Changing Behavior. Some believe that the adoption of positive behaviors by individuals and communities “just happens”. But the truth is, there is a science behind how to encourage and design for change. 

The Behavior Change Architect Podcast is a conversation about innovative and evidence-based behavior change strategies to increase well-being. Listen in to discussions with thought leaders, industry experts, and innovative scientists, on hot-button topics around specific behaviors like vaping, resilience, and financial well-being, as well as research and design issues including engagement, technology, and communication strategies. 

We will go beyond published works to discuss behind-the-scenes topics and cutting-edge findings. Tune in as your host Dr. Kerry Evers takes you on a journey to change the discussion, change perspectives, and ultimately, help you change behavior for your clients, populations, and perhaps even yourself! 

Change is always in the air for your host, Kerry Evers, Ph.D.…. or at least always on her mind. She is deeply and passionately committed to leveraging the undeniable power and reliability of behavior change science to empower people to experience life-changing breakthroughs. As the Co-President and CEO of Pro-Change Behavior Systems, she leads a team focused on assisting organizations with behavior change challenges to help their populations improve and maintain high well-being. Kerry, who holds a Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology from the University of Rhode Island, is best known for her expertise on theory-driven approaches to health behavior change, implementing evidence-based behavior change strategies using sophisticated tailoring, and integrating these solutions into population-based systems. She has published widely in the field and is a sought-after speaker and trainer. She has been recognized as a “40 Under Forty” in her state and received the Health Enhancement Research Organization’s Mark Dundon Research Award. Her passion for improving well-being extends beyond work to her community through her services on several non-profit boards, and by recently founding a charitable giving organization. Kerry brings her curiosity and passion to every interview to help her listeners provide cutting-edge behavior change strategies to their populations and clients. 

In this pilot episode, you’ll learn about Kerry Evers and her intention to create conversations about the challenges surrounding behavior change and how to innovate in the field. She will lead discussions with thought leaders, industry experts and innovative scientists to challenge the way we approach change in our behavior.

Why is the science of behavior change important? It’s a field of study that has woven itself into an endless list of business types, fields, products and services including health, wellbeing, organizational change, safety, finance and mental health. 

Change can be intentional or not, gradual or sudden, internally or externally motivated. While some may believe change “just happens”, the truth is that there is a science of how behavior changes. 

The science of behavior change focuses on what strategies can we as a field employ to encourage people, communities and society to adopt healthy, beneficial and positive behavioral practices. 

Research publications and presentations can sometimes be delayed. So these discussions will focus on hot button topics and the latest in research and innovation. 

The aim of this podcast is to pull together leaders in the field of behavior change, with differing perspectives, to guide our mutual understanding so that we can, through conversation and stories, collaboratively build an innovative framework for change.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• [00:32] Kerry introduces herself and discusses the importance of behavior change.
• [01:35] What is behavior change science? 
• [02:13] Behavior change science has woven itself into a variety of fields, with the most prominent being health, including lifestyle behavior change for prevention as well as condition management.
  
• [03:35] Public health, technology developers and program designers all have incorporated aspects of behavior change science into a variety of interventions to increase financial behaviors, environmental sustainability, and productivity just to name a few. 
• [03:52] the field of behavior change communication focuses on how thru communications of some kind, individuals and communities can somehow be persuaded to behave in ways that will make their lives safer and healthier. 
• [05:00] The field of behavior change has expanded in ways that would have been difficult to predict. How do we keep up? How do we stay innovative and continue to build upon best practices? As with any evolving field, it's not easy.
• [08:05] Every month or so we will be releasing a series of three podcasts focusing on a specific topic in the area of behavior change. I will have a guest on each episode. A whos who in the topic area, from a variety of disciplines. 
  
• [09:00] The possibilities for topics discussed in each series of this podcast are endless.  
• [10:00] The series name comes from the word ‘architect’: Someone who guides a plan or undertaking, in this case, the science of behavioral change.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Lifestyle behaviors affect physical health, the management of conditions, recovery from illness, and wellbeing.
• The field of behavior change has expanded in ways that would have been difficult to predict.
• Regardless of the field that you work in, it is very likely that behavior change science influences your work.

Today’s guest, Karen Mosely, is the president and CEO of the Health Enhancement Research Organization, also known as HERO. HERO is a national think tank dedicated to advancing best practices in workplace health and wellbeing. Karen provides a summary of where she views the workplace health and wellbeing field being right now, including equity, sustainability, workplace performance and mental and emotional health. Tune in to hear Karen’s description of HERO as a trend spotter in the field, and how the future of workplace well-being will have a focus on diversity and inclusion, the employer ecosystem and how the choices we have impact the choices we make.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• [03:00] HERO’s 3 to 5 year strategic plan
• [04:12] Impact of remote work on well-being
• [06:00] The evolving mission of HERO and behavior change industry
• [09:00] The effects from the combination of COVID and structural racism
• [11:00] HERO Forum On-Demand sessions available to listen to
• [12:00] HERO Health and Well-Being Best Practices Score Card in collaboration with Mercer
• [15:00] Resources that are publicly available on the HERO website
• [17:00] Implementing these programs has been shown to increase profitability and create better stock prices
• [18:00] Caregiving, work life balance, burnout and exhaustion are three of the key topics going into 2022

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Employers have a very large stake in improving their employees’ health and well-being.
• HERO is dedicated to advancing best practices in workplace health and wellbeing
• The focus in 2022 and how organizations will need to take care of employees and assist individual resilience, post pandemic.

BIO:

Karen Moseley is President & CEO of the Health Enhancement Research Organization (HERO), a national think tank dedicated to advancing best practices in employee health promotion. In collaboration with HERO members, Karen and the HERO team provide leadership in research and education on issues such as the impact of wellness program best practices on health outcomes and the impact of healthy cultures on employee performance.