At a time when companies are facing nearly 50% attrition and at risk of burning out their employees and businesses, Virgin Pulse is bringing together HR leaders from Fortune 500 companies and beyond for thought-provoking sessions, peer learning, and healing. The 9th annual Thrive Summit by Virgin Pulse is your chance to do that. With this chance to AMPLIFY your overall wellbeing, we’ll gather in Austin, Texas to hear from industry leaders across the health and wellbeing space. And we are bringing some of our multi-talented, inspirational friends with us! From the world’s most decorated gymnast, who has made it her priority to shine a light on the importance of mental health, to Adrian Williams, motivational extraordinaire from Peloton who will energize us all, while lifting our spirits.
We’re going to be showing you how we’re adapting and helping you adapt to the changing and ever evolving landscape of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), mental health and transforming the health, wellbeing, benefits and employee experience for you and your people. It’s time we help our employees, members, and ourselves take care of our wellbeing. Bringing together HR leaders from Fortune 500 companies and beyond for thought-provoking sessions, peer learning (yes, professional credits will be available!), and healing, an immersive learning experience centered around the theme, “Wellbeing Amplified” is planned for you. (Read more about these speakers and more in our Thrive Agenda, here.) We’ll look at the whole package. Our whole program is designed to bring you: Wellbeing, Amplified!
What’s new at Virgin Pulse
You will hear from Chris Michalak how we are changing more lives for good together with Virgin Pulse’s Homebase for Health(R). Most importantly, you’ll find something that’s especially personalized for you as you travel along this health and wellbeing journey with Virgin Pulse.
To introduce what’s next for Virgin Pulse in our Product and Innovation Roadmap Keynote, you’ll hear from our EVP of Product & Innovation, Jeff Yoshimura who will be joined by Virgin Pulse’s Phil Fiero, SVP, Chief Analytics Officer, and Robin March, Director, Product Management. They’ll share the latest innovations and a sneak peek at what’s to come for our Summer ‘22 launch!
Peer Insights from Real Companies
Your experience at Thrive will dive into the challenges you and your organization are facing today. Our client session the Science of Mental Health: Practicing Happiness in the Workplace talk will speak to just that. In it, you’ll hear from such leaders in the industry as Bekki Early, Global Wellbeing Program Manager at Equinix, Kaiti Buering, Good Life Senior Consultant, HR at Allstate, and Kenji Saito, Medical Leader of North America, and Global Wellness of Proctor & Gamble. It’s sure to be a lively and thought-provoking conversation. But we won’t stop there — in our path along the journey to complete health and wellbeing — as we believe it involves your body and mind. Some might say that these days, you cannot talk about one without the other.
Social Wellbeing and Networking
To engage employees and employers, alike, to engage in social activity with exercising — with his infectious smile and attitude — Adrian Williams will speak on: “Well Being Amplified: The Importance of the Mind/Body Connection.” The Peloton instructor will get us energized with tips and tools and show how he embraces all facets of wellbeing: mind, body, and the connection between them. He’ll show us how he does an excellent job of making exercise not only approachable, but also effective, convenient and entertaining, all at the same time, all while encouraging others to become the best versions of themselves – How’s that for Amplified!
While you’re there in Austin, we hope you will join us in getting your networking on! Besides our group run, there are some fun activities to check out that week in Austin: from their famous music scene, barbeque and plethora of food choices or art attractions, check them out, here!
Mindfulness and the 3 Pillars of Wellbeing
For another stop along our path to total wellbeing, we’ll also hear from Joe Burton, the founder and CEO of Whil, a Virgin Pulse ecosystem partner who will speak on ‘Supporting the 3 Pillars of Holistic Wellbeing.’ Did you know that 83% of employees report increasing stress due to the impact that constant change is having on their personal, professional, and parental lives? Organizations who support the three pillars Burton will cover, not only help their employees’ and members’ wellbeing – they create a sustainable competitive advantage to help HR teams win the battle on talent. This will be a fun and very interactive session, designed to help you learn techniques for you and your team to grow and excel in personal wellbeing, professional resilience, and parental success.
