Employee Engagement in Corporate Wellness

Do your employees engage in programs in your business? What about motivation for your team? We have the secret you’ve been looking for.

Avoid the hidden pitfalls in corporate wellness programs and learn how to foster true motivation among your team.

Boost productivity, reduce turnover, and drive innovation by understanding what truly motivates your employees.

#CorporateWellness #EmployeeEngagement #Motivation #Productivity #WorkplaceSuccess

Today, we're tackling a critical issue in corporate wellness programs that often goes unnoticed but can significantly impact your company's success: employee engagement.

As a corporate wellness professionals since 2012, we've seen firsthand how addressing this issue can transform a workplace. So, let's get into it!

The Importance of Employee Engagement

Employee engagement is the secret sauce to a thriving workplace. I can’t stress THIS secret sauce enough!!

Motivated employees are more productive, efficient, and aligned with your company's goals. They don't just work for you—they work with you to drive the business forward.

However, many corporate wellness programs miss the mark on fostering true engagement, leading to a host of problems, including decreased productivity and employee turnover.

Watch the video here on Kathie’s YouTube Channel

Listen to the epiosde here on Kathie’s Coaching Podcast (Episode 167)

A Common Mistake: The Story of the Intern

Let me share a story to illustrate a common mistake in corporate wellness programs.

Recently, I worked with a company that held an annual celebration with prizes for employees. Sounds great, right? Well, the biggest prize went to an intern who had been with the company for only two weeks and would be leaving the company to return to school at the end of the summer. Talk about a buzzkill for the team.

Meanwhile, a dedicated employee who had been with the company for five years received nothing but a free lunch. This long-term employee felt undervalued and demotivated, which is a scenario seen all too often.

This situation exemplifies extrinsic motivation—where employees are driven by external rewards like prizes or recognition. While extrinsic motivation can provide short-term boosts, it doesn't foster the long-term commitment and productivity that intrinsic motivation—motivation from within—can achieve.

The Solution: Understanding and Motivating Your Employees

So, how can you avoid this pitfall and foster true employee engagement? The solution starts with understanding what your employees value and what motivates them. And the best way to gain this understanding is through surveys.

Ask the Right Questions:

Conduct surveys to ask your employees what they appreciate, what they find valuable, and what they would like to see in your wellness program. Do they value the gym facilities? Are they using them? What kind of rewards would they find meaningful?

Implement a Rewards Program:

Think of a rewards program like earning bonus miles on a credit card. Employees can earn points for good performance, participation in wellness activities, teamwork, and leadership. These points can then be redeemed for meaningful rewards, ensuring that those who contribute the most are recognized and motivated.

Practical Steps to Foster Engagement

#1. Start with Surveys:

Develop a comprehensive survey to gauge what your employees value and what would motivate them. Make it anonymous to encourage honest feedback. Questions can include:

What wellness activities do you find most beneficial?
What type of rewards would motivate you to participate more in wellness programs?
How do you prefer to be recognized for your hard work?

#2. Analyze the Data:

Once you have the survey results, analyze the data to identify common themes and preferences. This will help you understand what motivates your employees intrinsically.

#3. Develop a Customized Rewards Program:

Based on the survey results, develop a rewards program tailored to your employees' preferences. For example, if many employees value gym time, offer points for regular attendance. If they prefer recognition in front of peers, incorporate that into your program.

#4. Use Technology:

Implement digital tools to track and manage the rewards program. Just like earning bonus miles on a credit card, employees can track their points and see their progress. This adds an element of fun and transparency to the program.

#5. Communicate and Celebrate:

Regularly communicate the success of the rewards program and celebrate employees' achievements. This not only reinforces the value of the program but also motivates others to participate.

The Benefits of Intrinsic Motivation

Intrinsic motivation is about tapping into what makes employees want to do their best because it aligns with their values and goals. When employees are intrinsically motivated, they are more likely to:

Stay with the Company:
Employees who feel valued and motivated are less likely to leave, reducing turnover and retaining top talent.
Be More Productive:
Intrinsically motivated employees are naturally more productive because they find personal satisfaction in their work.
Drive Innovation:
When employees are engaged and motivated, they are more likely to contribute innovative ideas and solutions.

Real-World Example

Take the example of a company that successfully implemented a rewards program based on employee feedback. They found that employees highly valued personal development opportunities.

So, they offered points for attending professional development workshops and participating in wellness activities.

The result? Increased participation in wellness programs, higher employee satisfaction, and a noticeable boost in productivity.

Conclusion

Motivating your employees is key to running an efficient and productive business. By understanding and addressing their needs, you can foster a workplace where everyone thrives.

If you're a CEO, HR representative, or corporate wellness professional, take our free assessment to evaluate your current wellness program.

Sign up for our newsletter for ongoing insights, and book a free discovery call with us to start improving your employee engagement today.

Thank you for tuning in to Kathie's Coaching Blog. If you found this helpful, please share it and subscribe to our channel for more insights. Peace out and Namaste.

Learn more about Kathie's story here!

*Kathie Owen, Corporate Wellness Professional*

Transcript from today’s episode:

Let's talk about employee engagement in your corporate wellness program. And one of the biggest mistakes I see made in employee engagement. So think about it. Why have a corporate wellness program, if your team is not going to participate and what does the team want to, because if you give them things that they don't want, you know, they're not going to participate well today, I'm going to tell you a story about a big mistake that I see made in corporate wellness programs and initiatives.

