For wellness to work, you need to embrace the ‘trinity of value’

In human resources and insurance circles, we’ve been talking about wellness for quite some time. And most employers have dived in and now offer a wellness program.

So, how are these wellness programs performing? Too often, the answer is “not well.”

The problem isn’t the concept of running a wellness program for employees; it’s the execution. Properly implementing a wellness program is still new to many organizations. Oftentimes, employers excel at parts of wellness program execution, but do not have a well-rounded approach. Additionally, new research from the Integrated Benefits Institute suggests that a poor work environment creates obstacles to wellness adoption by employees, and diminishes a program’s chances of success.

Also see: How employers can battle double-digit Rx cost increases

We’ve found that there are three core elements to making a wellness program work at peak effectiveness. We call this the “Trinity of Value.” The three components are:

• Benefit Plan Design
• Employee Communications
• Rewards and Incentives

While Meat Loaf once sang “two out of three ain’t bad,” that won’t work for executing a wellness program. You need all three components of the Trinity of Value to make wellness work and create value.

Designing a Wellness Program That Works

While some may scoff at how important wellness is, your workforce cares. Consider that 87% of employees said they consider health and wellness packages when choosing an employer, and 70% of employees report that wellness programs positively impact their culture at work[i]. So, yes, employees are comparing wellness programs. They’re aware of the possibilities, and how you put your program together does impact their connection to your organization.

Each organization is unique, and the wellness program must fit the population. Employers need to understand their workers, their current state of wellness and what they like to do. For instance, if the wellness program includes a runner’s club but the CEO is the only runner, that wellness program is not going to work.

If possible, it’s helpful to tie your consumer driven health plan to wellness metrics.

The Employee Communications Disconnect

Communicating effectively is difficult these days. We all have access to so much information, and it’s all competing for our attention. This raises the bar for employee communications, and statistics show that most employers are not clearing that bar. Research by J.D. Power and Associates shows that 75% of employers feel that they are effectively communicating to their employees; however, only 46% of employees feel their employers are giving them clear and effective communications about their benefits. That’s a huge gap.

Also see: Financial incentives can more effectively boost wellness participation

It’s incumbent upon employers to fix this problem. It begins by identifying participants “WIIFM” – What’s In It For Me. In other words, you have to understand employees’ motivations and play to them. From there, you can build a baseline of wellness education that teaches, engages, drives participation and speeds implementation. Communications must be simple, clear, frequent, and distributed through a variety of channels.

And, importantly, it’s important that top leadership participate. This demonstrates the importance of the initiative to the rest of the team by showing that management is invested in it.

Driving Participation Through Rewards and Incentives

If you build a wellness program, will they come? Not automatically. Employees need a reason to participate. A 2013 study showed that 78% of employees said incentives are important to them; 61% of employees report that incentives are a key reason to participate.[ii] The flipside of that statistic is that many of those employees are ignoring the incentives they say they want – a new study from Fidelity Investments and the National Business Group on Health (NBGH) shows that less than half of employees earned the full incentives available to them in 2014.[iii] This despite the fact that wellness-based incentives have jumped 61% over the last five years.

Experience shows that the best way to drive participation is by utilizing “carrots” rather than “sticks” – rewards instead of penalties, as most employees like the opportunity to “get something extra” while they will grumble if they feel they’re at risk of having something taken away. These rewards can include items such as gift cards, employee premiums, increased employer contributions and extra PTO.

Another option is to have a “stick inside the carrot” – which is a matter of an incentive is presented to employees. An example is that you offer a discount in employee contribution for smoking cessation, rather than adding a surcharge for people who continue to smoke.

Research shows that creating wellness programs for employees improves productivity, which enhances profitability. A Harvard study showed that for each dollar spent on wellness programs, large companies got back $3.27 in reduced health costs, and $2.73 in costs connected to absenteeism.[iv] Clearly, wellness is smart business. However, you must execute well in order to drive ROI and what we call VOI – Value of Investment.

Employers that embrace the Trinity of Value are the ones that will make wellness work – and reap the benefits.

John Turner is CEO of Corporate Synergies.