Wellness Program Incentives

Group backing and encouragement can be very beneficial in supporting workers make healthy changes. Create situations, peer groups, or information avenues where the expertise and experiences of coworkers can be shared with others. Some ideas for providing worksite backing for healthy changes include:

• Employees can be asked to voluntarily submit suggestions, advice, and strategies related to particular healthy practices they have successfully implemented in their lives. For example, ex-tobacco users can be asked to submit suggestions about what worked for them when they quit; then those ideas can be shared in newsletters, handouts, classes, etc.
• Topics like weight management, stress management, managing change, increasing exercise, etc. lend themselves to this development of collective wisdom sharing.
• Behavior change backing groups, created based on employee interest in making healthy change, can meet on regularly to share ideas, resources, support, etc. Worksite Wellness Programs can offer some assistance and facilitation in getting a group going. The group then itself takes charge of keeping the group going. Periodically the wellness program can offer to bring in a presenter on a topic relevant to the group. Be sure to help the group agree upon ground rules that everyone agrees to before the group is left to itself.

A health and wellbeing fair is a fantastic way to familiarize workers with health problems and related wellness programs. During a health and wellbeing fair workers might be able to obtain resource materials; take part in available wellness screenings (vision, hearing, blood, blood lipids, cancer, dental, etc.); observe demonstrations on the use of exercise equipment; go to mini-sessions on various health issues; get free promotional items from local corporations; try healthy foods; and pick up information about their health benefit plan.

Some corporations feature a “health & benefit fair” which includes vendors representing the various employee benefit plans (long-term disability, retirement, etc.) available to employees through their organization.

Considerations when coordinating a wellness fair:

• Setting up a efficacious health & wellness fair takes extensive time. Time concerns should be taken into account in planning and organizing such an event. The most time consuming part is generally contacting potential participants, making arrangements for their participation, confirming their participation, and setting up the day of the event.
• Sufficient space, tables and chairs must be available to allow for the number of vendors involved. Some vendors may have portable displays or materials that will require additional space, access to electrical outlets, or other logistical considerations that must be discussed prior to the health & wellness fair.
• Vendors will be trying to make contact with as many persons as possible during the event. Securing their responsibility to future health and wellbeing fairs requires that every effort be made to reward participation by publicizing the event, selecting the proper venue, and offering incentives/rewards.
• If possible, locate the health & wellness fair in a location with heavy foot traffic.
• Ask vendors to bring no cost materials at their table and to make a donation to a prize drawing. Adhere to all organization policies when seeking donations.
• As an idea to improve employee participation and to keep interest high, each attendee might be given a “passport”, similar to a bingo card, to be signed by each vendor. The signed passport serves as the ticket for the prize drawings. Such drawings should take place every 15 or 30 minutes.
• Consider teaming up with neighboring companies to host a health fair. A group effort will spread out the work and maximize participation.

Ideas for a Benefits Fair:

Invite representatives from each of your employee benefits provider groups. Ask each vendor to be prepared to answer employee questions concerning their program. Representatives might include:

• Retirement plan representative.
• Long-term disability plan representative.
• Health plan representative.
• Health Benefits representative.
• Contract cell phone representative (if applicable).
• Local savings and loan or credit union representative.
• Workers’ compensation representative.

Limited Space for a Health Fair: If space is limited host the fair during lunch time. Place stations in company hallways or in individual small conference or office rooms located throughout the building. Offer a map with all the stations listed. Hold a no cost drawing awarding a prize for anyone who goes to 75 percent of the stations. Use a punch card or similar method to verify.

Resources for health & benefit fairs coordination:

Assume a broad definition of “health” and reflect that by including a variety of vendors and services involved with physical, mental, financial and social health; for example, health agencies, safety companies, benefits providers, local healthcare facilities, recreational facilities, parks, monetary planners, childcare referrals, EAP, health clubs, health food stores, library, alternative and complementary medicine providers, etc.

Worksite health screenings can take a variety of forms. Common screening components may include:

• Blood Pressure and pulse rate.
• Cholesterol (typically a finger-stick total cholesterol test, either fasting or non-fasting).
• Blood glucose (diabetes screening).
• Height and weight.
• Percent body fat and/or BMI (body mass index).
• Fitness level.
• Bone density.
• Posture assessment.