You're listening to Kathie's coaching podcast. I'm your host, Kathie's Owen. And on this channel, we talk about corporate wellness, Reality Transurfing, and more today we're talking about the biggest mistake I see made in corporate wellness programs that is employee engagement. So recently I worked with a company that had a party.

They had a celebration. And if this sounds like your company, don't worry, it happens across the board. So I'm not pointing fingers at anybody.

This company is very generous, just like your company. And they love to give back to their team. And they have contests, or maybe I shouldn't call them contests because they're not contests, but they have prizes that they give away and they give you a ticket that you put into a bag and you win a prize. The biggest prize of the year, or maybe it was like the second biggest prize of the year. Went to an intern. Somebody that's only at the company for two months. This person should not have even been allowed to participate in this contest.

Why? Because. You had somebody over here who's been busting their tail for your business and they got nothing. Absolutely nothing. Oh, they got a free lunch, but trust me, that person did not appreciate it. Why? Because they didn't see the value. You see the value because you're giving it to them, but they do not see the value.

They wanted this prize they worked hard all year for you. They did so much. In fact, this person's been with the company for five years and they still have yet to win a prize This happens all the time. And if it sounds like your company, it's not just, you. But there is a better way. And what does that have to do with corporate wellness?

It has everything to do with corporate wellness because it starts with a survey.

Yeah, it starts with this survey. You need to ask your employees what they want, what they value, what they appreciate. What are they going to use? Do you have a gym for your employees? Are they even using it? And if so, are you rewarding them for doing that? Oh reward Kathie's. There's that word again? I know because that reward. Could a go in to a rewards program.

And I know, you know, about a rewards program. For example, you get bonus miles every time you use your credit card. Huh. What if we did the same thing for the company? What, if we did the same thing for your team, they get bonus rewards for what? Good performance. Good productivity. Good use of the health and wellness. Factors that you have inside the company. And not only that you can do all of that digitally, just like you get your bonus miles. You get your bonus points at work.

And then from there you can easily attribute those to these prizes and therefore you eliminate the intern. That's only been there for two weeks. Getting the big prize. Instead you reward somebody who has been busting their tail for you. Who has been working overtime because all of these issues. Or because you made a huge sale and the team member worked overtime.

Yes. You rewarded them with. Certain perks overtime pay. But maybe that's not what motivates them. So let's go to motivation. There's two types of motivation. There's intrinsic and extrinsic.

When you have contests like that, your team is extrinsically motivated. You don't want extrinsic motivation you want intrinsic motivation. But how do you do that? It's kind of tricky because you have to find what motivates your employees and to do that, you need to do surveys. You need to understand.

Oh, okay. I see this motivates them. They like having these health and wellness days. They like having these type of contests. Because. When they do that, they're telling you, Hey. This works for me, instead of you telling them this is going to work for you, and this is going to motivate you because it's not going to motivate the ones you want to motivate. Because what happened with that contest is. You motivated the wrong person. He's only going to be there for three months at the most. And be gone. Instead, you've got this little person over here.

Who's been busting their tail for you. And been working very hard and working over time, trying to get things done, hasn't even been recognized for that. Maybe motivated the whole team by having a. Uh, luncheon for them or something like that, but that's not gonna motivate that person that you want to motivate because when you motivate this person and you recognize them for the hard work they have done, you have. Intrinsically motivated them. Does that make sense?

I do several videos on intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, but let me give you an example of extrinsic motivation from myself that maybe you can apply to you. I don't particularly care about waking up early in the morning to go to the gym. It's not like my favorite thing to do, but I am intrinsically motivated to do so, because I know it's going to make me feel better. I know I'm going to perform better at work. I know it's part of my morning routine, which helps me get motivated to go through the day.

Oh, there's that word again? Motivation. And I also know that it's going to benefit my family, my work, my job, my team. It's going to benefit everybody if I do it. Those few minutes of waking up in the morning. They're not the greatest, but that's not what motivates me. I remind myself, oh, it's going to be a great day.

Something great. It's going to happen today. Let's go. And especially if I go to the gym and I focus on my morning routine, my meditation. I know that's going to set intentions for my day. So let's go back to your team. What's gonna motivate them. And the only way you're gonna know is if you ask them. You ask them what motivates them.

And when you have a corporate wellness director or you have a professional that works inside your company that works with your team. Perhaps you even run a questionnaire through your company. Oh, there's a novel idea. That might just give you clues. And those clues are what you want to work with and start working on. When you have somebody like myself working inside your company, I can tell you what's going to motivate them. When you start running a rewards program, like you get on your bonus miles for your credit card on your credit card, you get bonus miles. What if you ran a program that gave your team bonus points for good productivity? Good participation in your health and wellness days. Good teamwork. Good leadership. This is going to motivate your team to go, oh, I just got five points today because I did such and such. And those points add up and then that person gets to put more cards or more points towards the prize. The big prize if they want and gives them more likely a chance to win that. Instead of your intern.

Who's only been there two months and is not putting in the work that this guy did. Yeah. So, this is one of the biggest mistakes I see across the board when it comes to corporate wellness programs, because motivation is a funny thing. And when you learn how to motivate your team and you know exactly how to intrinsically motivate them, you will find more productivity. More teamwork, more cohesion in your team.

Oh, wait a second. Your employees are running your business. Like you want. Instead of the other way around, because what happens when they get de-motivated. They're going to feel unappreciated and they're going to run your business. The way. They want to run it. You choose. All right. That's my episode for today.

I trust that you found it helpful. If you know someone who can benefit from this, please share it with them. And until next time I will see you next time, peace out and Namaste.

Employee Engagement : Avoid This Pitfall