of California's largest oil and gas exploration and production producers, accounting for nearly 25 percent of the state's production. The company was recognized for fostering a culture that supports improving health, fitness, and lifestyle decisions, and leverages their employee wellness program as a differentiator when recruiting new employees.
- Ascend Performance Materials, a premium provider of high-quality chemicals, fibers, and plastics. Ascend extended their wellness focus to include both employees and employees’ families, and its company wellness program is designed around whole-health, rather than just physical well-being.
- BBVA Compass, one of the United States’ 25 largest banks. While the bank started its wellness program with a main goal of cutting healthcare costs, the company has seen added benefits of a healthier workforce—both in productivity and engagement.
- BP Canada, a Canadian oil and gas company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, and a subsidiary of BP plc. The company’s program is the first of its kind in Canada and enjoys extraordinary enrollment—more than 90 percent of its employees chose to take part.
- Howard County (Md.) Public Schools, a Maryland school system comprised of 76 schools, more than 8,000 staff and more than 50,000 students. The system created an employee wellness council to develop mission and goals for the program, as well as an ROI model based on overall healthcare savings; this resulted in the system being awarded Gold Certification from Healthy Howard, an initiative “bringing together all facets of the community to create a public health model that can improve the health and well being of every resident.”
The award winners and their programs will be highlighted on a webinar this afternoon at 2:00 p.m. EST, hosted by David Coppins, president Virgin Pulse. The panel-style discussion will feature representatives from each of the winning companies, discussing the obstacles and issues that drove their adoption of a holistic well-being and engagement strategy. They will also share tips to engage employees and describe the real business benefits of investing in employees’ well-being—specifically, increased energy, sharper focus, and more drive on the job and off.
“We’re extremely happy to see the number of clients who took the time to enter this competition and proud of the results they’ve achieved by making employee well-being a priority in their company culture,” said Chris Boyce, CEO of Virgin Pulse. “The five winners represent a diverse group of industries—from education, to energy, to manufacturing—and despite their varying approaches, illustrate the universal powers and business benefits of programs that support employees across all aspects of their lives.”
How the Winners Were Chosen
Virgin Pulse clients were invited to share the superiority and effectiveness of their employee well-being and engagement strategies and programs. Winning submissions were selected specifically based on strategic planning and program design; engagement strategies; innovation; communications; collaboration; culture and leadership support; measurable results and individual life-changing success stories. Winners were chosen by a panel of judges. In addition to the webinar, these companies will be highlighted at the 2015 Virgin Pulse Thrive Summit.
About Virgin Pulse
Virgin Pulse, part of Sir Richard Branson’s famed Virgin Group, helps employers create a workforce with the energy, focus, and drive necessary to fully engage at work and in life. With its award-winning, online platform, the company fosters healthy daily habits and sustainable behavior change that help employees thrive at work and across all aspects of life. Unlike narrowly-focused employee health and engagement solutions, Virgin Pulse is a hub of consumer-focused strategies and innovative tools that set the foundation for a company’s engagement efforts. More than 250 industry leaders representing 1.5M+ employees have selected Virgin Pulse’s programs to reinvigorate their workplace. Learn more at www.virginpulse.com.
