Employee incentives can bring about improved wellness outcomes — if the goals are adequately tailored to the organization and the individual.
Depending on the company culture, you could take the “little league” approach of “everybody wins,” or decide to “raise the bar,” said Brendan Kerrigan, senior vice president of PayFlex. But setting the bar too high can result in “apathy after the attempt,” as employees simply give up, he warned. “We need to make sure it’s achievable and inclusive.”
Initial and ongoing program communications should be part of an overall strategy, but also tailored — not just to the company’s needs but to specific locations, Kerrigan said. “We think the most successful solutions are actually going to be individualized at the unit level.”
The targeted health risks and desired outcomes should be determined upfront. One key is to make sure your health risk assessment (HRA) is capturing data you can use. Another is not to “ignore the other 80 percent” of employees who are low-risk, Kerrigan said. “Make sure they continue in their current status” or improve.
Kerrigan spoke March 8 at a National Business Group on Health conference in Washington, D.C.
Typically, a program’s first year will be about program participation, the second will introduce “qualified completion events” such as health coaching, and the third will be outcomes- and results-driven, Kerrigan said. Measuring factors like participation, health status and utilization over time should enable you to gauge program performance and ROI.