Health and wellness programs at the workplace seem to fail almost as often as personal health and wellness New Year’s resolutions. Here are a few thoughts on turning things around in 2017.

As the poet Rainer Maria Wilke said, “And now we welcome the new year, full of things that have never been.”

Never a truer word penned, right? Contemplating the possibilities of a fresh start in a new year can be a lot of fun. Yet, let’s be honest: For many New Year’s resolution makers, 2017 will likely look much the same as 2016, especially in regards to resolutions like these:

• Lose weight and get fit
• Eat healthier and diet
• Spend more time with family
• Be less stressed

I’m sorry to say that according to TIME, these four health-related declarations are among the most commonly broken New Year’s resolutions. But back to the bright side—since it is a new year, after all—here is a trend, a tool, and an association case study on wellness that might inspire your own association to help its employees reach their wellness goals.

If you’re considering writing this off, remember a healthier workplace could mean lower insurance costs for the association, as well as increased productivity, decreased absenteeism, and more endorphin-fueled happiness around the office.

A trend. According to a webinar hosted by the Virgin Pulse Science Advisory Board, incentivized wellness programs are the way to go. “The last thing you want to do is invest in an expensive initiative, only for no one to use it,” writes Sarah K. White for CIO. Harvard professor I-Min Lee agrees, telling CIO, “investing in employee wellbeing programs with measurable outcomes has never been more financially responsible.”

The lesson for associations is that perhaps it’s not enough to just deploy a wellness program. Maybe associations also need to measure its success with wellness trackers or fitness wearables—and then incentivize their employees for engaging with the programs and reaching their milestones.

A tool. Brendan Weafer, a former UFC fighter, launched Workweek Wellness—a health and wellness app as “a cost-effective solution” that teaches its users healthy habits they can incorporate at the office during the workweek. Weafer says Workweek Wellness is a good add-on to existing wellness initiatives, such as discounted gym memberships, but it’s also a good place to start for companies that haven’t yet delved into wellness.

Here’s how it works: Employers can purchase the software for their employees, who access the app’s daily tips and videos during the workweek. These resources aim to encourage healthy choices, ranging from nutrition tips, to postural corrections, to bodyweight exercises and more. Plus, employers can keep tabs on how their employees have interacted with the information, which gives managers data on who is using the app and a foundation for how they might encourage greater effort.

A case study. The National Retail Federation doesn’t offer incentives to employees participating in wellness programs, but its employees still participate. In fact, NRF gets top marks for its employee-centric programs, which range from a softball team, the Sultans of Shop, to a weekly delivery of fresh fruit. Employees can also take advantage of the services of both a certified personal trainer, who holds well-attended group sessions in the building’s fitness center several times a day, and a registered dietician. In warmer months, a professional yoga instructor leads a weekly group session on the building’s rooftop.

Programs like these led NRF to win a spot in the Washington Post’s “Top Workplace” in both 2015 and 2016. The wellness program “focuses not just on health but on keeping [staff] happy,” according to the Post.

“NRF’s Life Around Wellness program has been successful because we’ve listened to our staff and developed programs that they want,” said Robin Winchell Roberts, senior director of media relations at NRF. “At NRF, we look at employees from a holistic perspective. Leadership genuinely wants them to live healthy and productive lives, which is why participation is purely voluntary and not tied to any other benefits. Our staff enjoys the interaction in the group exercise and nutrition sessions, and it gives them a nice break during the day.”

So maybe even an incentivized wellness program isn’t enough to see real results. Maybe what a successful wellness program requires is an appraisal of what your staff wants and an authentic desire for a healthy, happy workplace.

SportTechie is a resource “devoted to the burgeoning intersection of sports technology… [which covers] the latest technological innovations, ideas, and products that impact the fan experience, player performance, and sports industry as a whole.” Its recent series of articles titled Expert Series focuses on how technology impacts the fan experience in Stadiums and other venues.

The articles include:

Cotton Bowl CMO Michael Konradi Talks AR, 360-Degree Video, New Stadium Technologies

Alabama AD Bill Battle Talks iBeacon Technology, In-Venue Seat Upgrades, Augmented Reality

Miami Dolphins CMO Jeremy Walls On How Technology Impacts The Fan Journey

Tagboard CEO Josh Decker Talks Power Of Live Video, New In-Arena Social Integrations

New York Jets President Neil Glat Chats Digital Ticketing, Social Influencers, Virtual Reality

Portland Trail Blazers CMO Dewayne Hankins Talks Content Shift, Rise Of eSports And Machine Learning

College Football Playoff COO Michael Kelly Discusses New Technology To Enhance The Fan Experience

Kinematix CEO Discusses Future Of Sports Wearables And Measuring Athlete Movement

Michael Enoch, a 38-year industry veteran, will soon relocate from Macau, China to Sandy Springs, Georgia to take on his new role as General Manager.

