Health Incentives - How To Create a Wellness-Oriented Company Culture

In last week's blogs I talked about the "whys" of implementing a company wellness program. Today, I would like to give some tips on how to facilitate that process. Having a healthy, wellness-oriented workplace depends heavily on the kind of company culture you have in place. Company cultures develop from the shared beliefs, values and traditions within your organization, which in turn is heavily influenced by your employee demographics and management style.

Obviously, the type of industry you are involved in is also a factor, since athletic organizations like professional sports teams would naturally emphasize physical conditioning much more than your average corporate office job -- which is usually sedentary by nature. However, this does not mean the company culture cannot be changed if your company is the typical white-collar corporate environment. It'll simply require some additional work to change prevailing attitudes to embrace wellness.

Company wellness programs work best in an environment where the goals are understood and accepted by the majority. A sense of shared goals and group cohesiveness will help develop new positive social norms. To begin, a survey to identify areas for improvement can be a tremendous help in planning out a wellness program. With some data on employee lifestyle choices, you can tailor your wellness programs to employee interests. For example, if you know your employees enjoy golf, you are more likely to draw voluntary participation if you sponsor company golf outings.

Implementing the health and wellness plan will be your biggest challenge, since changing existing norms can be very difficult. You can increase your chances of success by involving your employees in the decision making process -- if they have a hand in the creation of the wellness program, they are more likely to participate in it. You should, of course, make sure that your employees understand how the benefits will relate to their job through insurance savings and increased productivity. Tangible rewards, both in financial and self-actualization terms, are powerful motivators for change.

However, NEVER resort to requiring mandatory participation. Forced participation is counterproductive to fostering a culture of wellness as it is more likely to bred resentment towards management. Instead, rely on gentle persuasion and the steadily changing social norms. You can speed up this process by encouraging your employees with incentives. This can be anything from providing perks like workout equipment and discounted access to wellness program components to giving out awards and recognitions.

For more ideas on how to implement targeted health programs, check back in next week when I will be discussing how to make the transition to a smoke-free workplace.