Industry:
Manufacturing
Number of employees:
3,500
Number of companies:
60+
Platform features:
Employee wellbeing
The challenge:
In 2020, the Ergon Terminaling management team enhanced their efforts to prioritize employee health and wellbeing.
The team wanted to find a way to encourage employees to be more physically active by making fitness fun. The plan was to pilot a new program within Ergon Terminaling, a company within the organization’s Integrated Services & Logistics segment that employs over 60 people across eight locations in the U.S.
After considering several different platforms, Ergon approached MoveSpring, Reward Gateway’s wellbeing product, with a clear goal of finding a practical platform that would be cost-effective for the initial 60 employees, but could also be expanded to the broader Ergon family of companies.
Ergon Terminaling’s Compliance Lead says:
“We felt that there was an opportunity we had been missing to encourage our folks to get out, get more active and watch their diets. If you’re fit and active, [supporting your wellbeing,] you’re going to be better protected from illness. And people who are physically fit and feeling well are safer employees.”
The approach
After running a small trial with a few members of the management team, MoveSpring launched to all Ergon Terminaling employees in early 2022. The program was called ‘Ergon Active’ – a name that would work for expansion to the broader Ergon group if it was a success.
The group’s Marketing Communications team worked on branding, creating a strong visual identity for Ergon Active and producing marketing materials. Flyers were sent to all of Ergon Terminaling’s industrial facilities, and the program was officially launched via a management conference call.
Turning employees into ‘Steppers’
Ergon was determined to make the program inclusive for all employees, but was conscious that not everyone had a smartwatch. Although activity can be tracked directly through the MoveSpring app, employees in industrial facilities are not able to have phones on while they’re working. To ensure this didn’t become a barrier to entry, the company decided to provide a Fitbit to all employees who needed one. Every employee was now able to become a ‘Stepper’!
The plug-and-play approach worked perfectly for Ergon Terminaling, and they had full access to the MoveSpring support team. They planned ahead by using the curated content library, saving time by picking out the most relevant content and scheduling it to be shared with Ergon Active users on the appropriate days.
“Everyone is dealing with something in their personal lives, and getting more active is a great way to improve mental health. I don’t think we’ll ever fully grasp the impact we’re having, but the number of personal testimonials we receive about employees being more active, losing weight and feeling generally healthier is amazing.”
The result:
After such a successful launch, word about Ergon Active started to spread throughout the company. More and more people wanted to take part, so the next step was to roll out to the 400 employees based at Ergon’s corporate headquarters. Less than two years after launching, Ergon Active now has over 540 participants from across the group. That’s a 2,600% increase on the initial user target!
Creating ‘One Ergon’
Using MoveSpring has helped Ergon to bring teams together and create that all-important feeling of community, even though people are spread across the country and might never meet face-to-face. Downloading the MoveSpring app and joining Ergon Active helps to show employees at smaller regional locations that they are part of a larger company, and gives them the ability to connect with their colleagues in other locations.
Improving employee wellbeing
Since the launch of Ergon Active, more and more employees are walking around the lake at Ergon’s corporate headquarters in Flowood! Administrators regularly receive emails and messages from users with stories of how they’ve become more active and have lost weight since using the app.