Data From More Than 8,000 Employers Finds that 35% Use Wearable Technology In Their

INDIANAPOLIS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Today, Springbuk released the Employer Guide to Wearables 2.0, a three-part study that reviewed key preferences, features and implementation considerations of employers for wearables in corporate wellness programs. Data collected from more than 8,000 employers shows 35 percent of companies use wearables in their workplace wellness program, a ten percent increase from 2015 findings.

This study was compiled using three comprehensive data sets:

• Application data collected from 8,000 employers as part of the Healthiest Employers® designation program.
• Survey of more than 800 of America’s Healthiest Employers.
• 50-person field-test conducted over a four-month period reviewing 21 wearable devices from eight leading manufacturers that serve the corporate wellness industry.

Expert Field Testing Shows Fitbit, Garmin and Samsung Devices are Most Compatible with Workplace Wellness Programs

A group of 50 wellness industry experts assembled by Springbuk participated in a four-month field-test reviewing the features of leading wearable devices to determine which devices were best suited for these programs. Field testers reviewed 21 devices from eight leading manufacturers. Evaluation criteria also included a review of each devices’ user community, ability to provide comprehensive reporting to employers, and overall experience for the employee including both the device user experience, app experience and the ability of the devices to fit in with the lives of their employees.

The group scored the 21 devices on a five-point scale in ten categories and found that the Fitbit Blaze had the highest score at 94 of a possible 100 points. Garmin’s Vivoactive HR received the second highest score with 89 points.

Top 5 Scores for Overall Compatibility of Wearable for Workplace Wellness

1. Fitbit Blaze (94/100)
2. Garmin Vivoactive HR (89/100)
3. Fitbit Charge 2 and Fitbit Surge (86/100)
4. Samsung Gear S3 and Garmin Vivosmart HR (85/100)
5. Samsung Gear S2 (83/100)

Overall, Fitbit devices secured the highest average score of 85.6 out of 100 across five devices tested. The second highest scoring manufacturer was Samsung with an average score of 80.3 across three devices tested.

Ease of Use for Both the Employee and the Employer are Most Important Features When Selecting a Workplace Wearable

Whether looking to refresh their existing devices or buy devices for the first time, nearly half (48.6%) of employers surveyed are considering purchasing devices for their population over the next twelve months. When making those decisions, they cite “app usability” as the most important feature (60%).

Additionally, because workplace wellness programs are often comprised of multiple vendors, consultants and partners, there is a growing demand by employers to improve the connectivity between their various wellness initiatives. Field testers ranked ability of the wearable devices tested to “sync with a wellness vendor” high on the list of priority features. Other top-ranked features include “long battery life” and “employer-facing dashboard”.

Employers surveyed also reported that $79 was the ideal per unit price when selecting devices for their employees and 1 in 3 employers (35%) want to give their employees choice in device selection.

Companies Are Using Wearable Data in Strategic Wellness Planning

Of the employers surveyed more than half (54.6%) describe their workplace wellness program as being ‘metrics driven’ with the common metrics tracked including changes in health risk (62%), financial impact (58%) and improvements in clinical outcomes (53%).

“We’re seeing more employers turn to wearables not only to provide participation and engagement data, but increasingly to help move the needle on effectiveness of wellness programs in lowering health risk and improving health outcomes,” said Rod Reasen, CEO of Springbuk. “The data provided by wearables can also create actionable insights about how to invest your wellness dollars next year.”

Employers are using these metrics and data from wearable devices to build better, more effective programs with 44.1% of employers using wearable device data in the strategic planning of their wellness programs.

About Springbuk, Inc.

Springbuk is the leading employer-facing health intelligence platform. The analytics solution offers a complete view of an employer population by integrating major data sources into a single warehouse for targeted engagement, predictive insights and real-dollar decisions. For more information, visit Springbuk.com.