Maximize the value of health and wellness programs through incentive management
Today's savvy employers know that the key to health care cost containment is to offer employee wellness programs designed to improve and maintain health. Wellness programs not only reduce health care costs, but also decrease absenteeism and presenteeism. The number of employers offering such programs rose from 62 percent in 2005 to 66 percent in 2006. (1) But offering wellness programs is not effective if employees are not motivated to participate.
Incentives that workHow can employers keep employees engaged in programs designed to create a healthier, more productive workforce? They can offer their employees immediate incentives for participating in a program or for achieving certain short-term goals. Offering incentives is a win-win program. The employer gains a greater return on investment (ROI) from increased program participation -- which results in reduced health claims and absenteeism -- and the employee gains the immediate incentive, as well as the benefits associated with the program. Incentives can take on many different forms. The key is to offer an incentive that is powerful enough to encourage the threshold level of participation that the employer needs to achieve their goals. For instance, research shows that you can expect a two-thirds participation rate in the completion of a Health Risk Assessment by offering a $25 incentive. (2) As part of Ceridian's portfolio of Health & Wellness solutions, we offer an Incentive Management program that can be configured to boost motivation and participation in your other Health & Wellness Solutions. Ceridian Incentive Management fully integrates with the Life Health Assessment and Life Enhancement Coaching. Ceridian Life Health Assessment (LHA) is an online assessment tool that identifies and evaluates at-risk individuals based on their lifestyle behaviors and health conditions by integrating health and related psychological, interpersonal and life event issues, and then assessing their impact on employee absences and productivity. Life Enhancement Coaching uses lifestyle and behavior modification coaching to provide personalized support, tools and information to individuals who want to make lifestyle, health or behavior changes. Incentive Management allows employers to choose between two employee incentive programs: a one-time reward upon completion of an activity or a points-based system in which an employee collects points for participating in the program -- points which can be cashed in for various rewards. Employees can use their points to select merchandise with a wellness focus or select a cash card or payroll contribution as a reward for their program participation. How does it work?
An example of an incentive opportunity is the completion of the Life Health Assessment. An employee signs on to take the LHA. Upon completing the assessment, the employee can choose from an array of merchandise with a wellness focus such as yoga mats, fitness kits and workout videos. When an employee participates in Life Enhancement Coaching, incentives can be awarded at one or many intervals during the program. You can choose to provide a reward at the time of enrollment, at the time of completion or both. Employers may further choose to offer incentives at integral program milestones in an effort to keep employees motivated to modify their unhealthy behaviors. Ceridian Incentive Management will soon be expanding to deliver incentives aligned with other products and services, including Disease Management, Leave Administration and employer/employee tracked activities such as health fair attendance. Reward options will be expanded to include tax advantaged account contributions (HSA, HRA, 401(k)) and insurance premium discounts. Incentive Management is designed to help you reward and motivate your employees effectively and efficiently. Our program can be customized to meet the needs of your organization -- dramatically increasing the number of employees who participate in wellness programs and other initiatives to make a measurable impact on your employee health care costs and productivity. To learn more about Ceridian's Health & Wellness programs -- including Incentive Management -- contact your Ceridian representative. Sources:
- Employee Benefit News, v20 no11 pp 54-55, Bernhart, Molly, Sept. 1, 2006.
- Understanding Wellness Incentives, David Hunnicutt, WELCOA President (2005) [Interview with David Chapman, MPH Chairman and Senior Consultant, Summex Corporation].
