3 keys to improving employee engagement in health and wellness programs

Key tactics for increasing the impact of investments in employee benefits—and getting the most out of benefits providers

Employers can attract and retain top talent in today’s competitive market by offering robust and comprehensive benefits. Employees value a company that provides a diverse set of benefits, from time off to discounts on services. Sometimes referred to as point solutions, separate unique benefits for employees may be available, but in many cases, employees don’t use the benefits as much as employers would like.

Over 60% of employees whose employers offered at least 6 benefits reported a higher satisfaction with their employer.¹ Yet the utilization data for the point solutions employers offer tells a different story. The average utilization rate for point solutions is between 4% and 15%²—which means that less than one-sixth of the employee population uses the benefits they claim to value. Furthermore, when employees aren’t using the benefits their employer offers, not only do they not have the desired impact on the population, but also the return on investment for these benefits is very low or nonexistent.

So, how can employers bridge the gap between the benefits their employees say they want and what they’ll actually use? To help your employees—and your business—get the most out of the benefits you offer and increase the impact of your investment, it’s important to focus on 3 key levers: awareness, engagement, and action. 

Awareness, engagement, and action—how employers can maximize the impact of employee benefits

• Awareness
  • Ensure employees are aware of the program through effective communication
  • Leverage internal and external communication
  • Engage business leaders in program promotion
• Engagement
  • Make benefit accessible to all employees
  • Clearly define incentives and value of benefit
• Action
  • Use data to evaluate and update benefit offerings
  • Educate and empower employees to take clear next steps

Awareness: Employees can’t use what they don’t know about

Imagine this scenario: Lucy works for a company that offers annual health screenings. She receives one email about how she can schedule a screening at the beginning of the program, but it’s from the screening vendor and she’s not sure if she’s eligible. The company doesn’t communicate about the program, and her manager never mentions it. It’s hard for her to get time off, even for a program that her company supposedly wants her to participate in. When she asks her colleagues about it, some say they got the email but most just deleted it. Unless Lucy’s employer makes changes to the way they engage (or don’t engage) employees in the health screening program, Lucy and her colleagues will likely never participate.

Unfortunately, situations like Lucy’s are all too common, especially when it comes to wellness benefits. Employees can’t participate in programs they don’t know about, so raising awareness of wellness programs is essential for increasing their impact.

Communication makes a difference

To maximize awareness, it’s important to send internal communications about wellness benefits available, while also leveraging the communications that your wellness vendor partner sends. Why both? Your internal communications can promote the value of the benefit, and why it’s important for employees to participate. Additionally, if employees hear from their employer first, they may pay more attention when they receive a communication from the wellness vendor.

Yet internal communications aren’t enough. For many employees, privacy is a barrier to participation in certain wellness benefits. For example, some fear that their employers may see their health screening results, and because of that concern, many are hesitant to participate. When the detailed benefit communications come directly from the wellness vendor, it often reassures employees that their results are private and that their employer can’t see their results.

What’s more, you likely have a diverse employee population, so the communications sent to employees should also be diverse. An employee who sits at a desk for most of the day may see the program reminder emails, while a front-line employee may get more out of a poster pinned up in the break room. Using email, text messages, and a mix of print and digital communications can help reach a wider audience.

Leaders need to “walk the walk”

When business leaders believe in the wellness benefits being offered to employees, it shows. In fact, through their support and participation, leaders can often promote a program better than any email or poster! Business leaders, managers, and supervisors can create a culture of health within their teams by modeling healthy behaviors—such as getting a health screening or participating in company health challenges.

Business leaders also champion wellness benefits through communication and support. Employees may receive emails letting them know about wellness benefits, but those messages have a greater impact when their manager also brings it up during a team meeting or huddle. When leaders let their team know they are participating, and perhaps more importantly, encourage their team to take time off if needed to participate, it is clear that the program—and their health—is truly important to the organization. 

Strategies for improving engagement

Employers who have high engagement rates for their wellness benefits often have at least one thing in common: they make it easy for their employees to participate. In today’s culture of multi-tasking and short attention spans, if participating in a wellness program is complicated or confusing, people won’t do it. It’s important that all employees can easily access the benefit, communications are flexible and personalized, and benefits and incentives are clearly showcased.

