Health And Wellness Programs

Once you start a Company Health and Wellness Program you will have a range of staff member participants.  Some will already be very engaged

in being active and eating well and your program will only reinforce and enhance their health.  On the other end of the spectrum will be

people who may not engage no matter what you do.  The remaining group is probably the largest group in the majority of companies: people

who are at various stages of readiness to improve their health given the right type of programming and motivation.   Summarized below are

some tips you may want to employ once your program is up and running.

Key Factors in Company Health and Wellness Program

In today’s society there are many primary factors that influence people’s health behaviors.  Look at the following list in maintaining

participation in your program:

1.    TIME.  Workers are busy, so the more you can work activity and healthy eating into their existing schedules, the better your

chances for success.  Example: A walk at lunch doesn’t take away from existing time, it just uses it differently.  Also review the time of

the day and length of any activity you might be promoting, since both time components may be factors.
2.    ACCESS.   How accessible is your Employee Wellness Program.  Is it onsite or at a nearby site?  Do you offer access at breaks or

outside of normal work hours?
3.    KNOWLEDGE.  Workers need to know “Why” they are participating (the benefits) and also will need information about the “How to” in

areas that are not commonly known.
4.    COST.  Make certain that you can provide no cost or decreased cost Employee Wellness Plans will help participation rates.  Coupled

with incentives for participation, rates of participation will likely increase dramatically.
5.    INCENTIVES.  Some people need incentives to get started in a Employee Wellness Program.  A full list of Company Health and Wellness

Program incentive options can be on the website.

Key Time Periods in Company Health and Wellness Program

Good habits are often difficult to develop.  There tends to be some critical times when people drop out or fall off of a physical activity

or diet program.   The first key time zone seems to be around 6 weeks.   If people can start and stay consistent with a program through the

first 6 weeks, they have made a fairly serious commitment to incorporate the habits into their lifestyle.  The second key time is at about

6 months.  Those who made it past 6 weeks may get bored and/or distracted from their program after several months.  If people can get past

6 months and sustain behavior through a full set of weather seasons, they have a very good chance of making the changes permanent.

Look at these time periods and think about how you can “boost” your staff members to get them past these critical time markers.  Promoting

individual or group “challenges”, using incentives, or raised publicity/marketing are a few of the things you can do to help get your staff

members through these key time periods

Goal Setting for Company Health and Wellness Program

Setting goals has been shown to lead to better participation and more people making a strong commitment.  Whether it be a team goal of

walking the equivalent of once around your state or an individual goal of so many miles or minutes of activity, the fact that there is

something concrete to shoot for increases the likelihood people will stick with the program.

Buddy Systems or Team Goals for Company Health and Wellness Program

The social aspects of improving one’s health cannot be underestimated.  Many research studies point to tight social groups being the

backbone for a successful campaign because each individual has a commitment to something bigger than themselves and besides, it’s just more

fun for the majority of people. Build your program around some type of teams or partners and see what happens.

Team “Campaigns” for Company Health and Wellness Program

Some people like competition and others don’t.  Nevertheless, a worksite wide campaign has the advantage of keeping the message more

visible and alive.  Encourage campaign participation, but make it voluntary so that those who prefer that type of motivation can join while

others can take part in their own way and at their own pace.  If the idea of a campaign seems like too much work, consider tapping into

existing campaigns where someone else provides resources for you.

Incentives for Company Health and Wellness Program

Incentives are often helpful in maintaining or raising interest.  Significant incentives such as cash or medical insurance rebates have

proven to be very strong motivators for staff member participation.  However, even smaller incentives can be beneficial.  Listed below are

some sample incentives:
• Achievement awards. Verbal praise and a pat on the back are motivational to some, but a token of recognition of achievement may offer

more. A colorful certificate to congratulate an staff member for achieving a health-related goal is one example.
• Public recognition.  Announced recognition at campaign mid-point or wrap-up festivities.
• Food.  Include some healthy foods to kick-off, revitalize or wrap up a wellness campaign.
• Entertainment.  Events serve a purpose in jump-starting, reenergizing or wrapping up a campaign.  Having entertainment of any kind can

boost morale.
• Merchandise.  There is a long list of merchandise incentives, including sports equipment and small gift certificates to use at local

merchants.
• Monetary rewards.  Nothing says incentive better than cash.  Businesses that have used cash or rebates as an incentive have shown much

higher participation rates.
• Time off.  Maybe the next best incentive to cash, or for some people even better.  This type of incentive makes good business sense if

the number of absences drops significantly and attendance is used as one of the criteria.