Encouraging employee participation in wellness programs

GCI Communication Corp. is a company in Alaska, providing service for streaming television, cell phones and internet. Over the last four decades they’ve invested more than $4 billion to establish connectivity and expand access to services like education and healthcare throughout the state.  

Engagement  
Like many employers, GCI struggled getting members to participate in employee wellness programs such as biometric screenings, health risk assessments, or seeing a primary care physician. Using innovative strategies, they hoped to motivate more team members to prioritize their health and wellbeing.  

Education
GCI also wanted their employees to better understand results of their biometric health screening and the long-term benefits of healthy lifestyle behaviors. Through increased communication, they wanted to raise awareness about the importance of participating in the employee wellness program. 

Tailored incentives and education that increase wellness program engagement

GCI partnered with a wellbeing expert at Quantum Health to create a tailored program that rewarded participation and encouraged members to make healthy lifestyle choices. Significant financial rewards could be earned by completing an annual biometric screening and meeting one of two criteria:  

1. Reach four or more benchmarks in their annual screening, OR  

2. Participate in at least one health coaching call  

ADOPTING HEALTHY BEHAVIORS  

Members were rewarded for meeting four or more of these benchmarks, all of which help prevent risk of long-term health problems:  

• BMI less than or equal to 30.0  

• Blood pressure less than or equal to 140/90  

• LDL cholesterol less than or equal to 140  

• A1c less than or equal to 7.0  

• Tobacco use — negative for cotinine (nicotine)  

PERSONALIZED INCENTIVES  

Experts created incentives based on individual health data, rewarding members for hitting specific milestones.  

INCREASED EDUCATION  

Experts helped GCI design a program that communicated their available incentives while highlighting the long-term benefits of healthy behaviors. Providing additional resources and multiple touchpoints helped members better understand their biometric screening results. 

Stronger employee participation and improved health through wellness incentives

Increased member engagement, with 72% of employees receiving the wellness credit in 2021 compared with 61% in 2015  

Additional participation in health coaching calls, rising 7% during the last five years  

Improved biometric screening results, with 30% of members reporting better health than in the previous year