Technology to promote a healthier workforce

It's open enrollment time, and employers across the U.S. are having their workers sign up for next year's healthcare benefits. This is also the time of year many employers remind their workforces that behavioral changes can positively impact health and wellness, not to mention productivity and medical expenses. Technology is aiding employee behavioral changes at some companies.

Virgin HealthMiles, a unit of Virgin Group, which also operates Virgin Atlantic Airlines offers an incentive platform that helps employers track how workers are doing in their efforts of getting or staying healthy. The web-based, software-as-a-service platform includes social networking, reporting and management tools, said Sean Forbes, president of Virgin HealthMiles.