“I look forward to working closely with the city to transform events into experiences,” said Enoch. “Working with our other Spectra properties here in Georgia, we can build on industry relationships to create new and exciting opportunities for the performing arts center and the community.”

To learn more about Enoch, his past experience, and his new position, click here to view the original article published by Northside Neighbor.

With the college football season about to wrap up and the National Football League now beginning its playoff round, the sports scene is slowly shifting toward basketball at all levels. Consider Daktronics ready for the action.

The Brookings, South Dakota-based company provided 431 video displays totaling more than 64,000 square feet for 87 venues ranging from high schools all the way to the professional level for the 2016 season. Of those displays, 81 are for professional, 302 are for college and 48 are for high school basketball.
 
“This year is much like any other year as teams and venues started preparing for the 2016 basketball season months in advance, and we’ve worked along with their timelines to provide hundreds of LED solutions to enhance the fan experience at their events,” said Will Ellerbruch, Daktronics national sales manager for the live events market. “We’re proud to have the manufacturing capability and capacity right here in the United States to provide such a large number of customers with the digital solutions they need to make their events successful.”
 
Of the 87 venues, 19 received centerhung configurations featuring multiple displays hanging above the basketball court. Stanchion displays mounted to the supports of the basketball hoops is becoming increasingly popular around the country as venues and sponsors are capitalizing on their value. In total, Daktronics has installed 30 stanchion displays across seven venues in 2016.
 
Locations such as Littlejohn Coliseum at Clemson University are pushing the envelope by incorporating unique curved displays inspired by installations at the professional basketball level into their facilities to bring unique experiences to their fans.
 
At the high school level, incorporating LED video displays brings an impact that has coaches, student-athletes and fans feeling like they’re at a professional game.
 
“We’re excited for all of our schools that have installed our video displays,” said Tom Coughlin, Daktronics national sales manager for the high school market. “In addition to enhancing facilities and the game-day experience, these video displays are a providing a huge source of revenue for schools through sponsorship sales. We’re also changing the game for students who are operating the displays by providing educational opportunities in all facets of game-day operations.”

Claude Molinari, general manager of SMG/Cobo Center, announced the completion of a $2 million technology upgrade for Cobo Center. The work includes an upgraded Nortel core switch that distributes the Wi-Fi signal and along with several new Nortel edge switches located throughout the center.

“For the visitors that use our Wi-Fi network, these upgrades will be like moving from a one lane highway to a three lane super-speedway,” Molinari said.

System improvements also include upgrading Wi-Fi access points to 802.11ac Aruba APs and increasing the number of APs to 400 throughout the facility. The network location of APs and configuration will be remapped based on events’ anticipated high use of Wi-Fi in specific areas. This pre-planning creates design cost-effective networks that support uninterrupted digital services while minimizing cross-channel interference that can result from excessive and disorganized access points. The organic design smooths out the user’s experience and gives them “more on ramps” to the network.

These Wi-Fi upgrades will allow 32,000 simultaneous users on the network. With device/client counts increasing every year for Cobo, the wireless continues to process ever increasing amounts of bandwidth per device/client and the upgrades will assure a fluid user experience. Some Cobo event Wi-Fi traffic examples include:

2016 SEIU: 6,516 unique clients, 1.8TB of data traffic

2016 NAIAS Press Week: 14,640 unique clients, 3.06TB of data traffic

2015 NAIAS Press Week: 9000 unique clients, 1.3TB of data traffic

Discovery during pre-event planning for a show in Cobo Center may reveal estimated high usage, in which case, the Technology Services department is prepared to add more APs to smooth out the user’s experience and allow for a greater number of guests and their wireless devices to access the Internet at ever-increasing speeds. Visitor use of WiFi service has always been free throughout Cobo Center.

To create a more flexible WiFi network, the ClearPass Access Management System was installed to create an integrated platform, allow coherence of private networks and create a WiFi splash page for the facility-wide “CoboFree” WiFi network, that will require users to click through a splash page designed to highlight sponsors or include advertisers, thus generating event revenue.