Inspiring employee health and wellness by providing motivating incentives is becoming more common for large and small companies alike across the United States. When organizations utilize a few key concepts to implement and consistently communicate employee wellness programs, they are more likely to receive a higher return on investment and help to shape a healthier workforce.
From the preliminary planning stages of the wellness program, I recommend to clients that they incorporate employees in the form of a committee. These committees should meet on a regular basis and really become a part of the overall decision making process throughout the program. Decisions on how the program will be communicated and what should be included on the health and wellness program website should all be discussed and agreed upon by this committee.
An article featured on the Employee Rewards and Incentives Blog also advises companies to gather employee feedback throughout in order to tailor the wellness program to employee interests. Involving employees is vital for the acceptance of the program by coworkers. If staff members feel that they have ownership in the program, they are more likely to become participants in (and not spectators of) the corporate wellness program. Also, finding out the interests of employees can help to decide if company sponsored events, such as healthy picnic lunches, corporate walk/runs or even golf outings are something that should be incorporated in the wellness program.
Once the employee health and wellness program is implemented with the help of feedback, another key to the success of the wellness program is to keep employees involved and interested over time. Offering other reasons for people to log into the website other than just looking to redeem points and find out their points total is a great way of increasing participation in the wellness program. I think this step should also allow for some creativity and laughter for administrators and employees alike.
Some of my clients have the following additional content on their wellness incentive websites:
Office Joke of the Week
Company Newsletter
Recipe of the Day
Healthy Tip of the Day
Health and Wellness Topic of the month
Tobacco Cessation Information Center
Fitness and Activity Information Center
Healthy Handouts for weekly meetings
When new content is updated or added, employees can be invited to check out the new content via email to attract them back to the wellness program website to keep them involved over time. This consistent communication is a key to keeping participants involved in and knowledgeable about their own health and wellness issues.
These extra content pages will have other benefits too. Although employee wellness is a serious issue, providing jokes and some lighthearted material can have positive affects as David Granirer discusses in his article featured on About.com. “…After a bout of laughter, blood pressure drops to a lower, healthier level than before the laughter began. Laughter also oxygenates your blood, thereby increasing energy level, relaxes your muscles and works out all your major internal systems like the cardiovascular and respiratory systems.”
“With terms like ‘stress-related-illness’ and ‘burnout’ becoming household words,” Granirer reports, “organizations are increasingly looking for ways to keep their workforce happy, healthy and productive.” By instituting a flexible wellness program, involving employees and valuing their feedback, providing consistent communication and reasons for employees to keep participating, your organization can begin to shape up the bottom line and the health and wellness of employees.