Wellness isn’t “one size fits all”

Most organizations employ more than one type of worker. An hourly employee at a customer service center has different needs than a site manager at a warehouse. Remote work has also become increasingly common, and many companies have a mix of on-site, hybrid, and remote employees, potentially located across the country. Furthermore, an employee population is likely made up of many races, ethnicities, and socioeconomic backgrounds, all of which contribute to their ability to access benefits.

Because of this diversity, it’s important that an employer’s well-being program has multiple options to meet differing needs. An employee participating in a health screening program might attend an on-site screening event at their workplace, visit a local clinic, or even have the option of completing a screening collection at their home. Having flexible options increases the likelihood of participation.

Similarly, wellness program communications shouldn’t look the same for every employee. For maximum engagement, communications should be personalized and reflect the employee's stage on their health journey. Those who haven’t engaged with the program should receive reminders to participate, while others who have taken action (completed a screening, coaching session, etc) should receive information about suggested follow-up activities. If all employees are getting the same email reminders at the same time, the chances are high that those messages are getting ignored.

Is the “why” clear?

For some employees, health is a top priority, and they will participate in an organization’s well-being program every year. But to make the most of the program, an employer needs engagement from more than just those health-focused individuals. Offering an incentive to participate is one way to encourage participation—depending on the population, anything from a benefits premium discount to a modest gift card could help motivate employees.

In addition to a financial incentive, employees should understand the intrinsic value of the well-being benefits their employer is offering, such as feeling more in control of their health. This can often be more powerful and lasting than any monetary reward and can help make the benefit a powerful retention tool for the organization.

Yet whether there’s a financial incentive or an intrinsic value—or hopefully, both—it’s important that employees are aware of the value that the program brings. This is where communication once again can make a big difference and create a culture of health within the organization. Show up where employees are, using communication channels they’re comfortable with to highlight the value of the wellness program, including:

• Email reminders
• Company intranet
• Internal social media
• Video messages
• Posters in high-traffic workplace areas
• Team huddles 

Action needed: Wellness programs are only the first step

For many health-focused programs, such as health screenings, employees need to not only participate in the program itself, but also take follow-up actions to get the full benefits of the program. This is where ensuring employees are connected to the intrinsic value of the program can play an important role. Additionally, to help employees make the most of these benefits, vendors who act as true partners, with the company’s health goals in mind, can really add value. They can do that by providing easy-to-use communications collateral, assuring the privacy and security of employee results, delivering actionable population-level data, and streamlining the pathway for employees to access well-being benefits—whether they’re provided by them or another vendor.  

Data and decision making

Data can make a difference when it comes to getting the most out of health benefits. Programs that can provide robust population-level data help employers see not only the engagement rates for their employees, but also more detailed health needs. For instance, through deidentified aggregate health data, an employer can see the top health risks for their population and make decisions based on that. If their employee population has a high number of employees with elevated A1c, maybe they decide to implement a diabetes prevention program, a health coaching program, or something similar. Similarly, if the organization employs a large number of men over age 45, they may consider adding PSA testing to help mitigate cancer risk. Having that health and demographic data, as well as a wellness program partner who can help make decisions that align with the employer’s goals, can maximize the program’s value.

Educate and empower employees

Sometimes, employees may understand the incentives and even the intrinsic value of the health benefit, but maybe they don’t understand what it specifically means for them. Results from a health screening, for instance, are meaningless if an employee doesn’t understand what is being tested and why, and what their results mean.

An effective well-being program should educate and empower employees by

• Clearly explaining what is being tested and what the results mean
• Using plain language to talk about potential health risks
• Offering a way for employees to connect with a provider about their results (quickly and virtually, for maximum accessibility)
• Providing a summary of results to easily refer to at follow-up appointments
• Outlining clear next steps for employees to take to improve their results

By focusing on program awareness, employee engagement, and clear action in a wellness benefit, employers can make the most of the program’s outcomes. These factors can help ensure that the benefits employers carefully select to help attract and retain excellent employees are used by their population, and that they have a positive impact on both the business and its most valuable resource—its people.