How and Why to Increase Employee Participation in Wellness Programs

Posted: Jul 18th, 2017 at 12:00AM - by Ashlee Arnold, Vice President

Slowly but surely, employers are catching on to the beauty that is employee wellness programs. What may have once been seen as money poorly spent is now being viewed as an excellent resource for improving the overall workplace environment. Why should you encourage your team members to participate more in your employee health program?

Why Wellness Programs Matter

Simply put, the more you invest in your employees, the happier and healthier they'll be — and the better they'll perform. Wellness programs have been found to increase ROI, help reduce health care costs, absenteeism, worker's compensation, injuries, and disability-related costs; increase productivity; and improve employee loyalty. Furthermore, reports say that employees who take place in wellness programs are more satisfied at work, compared to those who don't. The employees are the foundation of any business; therefore, their wellbeing should be a top priority. Designing a bulletproof employee wellness program is great, but it means nothing if nobody participates in it. How do you increase participation in your program? Fortunately, there are a number of ways to do this.

How to Increase Participant in Employee Wellness Programs

One option to spark interest in the program is to turn it into a team effort. Oftentimes, people are hesitant to tackle goals on their own because they're nervous, overwhelmed, etc. Having employees form groups can also help improve accountability, boost energy with a little friendly competition, and make it easier to recognize people's accomplishments in front of the whole team.

Another way to encourage participation is through some kind of incentive — monetary or otherwise. It's important to be cautious with this. Financial incentives should be small and strategically given. They're good for one-time actions, but not so much for bigger end goals. There are plenty of opportunities to get creative with incentives. Maybe you offer the winner of a small challenge a gift card to a healthy restaurant in the neighborhood or a bookstore, or maybe even give away a paid vacation day. Tracking and sharing employees' progress can also aid in boosting participation in wellness programs.

Giving employees the goal to take more steps in a day is a good start; but how about having them track those steps and turn in their numbers? At team meetings, you can share individuals' progress, highlight big achievements, and share the average number of steps per person. Take it a step further by having employees set their own goals. Studies have found that people who write down their goals are likelier to achieve them than those who don't.

Lastly, it's important to design a program that's convenient for your workers. They're hesitant to participate as is. Require them to do something that's inconvenient for their schedule, and participation will decrease further. Offer all coaching and health screenings at your place of business, work with their schedules as best as possible, and set expectations that make sense for them. If you have employees who sit nine hours a day, asking them to run an eight-minute mile within the week isn't exactly reasonable. Asking them to walk a mile? That's a little more attainable.

e7 Health offers employee health programs, physical exams, and other preventive health services. To learn more, call us at 702-800-2723 to schedule an appointment.