The Wellness Councils of America Have an Employee Wellness Test for Your Community

Employee wellness program administrators, get ready. The Wellness Councils of America have thrown down the gauntlet.

No, they’re not inviting you to some bare-knuckle confrontation in the parking garage. That would be counter to the principles of the twenty-one-year-old Omaha, NE, non-profit, which is dedicated to encouraging healthier lifestyles, focusing primarily on better employee wellness through the workplace. WELCOA, as it’s more succinctly known, is an organization of like-minded individuals, corporations and Wellness Councils in the United States that defends the health of the American worker.

The corporate wellness challenge? To see if your organization can help catalyze and catapult your community to prestigious “Well City” status.

Are You Fit for “Well City”?

According to WELCOA, Well Cities are those cities that take health management seriously at every level, from the individual citizens to the small non-profits to the largest employers.

In Well Cities, a significant portion of the community has taken a committed approach to employee wellness. Employers are drawing lines in the sand, agreeing to help employees eat healthy, get exercise and de-stress.

Employee Wellness Is a Win-Win Proposition for Employees and Employers

As you may already know from reading the articles in our employee wellness library, a focus on health risk management and proactive employee wellness planning has tangible benefits for both employees and employers. Employee wellness statistics show that better health means better productivity and job satisfaction. Some employees actually consider corporate wellness programs to be compensation - as valuable as a high salary.

But it doesn’t stop there. The numbers also show that employee wellness ROI can be in the range of $2.30 to $10.10 per dollar spent on corporate wellness programs, benefits and initiatives. These savings come in the form of lower absenteeism, less sick time and lower health insurance premiums.

Current Well Cities

The list of WELCOA Well Cities is diverse and exclusive:

• Bangor, ME
• Kanawha Valley, WV
• Kearney, NE
• Gainesville, FL
• Hobart, IN
• Lincoln, NE
• Chattanooga, TN
• Omaha, NE
• Jacksonville, FL

Employee Wellness Mavericks - Get Well City Soon!

We at EmployeeWellnessUSA believe that service-minded employee wellness coordinators should think long and hard about the ancillary benefits of shooting for Well City status in your community. Not only is it a good opportunity to meet like minded organizations and city officials in your area, but it has the potential to galvanize your workforce. Applying for Well City status suddenly makes their health and wellness a matter of civic pride.
For more on employee wellness and Well City, see the WELCOA Well City website. Or simply contact our employee wellness specialists about your corporate fitness plans.

Health management programs - with perks

Health management programs don’t always stir the blood of employees, even though they’re designed to do just that. How do you get employees to enroll in health management programs - and stay enrolled?

The brochures for these programs tout the benefits to employees and employers. Employee wellness statistics show that there are tangible benefits. Employee wellness programs actually do save lives by getting workers to take their health seriously.

However, St. Louis, MO-based Maritz Inc., the world’s biggest incentive company, has applied their own invigorating twist to health management by offering gift rewards to employees who participate in health management programs. The gift reward program is Maritz’s own Exclusively Yours® plan. Health management participants earn points, which can be then redeemed for merchandise, electronics, restaurant vouchers and travel, much like a frequent-flier program.

Bribing your staff to enroll in health management programs?

Doubtlessly companies that don’t do incentives as their main business will be tempted to cry foul about using such a rich carrot to incentivize health program enrollments. Not every company can throw that kind of money at health management resources - and not every company has the built-in cost savings as a business that specializes in offering incentive programs.

Doubtlessly rich incentives like Maritz’s will break through the glaze that appears over many employees’ eyes when they’re encouraged to do something new, different or difficult. For many employees uncomfortable with health management and exercise, “new, different and difficult” would apply to health management programs. So where does that leave employers who are unwilling or unable to offer incentives for health management program enrollment?

Successful health management programs motivate employees - before and after signup

Health management program administrators should keep the long-term view in mind when trying to get employees to take that critical first step. Even the best incentives can fail in the face of faltering organization, badly-designed health management programs and wavering support. Make sure to run good corporate wellness surveys before you build your health management programs so employee input and needs are being met by your health management programs. The goal is positive outcomes, not high enrollment numbers.

Health management programs cannot survive managerial apathy. If executive and managerial participation is widespread and heartfelt, employees will follow their leadership. The potential rewards and corporate wellness benefits are clearly worth reaping, for both your employer and your co-workers. If you’d like a free health management program consultation, don’t hesitate to contact EmployeeWellnessUSA.