For our livestream attendees, Whil will lead a 10-minute meditation to show you how serious we are about making a practice of paying attention to your wellbeing and mindfulness while at work!
You’ll also hear from Michelle Courtney Berry, a two-time SXSW and TEDx speaker, about ‘Building the Teams of Tomorrow Today: How Mind-Body Connectivity and Real Employee Wellness Builds Teams, Banishes Burnout.’ Berry is poised to shed light on employee wellbeing, the ROI of stress reduction, and burnout prevention, all by showing you the science behind creating healthy workplaces and building inclusive teams.
Unstoppable! Keynote
Yet another industry leader, Dr. Dan Diamond will speak about his book: Unstoppable! Reignite Your Passion to Have Influence When It Matters Most. An international disaster physician, Diamond will share how he leads teams under tremendous pressure with his rock-solid experience and insights gained in the trenches, while he has been on the front lines of various disasters around the globe. His remarkable experiences will be invaluable as an example to us all.
DEI Track
According to the 13th Annual Employer-Sponsored Health and Wellbeing Survey by Fidelity Investments® and Business Group on Health, “81% of large and mid-sized employers report that their DE&I strategy influences the design of their well-being program, and 82% of employers indicated that they communicate with their employees about the relationship between DE&I and well-being. In addition, 50% of companies surveyed are designing well-being initiatives to support traditionally underrepresented communities, while 45% of companies indicated that they plan to assess benefits and well-being initiatives for inclusivity.” (Source: Business Group on Health, March 31, 2022) With extraordinarily complex interactions coming into play around racial and ethnic, health inequities, accessibility and LGBTQIA+ awareness issues, “we need to be proactive in creating a culture centered on employee wellbeing and we need to weave DEI and wellness into the very fabric of our organization.” (Source: Chris Michalak and Marlette Jackson, Supporting the Well-Being of Your Underrepresented Employees, March 04, 2022, in Harvard Business Review.)
Our DEI Track will help delve into these issues with a deep dive on The Wellbeing Case for DEI, with our Senior Director of DEI, Dr. Marlette Jackson, JEDI & Employee Experience, and other senior leaders in the field that have expert advice for you as you navigate creating a culture of belonging, diversity, equity, and inclusion, like DK Bartley, Chief Diversity Officer at Moody’s.
Book Launch!
You will also hear from some experts in the field of holistic wellbeing, including Michelle Segar who will launch her book, The Joy Choice: How to Finally Achieve Lasting Changes in Eating and Exercise. An award-winning researcher on the topic, Segar will highlight the exciting new science and method of breaking down all-or-nothing thinking and cultivating in-moment decisions to support self-care, health and wellbeing. Her book is designed to provide a “fresh and joyful approach to navigating the daily decisions and conflicts we face about what to eat or how to fit in time for exercise while still meeting the daily demands of life,” shares Segar. (Bonus: She will be having a book signing with us, onsite!)
Other topics in our various tracks will include Health Care Costs: “What a Zip Code Doesn’t Tell You,” our Employee Experiences Track with “Creative Ways to Increase Employee Engagement,” and the Company Culture Track: “Humanizing Organizational Leadership with Psychological Safety and Emotional Intelligence.” All of these kicked off by our Women in Leadership Workshop: “Re-energize and Renew,” led by the talented Randi Braun, CEO of Something Major. Finally – as if there were not enough reasons already to join us – your attending Thrive will also qualify you for SHRM credits. SHRM recognizes Virgin Pulse’s Thrive Summit 2022 to offer Professional Development Credits (PDC).
Purpose-built global health and wellbeing is attainable. At Thrive Summit, this is your chance to Learn, Engage, and Transform. We’re excited to see you there as we navigate this journey of wellbeing together. We’re here to elevate your Wellbeing: Amplified! Changing lives for good.