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Engagement's Emerging Role In Corporate Wellness

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term to long-term healthy behavior among employees. This shif of long-term assessment can you implement? Can it be included in
in culture helps foster engagement and a level of wellness that can general employee engagement assessment?
lower absenteeism, improve employee retenton and satsfacton, 3. Communicaton. What strategies make sense to reach your
and increase productvity. Wellness strategies create beter lives for partcular audience? Can your company provide a wellness portal
employees and produce beter business outcomes as a result. featuring news about the program and success stories; how-to
DRIVING COMMITMENT informaton; social media features for mutual encouragement; and
Leveraging mission, vision and values and tying wellness strategies manager-to-employee and even peer-to-peer recogniton? Fuel the behaviors that deliver results
4. Learning. Making informaton quickly available related to a
in with an organizaton’s culture are key to maximizing the benefts person’s specifc goal or any goal – preferably on your wellness portal
of wellness programs. But the existence of wellness programs alone
isn’t enough to drive commitment and engagement in employee so everything is in one place – is critcal. The wellness portal can
wellness, especially given the average individual’s natural resistance provide tests where people can receive points for getng a passing
to the dietary and exercise changes they need to make to optmize grade. Games can be worked into your program to help people
their health. encourage one another.
Organizatons can provide the reinforcement and support 5. Collaboraton and Innovaton. Can you create opportunites
necessary to get people to engage by helping them set realistc for people to work together, such as with lunchtme walks, exercise
groups, or other actvites? How can you make sure that people
als, giving them the tools and feedback to they need to progress, are contnually encouraged to come up with ways to improve the
providing meaningful rewards, social and cultural support, and program? Make it easy for people to submit case studies of their
feedback. Just having a program won’t create a sustainable return success stories, and even reward people who do. Your wellness portal
on investment. Promotng healthy behaviors and helping individuals
weave wellness into the fabric of their personal and professional lives can include news feeds and conversatons between employees on how
provides the best results. they’re addressing their goals.
6. Rewards and Recogniton. How can you add to the fun
THE FOUNDATION OF SUCCESS and satsfacton by enabling people to reap the rewards of their
A successful wellness program can include many components, but any eforts in ways that won’t get lost in their monthly bills – some sort
wellness strategy should address the four key areas mentoned earlier of experience or tangible reward that can be enjoyed by signifcant
– preventon, nutriton, physical actvity and mental well-being. A others and that evokes memories or long-term satsfacton. Make sure
one-size-fts-all approach to wellness is the sure way to failure. People it’s commensurate with the level of achievement and that it has a
should have the right to choose which area of wellness they want to personal touch. Weaving wellness into existng recogniton platorms is
focus on. an opportunity to leverage peer-to-peer reinforcement and manager
For prevention, people tend to align with behaviors aimed at support for people seeking to hit certain health goals.
lowering healthcare costs – preventative exams, coaching, disease 7. Measurement and ROI. Based on the goals and objectves
management, regular check-ups with their physicians, etc. Programs in your business plan, what is occurring over tme? What is the level
might also offer health risk assessments in which individual’s of usage of the wellness portal? What are people accessing in terms
biggest issues are documented. These aren’t enough to drive long- of informaton? Are they responding to the engagement surveys?
term change, but they’re a great start to helping promote long-term What are those surveys telling you? What is happening to your
health by identifying priorities. claims actvity over tme? What is happening to your lost tme due to
For nutrition, people should have an opportunity to learn sickness numbers?
about healthier eating, how to change eating habits, coaching to BEHAVIOR CHANGES
promote long-term change and even changes in the choice of food
available on company premises. Physical activity is the easiest to A study of employees partcipatng in a wellness program conducted
by Emily Falk, a University of Michigan neuroscientst, for Maritz
engage in, but it often requires social support and accountability Motvaton Solutons, found that:
to encourage adoption and sustained behaviors. Finally, mental People who were rewarded walked an average of one mile
well-being and stress management are key to holistic wellness. The • more per day than those who didn’t receive rewards
effort should include components that maximize mental health, People who were rewarded for keeping a health journal
which can start with a regular exercise program and outdoor •
activities. • completed their tasks 25% more ofen
People who chose their wellness actvity had higher goal
STEP BY STEP completon Engagement Strategies Loyalty Programs
Here is a quick step-by-step guide to developing an efectve wellness • People who had social support had an increase in
program: average daily steps over those who didn’t
1. Goals and Objectves. Establish clear goals and objectves for • One in three partcipants reported weight loss, one in two Travel Incentives Consultation
your efort in terms of quanttatve and qualitatve results, including reported having more energy and more than 50% reported
general employee engagement. You don’t want to set goals that would having a more positve mindset Merchandise Rewards ROI Analysis
encourage people to forgo health treatment. Your wellness program • People with pedometers were more likely to discuss the
should have a business plan just like any major initatve. A key issue wellness program; share success stories and compare
to address is how people can select a specifc health initatve they can actvity. Technology Solutions Debit Cards
focus on rather than giving them more goals than they could possibly
achieve. Meeting & Event Planning DMC Services
2. Assessment and Coaching. How will you be able to assess This artcle is excerpted from Enterprise Engagement: The Textbook,
engagement in the efort in terms of actve partcipaton by managers published for the Enterprise Engagement Alliance by Engagement
and employees? What types of coaching resources can you make Enterprises LLC. More informaton is available at:
available to individuals to support their individual eforts? What type www.createspace.com/4718483 ESM
www.FireLightGroup.com 608-441-FIRE

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