One of the best things about developing an audience engagement product like Nudge is finding out uses for it that you weren't expecting. As we've built all of the features and functionality into Nudge - The Nudge Factor, Nudge Clubs, 3rd party integration such as Moves tracking, and backend data and market research tools, there have been several uses our clients have brought up that we haven't thought about.

An employee wellness program is an effective method to promote health and wellness amongst the members of your team. Programs can be designed to encourage awareness of health related issues, create a positive and fun workplace culture, increase employee engagement and productivity, and often times reduce cost of healthcare throughout the company over the long term.

Success with any wellness initiative relies on defining goals that you want to achieve. These goals need to be realistic and appeal to your company's interests. By creating a roadmap of sensible milestones, your wellness initiative will be on the road to success.

Obesity is a consistent topic in America both with children and adults and we've all heard the statistics. Between 16 to 33 percent of children and adolescents and over 35 percent of adults are obese. It's clear to see why this is viewed as such an epidemic since adult obesity was less than 12% in 1990 - a 200% increase in the last 20 years.

The final regulations were released on May 29, 2013 by the U.S. Departments of the Treasury, Labor (DOL) regarding wellness program provisions in the Affordable Care Act. There are two categories of wellness programs that are identified in the regulations which are "participatory wellness programs" and "health-contingent wellness programs". The participatory wellness programs are basically unchanged from the current 2006 regulations - participatory wellness programs must comply with HIPAA nondescrimination requirements as long as the participants dont have to meet additional standards and it's available to all employees.

The economic downturn over the last 5 years has forced companies to optimize their workforce in order to stay in business. Jobs were cut, salaries reduced, and longer work weeks were introduced. Many Americans suffered whether they had a job or lost one. Fingers crossed, things seem to be looking better and hopefully this country is on a road to recovery.

Any time you introduce a workplace wellness initiative, be it Nudge or anything else, the only way it can be effective is if a good portion of your company actively participates. Many companies offer wellness incentives to encourage participation and see an increase in the ROI of the program. In fact, some companies are now penalizing their employees for not participating - something that Nudge will never get behind.