‘Mobile’ is old news. With mobile devices going from a curiosity to a virtual appendage for most workers in the 10 years since the launch of the iPhone, it is no surprise that more wellness programs have an associated app. But apps aren’t a silver bullet. They have a learning curve and are hard to get employees to download and consistently use. In addition, about 60% of app users disable notifications—making apps unable to drive engagement proactively. Unfortunately, most wellness programs ignore the most powerful engagement tool of all: the humble text message (AKA ‘SMS’).
TEXT MESSAGING USAGE STATS:
• 90% of texts are read in less than 3 minutes
• Texts have 4x the open rate of emails
• 81% of employees use text messaging at least weekly
• 95% of employees are on an unlimited text messaging plan
• Text messaging is now the preferred channel for customer service
Given the level of engagement of text messaging, it is surprising how few wellness programs leverage on this communication medium. In the past year, of the many employers we have spoken with, only a couple reported that they use SMS in their programs.
Fear, uncertainty and doubt persists about text messaging. Even though most dentists text patients, many HR leaders still feel worried about using text messaging to reach employees. Some fear that employees will be charged for text messages, even though almost all employees are on unlimited texting plans.  Most employees want to text for work: In a recent survey, 70% of employees preferred text to any other channel for communicating on work topics.

Wellness professionals need to consider harnessing the power of text messaging for their own programming.  If you want to explore some of the newly emerging SMS tools contact us.