Recent studies indicate that employers are turning to incentives to drive the success of workplace wellness programs. For example, 83% of 800 large and mid-size American employers now use some form of incentive to get their employees aware of their health status. Out of the 83% that use incentives, 79% offer rewards, 5% offer consequences and 16% offer a combination of both.* So what type of incentives work?
The right incentive depends on your company culture and the goals of your wellness program. In this study, 64% use monetary incentives between $50 and $500 and 18% use incentives of more than $500.
Of the employers that offer incentives, 24% say they are directly tied to progress or attainment of acceptable ranges of bio-metric measures such as blood pressure, body mass index, blood sugar and cholesterol. Here are some ideas about wellness incentives that may work for you:
- Bring screenings on-site. Organizations that allow employees to use work hours for these screenings and receive a monetary incentive are likely to see higher participation than if employees must use personal time to do so.
- Consequences can work too. This largely depends on your company culture, and in order to determine which one will work, you may need to test both. A multi-state organization may opt for consequences because it is challenging to coordinate on-site engagement with an incentive.
- Not keen on offering employees cash incentives? Try one of these:
- Extra earned PTO time
- Subsidize gym memberships
- Reduce premium for participants
The top 3 barriers to a successful wellness program are:
- Lack of time
- Lack of interest
- Effective communication
How does your wellness program address these barriers with incentives?