Corporate Wellness Programs: Incentive and Rewards

Corporate Wellness Programs – Employee Engagement Strategies

Corporate Wellness Programs without employee engagement are useless to a company. How do you get employees to enroll in Corporate Wellness Programs – and stay engaged in the programs?

The brochures for these programs discuss the benefits to employees and businesses. Corporate Wellness Program statistics show that there are tangible benefits to a company for offering such programs. Corporate Wellness Programs actually do save lives by getting workers to take their health seriously, increase productivity, decrease absenteeism and more.

However, St. Louis, Missouri-based Maritz Inc., the world’s largest incentive company, has applied their own invigorating twist to health management by providing gift rewards to employees who participate in Corporate Wellness Programs. The wellness incentive program is Maritz’s own Exclusively Yours® plan. Health management participants earn points, which can be then redeemed for merchandise, electronics, restaurant vouchers and travel, much like a frequent-flier program.

Enrollment incentives in Corporate Wellness Programs?

Undoubtably corporations that don’t work in the incentives industry will be tempted to cry foul about using such a rich carrot to incentivize health program enrollments. Not every company can throw that kind of money at health management resources – and not every company has the built-in cost savings as a business that specializes in providing incentive programs.

For certain rich incentives like Maritz’s will break through the glaze that appears over many employees’ eyes when they’re encouraged to do something new, different or difficult. For many employees uncomfortable with health management and exercise, “new, different and difficult” would apply to Corporate Wellness Programs. So where does that leave businesses who are unwilling or unable to provide incentives for health management program enrollment?

Successful Corporate Wellness Programs motivate employees – before and after signup

Corporate Wellness Program administrators should keep the long-term view in mind when trying to get employees to take that vitally important first step. Even the best incentives can fail in the face of faltering organization, badly-designed Corporate Wellness Programs and wavering support. Make sure to run good Wellness surveys before you build your Corporate Wellness Programs so employee input and needs are being met by your Corporate Wellness Programs. The goal is positive outcomes, not high enrollment numbers.

Corporate Wellness Programs cannot survive managerial apathy. If executive and managerial participation is widespread and heartfelt, employees will follow their leadership. The potential rewards and Wellness benefits are clearly worth reaping, for both your business and your co-workers.