5 Ways to Get Your Employees Excited About A Wellness Program

Employee wellness programs take time to develop and roll-out, but are well worth the effort. Company wellness programs can improve morale, productivity, and employees' overall health, all of which benefit the workplace. To succeed, however, wellness programs need buy-in from employees. You'll reap the maximum benefits if you can get your staff excited about a wellness program.

What is an Employee Wellness Program?

Employee wellness programs are company-initiated programs designed to help employees avoid illness while improving their general mental and physical health. Company wellness programs can take several forms. Some programs encourage physical fitness, some provide employees with educational resources to improve mental health and combat stress, and some cover both psychological and physical health. 

How Do Wellness Programs Benefit Companies?

Wellness programs benefit companies by reducing health risks and providing employees with the tools to control their health. Company wellness programs lower health care costs, reduce sick days, and improve productivity. Wellness programs also increase employee retention, as personal health impacts job satisfaction.

How to Get Employees Excited about Wellness Programs

Even the most well-thought-out wellness program will fail if employees don’t take advantage of it. The following tips and tricks help get your employees excited about participating in wellness programs and encourage them to stick with the program over time. 

1. Do Your Research

Employee wellness programs must fulfill a need to succeed. Before you launch any wellness program, survey your employees to determine what they want from the program. Do they want fun physical activities or ways to combat stress? Are they interested in formal, team-oriented events, or do they prefer to take an individual approach to fitness? Ask them for suggestions on the kinds of events and activities they most enjoy: lunch guest speakers, workshops, after-work group activities, power walking, or yoga. Tailor employee wellness programs to your employees’ needs, and you’ll get more buy-in when the program launches. 

2. Market Your Program

Market your new wellness program to your employees well before the program launch. Create a catchy name for the program. Announce the program's launch on your social media platforms and internal communication systems. Combine the program’s name with your logo and use it to customize program merchandise you can hand out to participants. Taking the time to market company employee wellness programs shows employees you value them and are willing to invest in their well-being. 

Don’t stop marketing your wellness program with the program’s launch. Keep employees updated with emails, newsletters, and social media to remind them of upcoming events and share pictures of their coworkers’ achievements and thoughts on the program. 

3. Customized Giveaways

Encourage employees to sign up for your wellness program with a welcome package of customized gifts. You don’t need to break the bank on welcome gifts, but they should be useful items to help people participate in wellness events. Customize gifts with your brand logo or visuals created specifically for the wellness program. Possible gifts include the following: 

• Cooling towels such as the Very Kool Cooling Towel or the Deluxe Cooling Towel
• A 22 oz Tempercraft Water Bottle or 24 Oz. PolySure™ Measure Bottle
• Yoga mats such as the Two-Tone Yoga Mat or the Sublimated Yoga Mat
• Step counters like the Mood Pedometer Watch or the Smart Fitness Tracker

 

Customized gym wear is ideal for wellness program welcome gifts. Choose brands that have established connections to fitness and activity, such as Nike and Adidas. Possible gym wear includes: 

• The Adidas Sport T-Shirt
• The Adidas Women’s Sport T-Shirt
• Nike’s Breathe Top T-Shirt
• Nike’s Ladies Dri-Fit Cotton/Poly Scoop

 

Keep participants invested in your employee wellness program by offering prizes for reaching specific goals. For instance, employees who participate regularly in the program for a full year might receive a duffel bag or outerwear designed for active lifestyles, such as: 

• The Women’s Fitness Jacket by Charles River
• The Men's Apex Barrier Softshell Jacket by The North Face
• Champion’s Reverse Weave Hooded Sweatshirt
•  Ladies 1/4-Zip Sweatshirt by SPORT-TEK
• The OGIO Half Dome Duffel Bag
• The Medium Contrast Duffel by Port Authority
• Nike’s Small Brasilia Duffel

4. Friendly Competitions

Friendly competition can keep employees engaged with wellness programs while building a sense of camaraderie and teamwork. Competitions can be easily customized to fit your program's needs: for instance, one program might use leaderboards to track daily steps, while another might offer prizes for the first team members to complete health screenings. It’s all up to you!

5. Keep the Momentum Rolling

Keep employees engaged in your company's wellness program by giving them plenty to do. Your wellness schedule should be full of events and activities, from lunchtime guest speakers and seminars to exercise opportunities and family-friendly get-togethers. A varied, informative, and above all fun schedule of events is more likely to keep your employees’ attention and maintain their enthusiasm for the program.