HOW TO // Incorporate wellness into your recognition program.
As we come down from the sugar-high and kick off ‘chocolate recovery week’ as we like to think of the week post Easter when we swear off ever eating chocolate again, it’s a good time to look at the initiatives you are running within your workplace that support employee health and wellbeing.
While there is a lot of buzz about 'fitspo' social media stars, the latest health trends, matcha lattes and green juices – the stats tell us that having healthy, thriving employees is much more than just buzz.
According to the ABS, sickness and the resulting absenteeism is estimated to cost employers $2,700 per employee per year. Overall that results in absenteeism costing the Australian economy tens of billions a year. Add that to Medibank findings that workplace stress costs $15 billion a year, productivity reductions caused by being at work while unwell cost an average of 6 days per year, stress reduces capacity by up to 40%, obesity by 14% – employee health and wellbeing is much more than just buzz.
On the flip side, studies have found that companies that focus on wellness at work enjoy engagement rates up to 8 times higher than those that don’t, have four-times better employee retention rates, two and a half times better overall performance and see a 5:1 return on their healthy investment.
As you sip your green tea (or is that a turmeric latte today to counter the Easter effects?) here are some ways you can address employee wellness within your recognition program.
Recognise healthy activities.
Even without a formal wellness program, you can use your recognition program to call out healthy activities that your team are getting involved in. Show your support for the group training for their first 10km run, give a high-five your colleague who has been hitting the gym at 6am every day in order to reach their goals, show support to the person who hits their step count every day.
Health and wellness is important to lots of companies but not necessarily one of your corporate values. So how can you use your recognition program to call out these great health feats if they do not align with one of your company values?
If your recognition program is flexible enough to allow values that are not the corporate values (we call these day-to-day values) use these values to encourage employees on their path to zen. Simply set up a day-to-day value based on health and wellbeing, call it what you want – healthiness high-five, zen vibes, step it up, training star – add some eCards to magnify the recognition moment, and start showing your team just how much you value their wellbeing.
Give your employees wellbeing.
While you can’t do the work for your employees - and let’s face it, that 6am session can feel a lot like hard work – you can give them wellbeing in other ways. Even without rewards as part of your recognition program, you can give out health and wellbeing-based perks.
If your recognition program allows you to give time and activity-based benefits, set these up to show your team just how much you value their wellbeing. Give fresh juices, hours out of the office for training, free gym sessions, mindfulness moments, a week of salads for lunch, company branded activewear, Swiss balls to use in the office, massage vouchers, the choice is endless (a bit like that Monday morning squat session feels when you are half way through it).
Wellness program goals = recognition.
If you have a formal wellness program, when your employees hit a goal – a week of mindfulness, a streak of hitting their daily move goal or hitting their number on the scale – use your recognition program to highlight their achievement.
Remember, what gets recognised gets repeated so using your recognition program to recognise healthy activity will increase the chance your employees will stay on track to their personal goals. And healthier employees equal a healthier business overall.
Cross-promote wellness and recognition.
If you have a separate wellness program, look for opportunities to cross-over communication between your programs. Post wellness program guidelines on your recognition program, issue wellness messages to the whole company, showcase what employees will gain from the program. Similarly, update your team on how they can be recognised for their healthy efforts from within the wellness program, let them know they can be rewarded with health-based perks, earn rewards and how you are supporting them in their wellness journey.
The more opportunities you have to promote both programs, the greater engagement will be.
Reward for big goals.
If you do have budget for rewards, use these as an incentive for your team to reach their big goals. If one of your employees has a weight loss goal, give them a perk letting them know when they reach it, they will be given points to redeem for their choice of reward. Or when someone commits to running a marathon, and they do, give them not only a big high-five after they cross the finish line, but their choice of reward from the program catalogue.
When it comes to employee wellness, the impact for your business can be huge but the budget does not have to be. Incorporating wellness into your recognition program is a cost-effective way to show your employees you support their commitment to being healthy while improving productivity, engagement, productivity and retention.
That’s a win for everyone in our book!