Incentives “Safety &
Wellness IQ” survey, the top rewards in wellness programs are:
Award Type
|
Included in Program
|
Retail
& Bank Gift Cards
|
58.9%
|
Merchandise
|
41.2%
|
Cash
|
27.9%
|
Insurance
Premium Reduction
|
25.5%
|
Individual
Travel
|
10.3%
|
Experiential
Awards (Spa treatments, etc.)
|
7.4%
|
Group
Travel
|
4.4%
|
It’s
no surprise that gift cards are the number one award group as the vast majority
of individual budgets for these types of achievable objectives are less $50 to
$100 ea. And gift cards are by far the
best value in that denomination of award especially considering the high
margins on merchandise that tends to deflate the value and group or individual
travel awards that are quite expensive.
Communications
and Technology Are Key
Communicating
the range and complexity of health services can present a challenge. Individual
motivation or apathy, sensitive health issues, and the cultural, geographic and
demographic differences in your organization can all pose problems that need to
be addressed when deciding on the communication strategy. Intranet portals,
email campaigns, mobile devices, well thought out promotional items and the use
of a host of Technology apps that speak to fitness can all help to make your
program a success.
Activity
trackers and wearable devises such as FitBit and smart watches are simple ways
for employees to measure performance against goals. The American Council on Exercise reports that
“people are 30 to 40 percent more likely to be active just by wearing a fitness
tracker.” By using gift cards redeemable for Amazon and other online suppliers
you can help offset the cost of activity trackers that can be expensive. Two
top apps that unlock this ability for iPhones and Android devices are Argus and
Pacer, both free, as are a host of others..
Safety
programs for years have used triggers to motivate intended behaviors to avoid
accidents. Wearables are a great
trigger. The device on your wrist, the
blinking light and vibration are physical reminders to change your behavior.
The Future
When
you add financial planning, life style education, stress management and
life-stage management to the equation, you move into the future from the
wellness of the past to the entire well-being of the employee in the future. With a wellness program designed to change
every day habits and reinforce improvement, these holistic well-being programs
can help improve business outcomes like productivity and employee engagement,
essentially the health of the business.
Companies
that have seen measurable success know that these wellness programs take time
to show results. They are long term
objectives with very positive long term consequences.
There
is abundant evidence to support the return on investment evident in the
wellness programs of today. A quick search
of the net will provide many. How is
your wellness effort going?
For more
information on Ultimate Choice Inc.’s products or services or other white
papers please contact us at Ultimatechoiceinfo@cox.net
