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“The reasons for ensuring a healthy workforce seem clear enough: Not only is it the right thing to do, it’s also good for the bottom line. Employees who engage actively in effective wellness plans are more productive, recover faster and miss less work. Moreover, a focus on wellness helps drive a positive company culture,” writes Interactive Health CEO Cathy Kenworthy for the Institute of HealthCare Consumerism.

“So why can it be so challenging at times to get employees engaged? And what can employers do to engage their employees?”

“Encouraging employees to think about their health and wellness can be difficult. It’s something many individuals just don’t like to consider (I feel fine; no time and too much work; expense; fear of the unknown; fear of doctors; etc.). Many practical tactics exist to improve employee engagement. Many of them work, and they are discussed fairly frequently.”

Here are some tips:

Know your numbers: “All good shoppers know their numbers; the size, the quantity and, likely most important, the cost. The same mindset should be brought to wellness.”

Engage now to save later: “Many shoppers use preventive products and services to avoid higher cost or discomfort later. Buying toothpaste now helps avoid the dentist later; using lawn care products now helps avoid weeds later. Similarly, prevention and proactive health management helps employees avoid higher cost treatments later.”

Offer incentives: “We all know the power of incentives in the consumer world. From coupons to frequent user programs, incentives amount to cash back in return for using a product or service. The same is true with wellness programs. Incentives can drive program engagement, create a culture of health and encourage employees to be better consumers.”

Communicate early and often: “Consumer brands try to reach you in every way that they can. Through social media, emails, telephonic, tweeting, posts, snail mail, advertising and more… Similarly, personalized, multi-channel communication is necessary to ensure program engagement.”

Consider the culture: “A well-designed wellness program that creates a culture of health and ties into the business strategy of the company, will engage employees and make them think about this topic (health), risks and costs, which is consumerism at its core. Social interactions, such as team challenges, drive greater participation and engagement.”