Employers are increasingly concerned
about finding ways to improve employee productivity while reducing the number of sick days and health insurance claims.
Smart Business spoke with Michael Taylor, executive director of marketing and
communications for UPMC Health Plan,
about how to generate employee interest
in wellness programs.
Why should an employer consider implementing a wellness program?
With the continued rise of medical costs, it
is estimated that one-half or more of
employer earnings will go toward the care
of employees. Developing creative health
promotion activities that encourage people
to manage their weight, quit tobacco or get
more exercise will help contain costs and
keep your employees healthy over time.
Research shows that healthy employees get
sick less often, miss fewer days of work, and
have fewer workers’ compensation claims.
Morale and productivity will improve, too.
How can you get your employees interested
in a wellness program?
Distributing a health interest survey is an
important first step. Will employees participate in a lunchtime yoga class or is a midday
walk more appropriate? Are they looking
for healthier food in the cafeteria or would a
large-scale health screening event be more
valuable? Their answers will help guide you.
Distributing a health risk assessment will
also help you gather important data about
employees’ health. This confidential questionnaire will identify possible health risks
and provide an action plan to offer steps to
improve their health. It also a tool by which
the success of the program is measured.
Whatever programs you choose, securing
support from senior management sends
the message that your company really
cares about employees’ health. You’ll need
their support when it comes to funding
new programs, allowing time off to exercise at lunch, or offering incentives.
Participants will feel mentally and physically better about themselves, which improves morale and makes a better work
environment for everyone. And the company will benefit from having healthier employees, so everybody wins.
How do you get the message out?
Generating buzz takes a communications
strategy, successful tactics and a commitment from leadership. Nothing beats repetition. Consider e-mail blasts, fliers, posters, and giveaways to pique your employees’ interest. You may also want to develop
a standard design template and color
palette to strengthen the branding of your
program. Also:
- Add healthy snacks in your vending
machines or feature lean meals in your
cafeteria. Promote them regularly. - Design fun, attention-grabbing signs
around that encourage your employees to
take the stairs rather than the elevator.
Rotate the signs. - Offer regularly scheduled lunchtime
lectures on wellness. Distribute postcards
around the office to act as reminders and
appoint internal champions to drum up
participation. - Promote attendance at exercise classes offered on-site before and after work.
- Include articles or recipes in employee
newsletters that promote healthy activity
and healthy eating.
Sending the message that you care about
your employees’ well-being will help reinforce their healthy behavior.
How can you get your employees to be excited about wellness programs?
Creating a wellness committee to support your new programs is critical to transforming your company’s culture. A wellness committee can help empower your
staff to be more active and adopt positive
behaviors that support a lifelong commitment to a healthy lifestyle.
Recruit the fit and those challenged to
live a healthy lifestyle, smokers and non-smokers, and a range of professionals such
as human resources managers, employee
health representatives and marketing
experts. The more diverse your core group
is, the more likely you are to create enthusiasm in all parts of your workplace and
the easier it will be to spread the message
about the program. A wellness committee
also can help you get a handle on how
these programs are being accepted by the
employees, gather information about what
programs work, and determine what kind
of incentives would be most popular.
Are incentives really necessary?
Rewarding participants is critical to
engaging them long-term. Let’s say you
establish a ‘weight race’ among employees.
You could reward the winning team with a
day off or provide discounts to local merchants, or even free plane tickets. As you
might imagine, the incentives you provide
can spread excitement about your program and motivate more people to be
involved.
MICHAEL TAYLOR is executive director of marketing and communications for UPMC Health Plan in Pittsburgh. Reach him at
(412) 454-7534 or [email protected].