Considerations when offering worksite screenings:

• Health screenings must be conducted by qualified, and at times, licensed individuals.
• Wellness screenings must be conducted in a location that allows for privacy and confidentiality.
• Time for discussion and explanation screening results must be allowed as part of the screening process.
• A process must be in place for referral for participants whose results are indicative of a need for further medical evaluation.
• Screenings can be very costly to the overriding wellness budget OR there may be no cost to the program if participants are willing to cover the cost of the assessment themselves. For example, cholesterol and glucose testing usually expenditures twenty to twenty-five dollars per person, per exam. Staff Members may be willing to pay for evaluation in exchange for the convenience of having the evaluation at work.
• It generally works best to have scheduled appointments at intervals sufficient to allow time for the assessment and a brief discussion of results. Therefore, a registration and scheduling process must be devised.
• Some types of evaluation, such as fitness testing, require participants to bring casual clothes in which to do the testing. Employees must be notified of the need to dress in a specific manner for the evaluation.
• To ensure high attendance at screening events, it is advisable to begin promotion of the event with reminders to workers.
• Supply staff members with “screening preparation” instructions to remind them how to prepare for the most accurate screening results.

Resources for workplace screenings:

1. Consult with a wellness consultant or health assessment organization.
2. If employee participation is sparse for on-Site health screenings, or if offering additional workplace assessment is an option, check with the neighborhood health or outreach department of your local hospital, health education department, occupational health department or worksite health department as to screenings they might offer.
3. Local health clubs may also employ qualified employee for some types of screenings, such as fitness testing or body fat measurement.

Points to Keep in Mind

Hiring Certified Professionals

Hire professionally certified instructors to lead fitness classes (whether on or offsite) or to run worksite lunch and learn sessions.  It’s also prudent to ask the instructor for references.

When you hire instructors, be sure that your insurance protects both the instructor and your corporation.

Risk Management

Whether we like it or not, liability is an issue nowadays.

Risk management plans do not have to be complicated or expensive. By way of example, part of the plan may require that employees complete fitness appraisals and sign statements accepting the possible risks involved in physical activity. It pays to be prepared. Safety and emergency policies and procedures decrease the risk of loss both to individuals and to your employer.

Ask employees to sign a waiver when participating in both worksite and offsite activities. For liability reasons, employees must know the risks involved in participating in the activity and be aware that they are waiving their right to sue.

The employee should not be asked to sign the waiver just before the activity. The waiver may be invalid if employees state that they didn’t totally know the risks.

Other Safety Tips

Here’s a list of some other safety tips to keep in mind when organizing physical activity.

Look at the environment where workers are active:

• Sidewalks must be clear of ice and snow, away from falling debris or snow, and have clearly marked curbs and safe crosswalks.
• Stairwells must be well-lit and in good condition and have handrails and safety features, so that staff members are not locked out of floors.
• Fitness facilities must have proper flooring, great ventilation, and access to water and an emergency telephone.

Provide medical assessment for employees participating in activities:

• PAR-Q
• PAR-MEDX for Pregnancy

Below are some other important safety factors:

• First-aid kit and automated external defibrillator on site.
• Emergency Action Plan (EAP) in place and practised.
• Commercial grade fitness equipment (not donated, “hand me down” equipment).
• Documented equipment inspection and maintenance schedule.
• Orientation of equipment and programs done by certified professional with a physical exercise background.

To make a difference in the lives of your fellow employees, you first need to see that getting active is not only a matter of choice. Some things are within our individual control, but others are shaped by the people and circumstances in which we live and work.

It’s Easier to Be Active When…

• We know what to do and have the confidence, skills and opportunity to do it.
• It’s fun. “Working out” at the health club does not appeal to everyone. Activities need to reflect what individuals enjoy.
• Our friends, family or co-employees are active with us (or at least support us).
• We feel safe, thanks to well-lit streets or stairways.
• Sidewalks, walking/biking trails, parks and gyms are nearby.
• We have money to pay for equipment, instruction or memberships.
• We can walk, bike or take public transit to work.
• Active choices such as taking the stairs, having stretch breaks during meetings and heading outside during lunch are “normal” in the workplace.
• Managers support and recognize employee efforts. Better yet, they participate.
• We can juggle our work hours to fit in physical activity.

Consider how you could create some of these conditions in your workplace. By taking these steps, you’ll increase the likelihood that staff members both want and are able to be active during working hours.

