Encourage employees
Underwood says that if you look at the amount of tools available to people and the obesity rates in America, it indicates that people aren’t going to take the initiative on their own.
“There are two things you need to focus on,” he says. “One is enrollment in these programs, and the second is engagement in these programs. One without the other doesn’t work. You have to get people enrolled and engaged in programs that will help them make healthy choices.”
You can do this through negative or positive manners. Negative ways include mandating employees to pay more for their coverage if they engage in riskier behaviors, such as smoking or not exercising.
But positive ways would be encouraging participation in healthy programs through incentives and recognition. For example, one of Alere’s clients, Procter & Gamble, has a blue-plate program, where healthy food options in the cafeteria are served on blue plates, and leadership walks around and gives small incentives and attaboys to the people eating off of the blue plates. It encourages people to make the healthy choices because they might get recognized by top leadership for doing so.
Another way to encourage employees is through team-based programs. Alere has team programs internally throughout the year to encourage healthy behavior.
“It’s real important that you don’t force-fit teams,” he says. “Don’t pit one division or one group against another. There will be a natural tendency for groups to form along those lines but also encourage them to cut across divisional lines.”
For example, one such program had teams compete to log the most active minutes. With a common passion for bicycling, several employees across multiple divisions and ranks created their own team because of their shared interest, so let those natural teams form.
Then, for every 10 minutes of activity, they earned points, which are recorded and published on a weekly basis.
“The competitive spirit of most people, they want to know how they’re doing and how their team is going versus others,” he says. “It’s extremely important to publish highlights and create the fun atmosphere.”
The competition lasts about eight weeks, and winners received small prizes, such as gift cards. After its completion, another similar program will launch, such as one that encourages employees to know and improve their vital health stats or one that encourages employees to eat fruits and vegetables.
The key is to keep encouraging people to try new things and incentivizing them so they’ll get involved.
“Anything we can do to get people active — it doesn’t really matter what the incentive is or what got them out there,” Underwood says. “What’s important is that we got them out there.”
How to reach: Alere Health LLC, (800) 456-4060 or www.alere.com
