Good, Better, Best: Tips for Increasing Wellness Program Participation

More than 80 percent of all employers have employee wellness programs in place, according to the 2013 Wellness & Benefits Administration Benchmarking Study by the benefits company bswift. However, just 44 percent of those companies have employee participation rates higher than 50 percent. Just because your organization has a wellness program in place, that doesn't guarantee positive participation rates.

Fortunately, researchers at East Carolina University identified the top three barriers to participation in worksite wellness programs. They found that the top three reasons for non-participation included:

1. Insufficient incentives
2. Inconvenient locations
3. Time limitations

While other factors may contribute to low participation rates in wellness programming, "understanding the true mission of an effective wellness program is paramount to success," says Dr. David Honeycutt, CEO for the Wellness Council of America. "Wellness programs are something we do with and for employees, not something we do to them."

If you can approach administering your wellness program with this in mind, you'll cultivate a culture of health that can increase enthusiasm and participation rates for your wellness initiatives. With all the tools, resources, and creative ideas available, there's more than one way to build a successful wellness program.

Are you using good, better, or best practices to build your program? Take a look at this approach to wellness programming and see how your organization measures up.

GOOD

• Go on record with your participation targets
• Communicate every program at least four weeks in advance
• Make sure every employee gets at least four communications for each program
• Make sure every communication piece has a deadline
• Offer a basic level of incentives (gift cards, merchandise, etc.)
• Make sure your programs have some element of fun
• Be a great role model for your program

BETTER

• All of the above, plus:
• Ensure at least one communication message for every program is from your CEO
• Share the purpose and goals of the wellness program company-wide at least four times each year
• Incorporate cash incentives
• Share individual success stories from people in your company
• Initiate a Wellness Ambassador program
• Be the program's greatest cheerleader

BEST

• All of the above, plus:
• Get your CEO enrolled in an executive health program
• Involve your employees in determining and selecting which programs should be offered
• Conduct an annual HRA and share the results company-wide
• Make sure that your program is completely transparent by communicating important details
• Link your wellness program to benefit/plan insurance discounts
• Offer all wellness programs on work time
• Be a role model and provide encouragement and support

Most organizations that offer employee wellness programs do a pretty good job achieving some measure of success. But if you look for ways to increase engagement and participation rates and implement them, you'll achieve even better results.