Now that you’ve created your action plans and are working towards creating a healthy workplace, it’s important to keep your workers’ momentum going.
Incentives rewards and recognition can motivate people that participate in workplace health and wellbeing activities, provide purpose behind behaviour change, reinforce positive values-based behaviour, role model a healthy workplace, and perhaps provide a little friendly competition between people or teams. Research has shown that programs offering rewards and incentives have stronger participant involvement and a greater number of sustained health behaviour changes.
If you are offering incentives or rewards, think about how you will:
- Gain management approval to use program funds.
- Decide who will receive the rewards. Will all attendees be rewarded or only dedicated ‘active’ participants?
- Allocate incentives or rewards. Will they be required for all activities and events or only a selection?
- Communicate your expectations. Will participants have to attend 100% of sessions or is a 10% attendance rate acceptable? Are participants encouraged to submit feedback before they receive their incentive?
- Recognise and reward dedicated and outstanding participants, such as event organisers and other champions.
Incentives don’t necessarily need to have a large financial value attached but they should recognise people’s level of involvement and contributions as well as celebrate significant milestones. If you’re considering a financial reward, set incentives at a level desirable to the wider employee group. Rewards such as refunds or suitable cash incentives may be challenging to set to a wide range of employees and income levels. Your incentive budget might be better spent on activities, merchandise or something that benefits the worksite for all employees.
Low or no cost incentives
- Recognition of participation: Provide regular progress updates to workers about plans, progress and achievements, set up a noticeboard highlighting involvement, include efforts in newsletters and look for ways of announcing involvement.
- Monthly lucky draw or lunchtime prizes for program participants.
- Celebration event (formal or informal): Individual participation certificates could be printed and distributed.
- Guest speakers: Does a staff member know a guest speaker who could come and talk to the workplace, like a local sports person or a motivated community or business leader?
- Merchandise: Do you have access to freebies such as industry specific merchandise or regularly get invitations to industry/sporting/arts events that are highly regarded by employees?
- Fruit package: Provide a weekly or fortnightly fruit package to a winning team or, even better, to all staff based on participation targets. Alternatives could include small value local grocer or butcher vouchers to put towards weekly food shopping.
- Local events: Negotiate with local sporting clubs or community halls for sole use of the venue on a given day – run a fun exercise activity or host an engaging seminar.
Moderate cost incentives
- Events: Host an event that includes employees’ families such as sports day or a picnic. This could be used to celebrate the end of a project milestone.
- Subsidies: Think about subsidising health and wellbeing equipment and activities like sporting equipment (e.g. bikes, running shoes) or gym and club memberships.
- Exclusive access: Invite participants to industry specific forums or workshops that only a small number of people can attend like leader’s breakfasts and conference workshops.
- Tickets: Sporting, theatre or festival tickets can be a great reward.
- Prizes: Considers prizes like sportswear vouchers, cooking courses, local fruit and vegetable store vouchers, local gardening store vouchers, health-oriented magazine subscriptions or charity donations.
Remember though, that there’s more to participation than prizes. When people participate in workplace health and wellbeing programs they will:
- improve their health
- contribute to positive changes in the workplace environment and culture
- get to know fellow employees and have fun!