Do you want to start a wellness program at your organization but don’t know where to start? Maybe you’ve heard about all of the potential benefits, but don’t know if your employees will adopt the program. If so, here are a few simple tips to jumpstart your wellness program.
Participation incentives used to be pretty simple. Organizations would give employees $50 or $100 for joining a company wellness program. Now, with new allowances by the Affordable Care Act, incentives administered through premium discounts make the participation incentive landscape more complex.
According to Jennifer Patel, Wellness Engagement Director for Hallmark Business Connections, premium reductions work for the first year, but as employees come to expect that cost cut in the subsequent years, it may not be as effective. Her solution? Combine premium reductions and a personal incentive, such as a
gift card, that employees can use to jumpstart their personal wellness.
Wellness programs are a significant investment; they cost both time and money to implement correctly. But that didn’t stop many organizations from increasing investments in their programs in 2015. According to the
Incentive 2015 Safety & Wellness IQ Survey, the number of companies making $100,000-1MM investments was up 10% from 2014 to 2015. This signals a trend that increasing investment is increasing effectiveness for wellness programs.
Looking for the easiest, simplest way to jumpstart your wellness program? Make it fun for employees and keep them active. How to do this? Start a lunchtime walking group, subsidize a recreational sports team for employees, give employees exercises they can do at their desk, or start a pedometer challenge. All of these ideas are low cost and highly effective in getting employees involved and moving. Looking for more ideas for your wellness program? Check out Incentive Magazine’s 2016 Guide to Wellness.