Workplace physical exercise drives that focus only on individuals have limited success. Research shows that reaching people in various ways gives the strong chance of long-term success.

A strategy directed at multiple levels is also called an “ecological approach.”

The sort of evaluation you choose is dependent upon when you do it and the kind of information you collect.

This section outlines when to use three types: formative, process and summative evaluations.

During the Development Stage

Use formative evaluations in the planning stages to make sure that your program is based on solid information. These evaluations also help you to develop effective and appropriate materials and procedures.

Examples of formative evaluations include:

• records of upper management commitments to the program
• employee interest surveys
• workplace environmental assessments
• pre-testing of program materials

During Your Initiative

A process evaluation is used when the plan is underway. These evaluations help you:

• track what is going well and what isn’t (and how to revise your program)
• discover if you are reaching the staff members you want to reach
• describe the plan to others
• monitor who is participating in the program

During or After Your Initiative

Summative evaluations happen when the plan is already in place or completed. Use this sort of evaluation to measure what employees like about the plan and what could be improved.

All three types of evaluations have their place. The evaluation you choose is dependent upon the time and financial resources you have available.

What Do You Wish to Achieve?

Ponder why you’re evaluating and what your assessment is going to measure.

If you’re trying to learn whether plan has been thriving, see if you stuck to your mission statement and met your objectives.

If you don’t have a mission statement or goals, agree with management and your employee Employee Wellness Program Committee how your organization will track success.

By way of example, you can track success by changes in:

• Physical measures (e.g., strength, flexibility, waist circumference of workers).
• Psychological measures (e.g., employee morale, satisfaction levels, stress levels).
• Productivity measures (e.g., decline in absenteeism rates, increased employee productiveness).

Thinking About staff members

If you’re considering making improvements to the plan, consider whether the plan is still relevant and fitting for workers. See if there are any obstacles to participation in the program or to participation in physical activity during work.

As staff members are the ones participating in the program, it’s significant to give them a chance to provide feedback on the physical activity plan.

Choosing an Evaluation Method

Decide on your evaluation method. Both measurable results (e.g., absenteeism rates or questionnaire responses) and descriptive results (e.g., one-on-one interviews or focus groups) can be used to evaluate. The method you choose will depend on the time and funding available and what you want to measure.

Deciding How to Do the Assessment

Decide when and where you will do your assessment (and who will be evaluated). For more information, read the “Types of Evaluations” section on this website.
You might want to pilot test your assessment (e.g., with members of the Company Health Promotion Program Committee) before sending it out to employees. The employee Company Health Promotion Program Committee might also wish to evaluate the initiative’s planning process.

Doing the Assessment

• Compare your outcome to baseline information (i.e., assessment results from before the launch of your plan). If you don’t have this information, save your assessment outcome to compare with later results. You can also look at other information you may have, such as employee satisfaction survey results.
• Analyze and share meaningful and simple-to-understand results with upper management and staff members.
• Assessment results can be used to improve the current physical exercise program and/or to advance new drives in future.

Prior to launching your Workplace Physical Activity Program, summarize the information you’ve gathered and plan your next steps.

At this point, you have

• gained reinforcement from upper management for the Workplace Physical Activity Program
• formed an Workplace Wellness Program Committee
• assessed what is possible in your workplace
• found out what employees want and need in a Workplace Physical Activity Program.

Based on this information, you’re now ready to cultivate your action plan to boost physical activity at your workplace.

With the Company Health Promotion Program Committee, take the following steps.

• Combine the outcome of the employee survey with the workplace environmental assessment, and report to upper management and employees.
• Prioritize the possibilities at each of the “levels” (individual, social, organization, community, policy) in the workplace listed in “Keys to Success”. By way of example, suppose a sizable group of staff members show an interest in biking to work. Since these individuals may want to shower and change after their commute each day, you might give showers and changing facilities priority in your workplace. Bike racks might also be important for making employees’ bikes secure during work.
• Consult the list of practical suggestions found this website.
• Establish a mission statement (one which aligns with your organization’s overriding mission statement) to define your purpose and help guide your process. Setting goals and objectives will help you achieve your mission statement.
• Put together a plan or blueprint discussing what you have learned. Make program and exercise recommendations with timelines, identify resources and assign responsibilities. Revisit the list of tasks outlined in “Step 2: Forming an Employee Committee.” Seek management approval to move ahead.
• Once your initiative is in place, it’s valuable to encourage it to staff members. Organizing a launch is a great way to do this. A formal launch also demonstrates management responsibility. If staff members don’t know about the initiative, they can’t take advantage of it!
• Establish what you need to track to show that you have accomplished your goals and objectives. Measure these factors before you start. This way, when you evaluate later, you will know if there has been a change.

