The way you look after your staff is imperative for supporting their wellbeing and happiness. Checking in with your employees improves connectedness and has a direct impact on engagement, motivation, and wellness. But how can you check in, stay connected, and improve employee wellness when your team works remotely?

We know how hard it is to notice the subtle changes that might signify an individual is struggling and needs extra support. And remote working has only made this more challenging! That’s why we developed a tool to help us replicate the impromptu chats we were used to in the office.

In this article, we will be sharing all about HappyTrack, the Slack app that is helping teams reconnect and prioritise mental health and wellbeing.

Employee Wellness in a Remote World

Since the pandemic, the way we work has drastically changed, having a significant impact on employee wellness. In-office jobs and immovable 9-5 schedules are now a thing of the past as more than half (50%) of British workers work remotely, at least some of the time. Teams that once shared an office are now scattered across the country and meetings that were once held in-person are now held via Zoom or Google Meet.

However, despite the benefits and conveniences, remote working has been challenging for many. There are no morning greetings or face-to-face catch ups. There are no lunch runs or free snacks. The internet connection is patchy, the dog barks every time the phone rings, and there’s no one else to talk to. So, it’s no surprise that employee mental health and wellbeing has taken a turn for the worst.

Remote working heightened feelings of isolation like never before and, as we all adjusted to this new way of working, it became apparent just how much we need human connection - not just to function, but to thrive. It was this realisation that sparked the idea for the HappyTrack App.

HappyTrack: The Employee Wellness App

“Since the pandemic, employees are leaving the workforce or switching jobs in droves [...] Ultimately, workers stayed at companies that offered support, and darted from those that didn’t.” - BBC

Like many businesses, in March 2020, Brightec became a fully remote team almost overnight. This sudden change forced us to adapt quickly, prompting significant changes in how we managed our team effectively and oversaw employee wellbeing. Providing support remotely looked very different to what we were used to. However, over the years, we have discovered just how important it is that individuals, colleagues, and teams are connected. So, like many other businesses, we had to adapt.

Developing the HappyTrack Slackbot

HappyTrack is a Slackbot built specifically to help you track your team members’ happiness, and take proactive steps to improve employee wellbeing. The app sends a daily message to each of your team, prompting them to pause for a moment and consider how they’re feeling. Employees rate their happiness by clicking a number between one and ten. If there is a significant change in their happiness score (compared to their personal average), you will be notified of this automatically.

The app gathers data from your employees and manages it within a central dashboard. Here you can track how your employees are feeling day-to-day and gain an understanding of how they typically feel.

We thoughtfully developed HappyTrack to be as simple to use as possible, but with the potential to have a big impact. We didn’t want the app to interrupt important tasks or add to employee stress. That’s why HappyTrack takes less than ten seconds to interact with each day. It’s a simple way to stay connected with each member of your team, wherever they are.

Hey, How Are You Today?

When it comes to supporting wellness in the workplace, we know that one size doesn’t fit all. According to a study carried out by Mind, “In many workplaces mental health is the elephant in the room. Too often, employees are scared to talk to their manager and problems can spiral.” If you don’t take the time to check in with your employees, there will be some who just suffer in silence.

HappyTrack helps you reach out when it’s needed most. By proactively asking, “hey, how are you today?” and alerting you if an employee’s answer is lower than normal, HappyTrack helps you initiate those all-important conversations and drive positive change for your teams.

The Benefits of HappyTrack for Employee Wellness

HappyTrack was built for employees to help foster connectedness and ensure support is provided when it is needed the most. HappyTrack has been tried and tested by our team, so we know it works well. As a team, we discovered the following benefits and feel confident that HappyTrack will benefit your team by:

  • Normalising conversations around mental health and wellbeing
  • Encouraging employees to be more open about how they’re feeling
  • Giving everyone a voice
  • Helping individuals feel seen, heard, and cared for
  • Building trust between employees and managers/team leaders
  • Supporting individuals in asking for help
  • Encouraging self-evaluation and self-awareness

What Our Team Has to Say About HappyTrack

At Brightec, we’ve been using HappyTrack for the last year and found it a useful tool to trigger check-ins with our team. We’ve been able to spot when individuals are struggling and observe and respond to trends in our overall team wellbeing. As a result, we’ve seen a consistent increase in our average happiness scores over this period, bucking the trend of the current climate. Here’s what our team has to say:

‘It’s easy to pop a number in there every day without it feeling particularly intrusive. There have been a couple of times when my score dipped below its average, resulting in some very thoughtful and supportive action being taken by a colleague.’

‘Happy Track allows me to communicate that I’m not feeling my best without actually saying it to anyone. If I do submit a lower score or not enter one then I know someone will reach out to me asking if I’m doing alright. It keeps me connected with people especially during long periods of remote work.’

‘While I don't always feel comfortable giving my daily score, I understand the purpose and can see the value that it brings through a wider understanding of my happiness and how that measures against the team, and if there is anything that can be done by the business to help increase any lower scores.'

‘HappyTrack provides a quick and easy way to record how I’m feeling each day.  It is comforting to know that someone will be in touch if my happiness levels are lower than usual, especially when I’m working remotely and won’t naturally bump into other colleagues who can check in on me.’

Final Words

We hope you will download HappyTrack and discover the benefits for yourself. With the help of our Slackbot, you can manage and track employee wellness, identify any problems, and connect with those who are struggling. HappyTrack is the app you need to promote employee health and wellness in a remote working world.