Extensis Recognized as 2nd Healthiest Small Company in Oregon

We’re very pleased to announce that our efforts here at Extensis have been recognized by Portland Business Journal, who awarded Extensis the 2nd Healthiest Small Employer in Oregon for 2018! It’s a fine tribute to the success of our wellness programs and our high employee engagement in these programs, which contributes to our very low employee turnover rates.

To incentivize employee participation, Extensis uses competitions, raffles, prizes and internal champions — promoted across the company and in HR newsletters. Employees have diverse interests, so different types of activities are offered throughout the year.

One unique aspect of the Extensis wellness program is the fitness challenge mobile app, called Lucky Steps, that was utilized to track employee movement. It was designed and developed by an employee as a side project, and Extensis helped him beta test the software and promote his goal while also supporting our employees and their personal wellness goals. Utilizing a variety of tracking devices—from Apple watches to Fitbits, as well as self-reporting—during our last fitness challenge we tracked 205,454 total fitness minutes for one month, representing 1,478 minutes per participant.

Our individual and team fitness challenges have great participation rates, between 50 and 60 percent. One reason for the high engagement is the effort Extensis puts into listening, both to customers and, in this instance, to employees. Through our annual Employee Engagement Survey, we listen to employees’ feedback and measure health and wellness, tracking metrics for our fitness challenges.

The other reason for our great participation rates are our core values. Extensis encourages balance in the workplace as a core value by allowing work schedule flexibility to support healthy habits and lifestyles. Our leadership team offers time and resources, including stand-up desks and our fish tank, to create a healthy work environment.

And our Culture Committee is keeping the momentum going by researching and initiating new wellness activities for the next fiscal year. For instance, in our Portland headquarters we want to take better advantage of our riverfront location with easy access to a fitness trail for a walk, jog or bike ride during the workday. Extensis provides on-site showers and bike cages that make it easier to stay fit and vibrant.

As a result of these and other reasons, our company has a high employee retention rate and low employee turnover coupled with low benefit renewal rates, which illustrate good measurements of overall health and wellness!