To succeed in encouraging physical exercise during the workday, you must learn what staff members need and want. They are the individuals whose actions you are trying to effect, so it’s vital to be aware of their needs and gain their backing.

The Employee Interest Survey

Ask employees questions that allow you to assess such key characteristics as age, gender, social relationships, family responsibilities and current physical exercise participation.

It’s important to know this information so that your physical exercise program meets employees’ needs. Workers will not participate in something they’re not interested in.

Ask employees what they want, and then enable changes that fit with their needs and working conditions. For example, employees may not wish to do activities that make them sweat, because they do not want to shower at work.

Ask workers what the company could do to make it easier for them to be more physically active during work. If there’s a common behavior throughout your organization, a single change could affect an abundance of people.

For example, suppose a big group shows interest in biking to work. They may want to shower and change after their commute. You might give priority to installing workplace showers and changing facilities. Secure bike storage might be important as well.

If you’re launching a program that requires going outside, begin in the spring. By the time winter comes around, participation is already a habit.

Involving employees is key to building physical exercise participation rates. People are more willing to participate in and support physical exercise pushes when they are involved in decision making.

The following tips will help you produce your own employee interest survey:

• Keep it short (no longer than 10 minutes to complete).
• See that staff members know why you are doing the survey.
• Rather than using all open-ended questions, which can be long and difficult to analyze, ask people to choose from a drop-down list of possible responses.
• Ask for comments and recommendations in one open-ended question at the end.
• Make it confidential and anonymous. Do not request information that may identify a person.
• If you’re including a list of potential programs or environmental changes, be sure your workplace has the facilities and resources to offer them.

Workplace Physical Activity Programs: Forming an Employee Committee

Although reinforcement from the top is essential to a thriving initiative, reinforcement from other employees is also significant.

Once you get the go-ahead from management, identify others who are interested in the project and form a Company Health Promotion Program Committee to help determine the next steps. Depending on the size of your workplace and the amount of employee time management is willing to contribute, this Company Health Promotion Program Committee may be advisory or may plan and carry out the initiative.

The Corporate Health Promotion Program Committee could include workers from human resources(HR), occupational health and safety and finance. It’s also a good idea to involve employee from other areas who have an interest in promoting physical exercise. Terms of reference will define the boundaries of the project. For example, it’s important for the Corporate Health Promotion Program Committee to have clearly defined and understood tasks. Possible tasks include the following:

• Assessing your workplace environment
• Carrying out an employee interest survey.
• Establishing a mission statement and goals.
• Writing a physical exercise or wellness policy declaring the organization’s responsibility to physical exercise.
• Brainstorming program ideas.
• Promoting, communicating and marketing the plan.
• Coordinating specific activities.
• Deciding how the program will be evaluated.
• Continually assessing what is or isn’t working and adjusting the plan.

Before making plans to encourage physical activity during work, it’s important to find out what is “doable” in your workplace.

You do not want to raise employee expectations by offering something that’s not feasible due to funding or space limits. By way of example, it’s not realistic to suggest putting in a fitness facility if there’s no space for it. Be open, however, to creative ways around limitations.

Workplace Physical Activity Programs: Discovering What’s Possible in Your Workplace

Check with recreation departments or fitness facilities for diagrams of the local walking trails or underground pedways. Great walking trails may be right around the block from your workplace.

Below are some inquiries to help you assess your workplace:

• What facilities or opportunities does your work space have that make it easier to be physically active during work? For example, do you have stairs, bike racks, showers, space for a fitness facility, factory walking lanes?
• What nearby facilities or opportunities could workers use to be more physically active during work? Are you near sidewalks, walking trails, neighborhood centres, bike lanes for active commuting and/or exercise facilities?
• What resources are available?
• Can the initiative access funds, personnel, space, equipment, facilities?
• What is the structure of your business? By way of example, consider employee size, working hours, number of sites, unusual shifts, length of lunch breaks and ability to use flex time.