Tips to Drive Worksite Wellness Engagement

Sometimes employers roll out fabulous worksite wellness programs and then have a difficult time getting employees to participate.  What steps do you need to take to ensure that your program gets high engagement rates? At Wellness Workdays we work with organizations to develop a strategic, branded communications plan for every wellness program. However, this is only one tactic to drive engagement. There are a number of additional strategies that should be employed to increase participation and get workers excited about your program. A recent article in the New York Business Journal highlights additional best practices

Customize the presentation of the wellness program.
Sitting face-to-face with employees is a highly effective way to find out what their concerns are and what they are interested in. Some organizations use videoconferencing and others host brown bag lunch sessions to start discussions about wellness programs.

Meet employees at their starting point.
Employees come in all shapes, sizes and ages. In any one organization, some employees are avid exercisers while others have no interest in exercise.  Some employees are knowledgeable about nutrition while others don’t know what information to look for on food labels. Each individual’s health and wellness needs are different and employers should offer programs that meet varying needs.

Recognize that changing behavior is hard.
Employers should not be discouraged.  It takes a long time to break bad habits. Wellness programs should be viewed as a continuum and not just a once and done situation. Employers should be prepared to continually educate, encourage and bring employees on the journey. About 75% of health care costs are related to lifestyle, including diet, sleep and exercise habits, so it is in an employer’s best interest to be patient and resilient when implementing any workplace wellness plan.

Sell the wellness program to senior level executives with solid data.
Numbers have a profound effect on CEOs and top management. For example, a highly-engaged workforce in a wellness program can lower workers’ compensation costs by 39 percent. Once the health, productivity and financial connection is made, many senior executives will support the implementation of a worksite wellness plan and will be avid participants, helping to drive engagement.

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Visit Wellness Workdays for more information about our worksite wellness programs.