If you’re at all like us, you don’t want your wellness program to be a flop. You put time, money and energy into your employees’ health, so why not strive for success?!
Here are a few common reasons that wellness programs can fail.
HINT: Avoid doing these in your employee wellness program!
Reason 1: Some people are already healthy.
It’s true. Some people have already made strides towards a healthy lifestyle. While these people are likely to engage with your wellness program, they’re also less likely to have drastic results.
What can you do?
Build wellness activities into your program that will appeal to them. Be sure your activities have different levels of difficulty so all participants can gain something.
Reason 2: High-risk participants are ignored.
It might seem easy to leave out people that are at risk for major health issues. While that might boost your numbers, are you really helping your entire workforce? Nope.
What can you do?
Create options in your wellness program that make it customizable. This can include letting employees set their own goals, incentivizing based on engagement rather than results, or even providing wellness activities designated for high-risk individuals.
Reason 3: The program is not accessible.
If you only offer activities outside of work, is it convenient for your employees to be a part of? If you only offer activities at work, are you really focused on wellness? Your program needs to not only be beneficial, but accessible to your employees.
What can you do?
Meet your employees where they are. Take your company culture into account, and go from there. Maybe a weekly walking meeting is a good option, or maybe participation in community events is what your employees are really after.
Reason 4: The focus is on weight loss.
Let’s be clear. Weight loss and wellness are not the same thing. Yes, weight loss can be an important part of wellness, but if that’s the focus, your program is entirely too narrow.
What can you do?
Broaden your horizons! Include things like financial wellness, mental wellness, social wellness and nutritional wellness. All of these combine for an overall healthy lifestyle, not just weight loss.
Reason 5: Tracking isn’t done effectively.
Tracking and evaluating your progress is essential in maintaining your wellness program. Without this piece, you won’t know what’s working or what’s a waste of resources.
What can you do?
Track everything. Effort and expenses? Yup. Success? Of course. Failures? You betcha. All of these things are important for evaluation.
Reason 6: Incentives are ineffective.
Now we’re not saying all incentives are ineffective. When done right, incentives can really boost engagement. When done wrong, though, they can spell disaster for your wellness program.
What can you do?
Offer incentives that matter and don’t disincentivize. For example, you could offer gym memberships, flexible hours or even HSA accounts for participants. Avoid any type of penalty for lack of participation, though.
Reason 7: The provider is all wrong.
Some wellness service providers just don’t fit with some company cultures. And, that’s okay! It’s important to find a provider that does, though, so you can get the most out of that type of partnership.
What can you do?
Work with us! Just kidding—we know it’s more complex than that. You really do need to do your research though to be sure that the provider you choose aligns with the goals and culture your company has.
So as we said, avoid these seven common failures like the plague! If you recognize any of these in your wellness program, take a step back and start thinking about solutions.
How else do you ensure your wellness program doesn’t flop?
