“My participation in online communities (within BHive) provides me with a platform to engage & converse with my peers and build camaraderie based on shared interests. Through ‘Tastebuds’, our online community for foodies within Brocade, I have engaged like-minded individuals to discuss recipes, exchange restaurant reviews and promote healthy eating, resulting in a sense of belonging centered around a common interest.”

BHive is a private online employee social community. BHive is leveraged to help promote many wellness initiatives which helped make Brocade one of the top 100 companies to work for, making Fortune’s 2011 & 2010 list.

Within BHive, employees friend and follow each other as well as earn points for posting and answering questions and contributing to discussions. The most popular topics that Brocadians are discussing online are WellFit (includes ViveCoach challenges, Sports Groups), WIN (Women in Networking), BInvolved (volunteerism & community involvement) and San Jose Campus (employees posting photos from various work events like the annual Chili Cookoff). Brocade uses BHive to gather information from employees through polls and discussions and generate engagement in offline company and community events. During May, employees worldwide participated in “Bike to Work” and posted their photos online. 

With the ViveCoach platform, Brocade engages employees through their mobile phones. During social challenges, employees receive mobile messages about additional challenge points needed by their team, team work-out reminders, healthy nutrition or fitness tips, reminders (“drink lots of water” or “take the stairs”), team banter and leader board status.  Brocade had a team of remote employees join a recent challenge and they are planning a competition that includes spouses and family members. “We believe that it is important to include employee’s family members so these lifestyle changes become more sustainable”, explains Lisa McGill, VP, Worldwide Human Resources at Brocade.

What is the secret for being on the leading edge of employee engagement?  In June 2010, Brocade launched their WellFit Council with 15 representatives from all departments and geographies. These employee advisory Council members are divided into four work teams (Health & Wellness, Fitness, Education & Communities) and meet once per month to provide input and guidance on wellness related events, education, communication channels/content and metrics to motivate and measure engagement at Brocade. Each employee member leverages their own employee network to bring additional ideas and feedback to the Council meetings and into the dedicated online WellFit Council discussion area within BHive. “Being part of the Council has been a great experience and for me it has really affected how I manage my health, wellbeing and work-life balance.  Some of the ideas are even rubbing off on my husband”, shares one WellFit Council member.

Learn more about Brocade’s successful initiatives to drive employee engagement at the Healthcare Unbound conference panel, "New Directions in Employee Engagement: Competition, Coaching, Community and Compensation".