Looking for ways to increase attendance, engagement, productivity and profitability?

Consider implementing an employee wellness program. A recent fastcompany.com post cited a number of the benefits employee wellness programs offer, including:

Decreased Absenteeism

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, on average, a man with a healthy weight misses two fewer days per year due to illness or injury than overweight/obese employees (three days per year, as compared to five). That may not sound like much, but if a significant portion of your workforce is overweight, two days per employee can add up to a lot of missed work each year.

Increased Engagement

Most busy employees appreciate solid wellness programs that offer things like exercise advice, healthy eating tips and convenient access to health screenings. The offerings make people feel as though their employers care, which ultimately drives engagement and productivity levels.

Effective wellness programs are also shown to control preventable healthcare costs, reduce stress, and lower workers compensation and disability costs. Properly implemented, they can be “just what the doctor ordered” for your organization’s bottom line.

From weight management programs to massage therapy, your options for offerings are limited only by your imagination and budget. How can you make sure your efforts are effective? Use these ideas from Exact Staff for promoting health and wellness in your organization to improve overall productivity:

Determine Your Goals

Are you trying to lower costs, make your organization more attractive to job seekers or increase employee productivity? Before deciding which programs to offer, know what you want to achieve.

Set Aside Sufficient Funds

To be effective, your wellness program must be adequately funded. Depending upon how yours is structured, the Wellness Councils of America estimates that a program can cost anywhere from $10 to $125 per employee.

Encourage Participation

Obviously, your wellness program won’t succeed unless your staff participates. Get employees excited and involved by offering incentives such as:

• lower healthcare premiums or co-pays
• cash contributions to HSAs or other reimbursement accounts
• point-based reward systems for program participation

Track Results

Once you implement your program, conduct long-term studies to measure employee participation rates, absenteeism levels, workers’ compensation claim rates, productivity levels and program costs. Based on the data you collect, make adjustments to your program to increase its effectiveness.

How is a Wellness Program Similar to Exact Staff?

They can both help you combat rising healthcare costs, decrease work-related stress, improve employee productivity and gain a competitive recruiting edge. Want to learn more about the positives of working with our team? Contact Exact Staff today.