“The Force, it's calling to you. Just let it in.”

Maz Kanata to Rey; Star Wars: The Force Awakens(2015)

In the latest “Star Wars” movie, we learn yet again that theForce, or the power to do something unique or extraordinary, maylie within each of us, but it can take a cast of thousands of StormTroopers, Resistance fighters, and Jedi warriors to help awaken it.By the same token, as human resource and benefit planprofessionals, it's your job to awaken the Force within youremployees—the Force to take those sometimes extraordinary steps tolive a healthier, more productive and even happier life.

So how do plan sponsors meet that challenge? That's the questionthat is keeping many employers up at night, according to a 2015survey from the Midwest Business Group on Health (MBGH). Employee engagement—or lackthereof —seems to be a ubiquitous challenge. In the MBGH survey, 81percent of employer members said they were seeking better ways toincrease employee engagement in their health improvementprograms.

So why does population engagement seem elusive to so manygroups? Here are seven criteria to consider when structuring yourprograms to awaken the Force within your employees and drivegreater engagement in your .

1. Manage Your Corporate Culture

In Star Wars movies, “Force” abilities can be attained throughintense willpower, resolve, conviction, discipline, focus, andattention, and become easier with time, belief, commitment, andpractice. Sound familiar? These are the same characteristics ittakes to change poor, lifelong health choices. For most people whodon't live life according to a Hollywood script, finding that Forcewithin us to live a healthier, fitter lifestylerequires constant reinforcement.

For employers, the single most important variable impacting yourability to awaken your employees “Force” is your corporate culture.Who you are as a company isn't just about what widget you make orwhat service you offer. It's about your values, your environment,your corporate persona—your culture. A healthy, supportive cultureenables and embodies healthier employees.

Wellness experts have been talking about the value of instillinga “culture of health” for more than two decades. And, within thoseorganizations which have been practicing and evolving this conceptconsistently, you will find that wellness participation has becomesecond nature to most employees. Wellness has taken over as a “wayof being,” evoking an intrinsic motivation to embrace health as acore value.

How did these organizations achieve this nirvana of wellnessculture? Research has defined specific criteria that alloworganizations to measure progress toward achieving a culture ofhealth. The HERO Employee Health Management Best PracticesScorecard is an industry-leading tool used to evaluate andbenchmark six domains of an organizations wellness initiative,including organizational support.

Areas influencing an organizations culture include leadershipsupport, employee involvement, a supportive environment (onsiteprograms, access to healthy foods, flex schedules, etc.), healthpolicies, availability of programs and resources to support healthimprovement, a short- and long-term strategic plan, and incentives.The Scorecard benchmarkings show that companies with a greaterdegree of organizational support have higher wellness programparticipation rates and greater success in managing health trendsand cost spend.

In other words, a properly cultivated and evolved culture ofwellness immerses employees in an environment that reflects,inspires, and even rewards an attitude focused on healthy living.It becomes a community of people all contributing toward the samecause. In the absence of an all-encompassing, long-term,health-focused culture, a wellness program can feel like, well, theDark Side: Just another corporate demand on an already stressed-outworkforce.

2. Obtain Educated Buy-In

Few corporate wellness programs can be successful without firstobtaining heartfelt buy-in from employees. All the more reason totake to heart what Yoda, the former Jedi master, once said: “Do ordo not. There is no try.” Employers must be willing to do what ittakes to obtain buy-in from employees. That means gettingface-to-face with employees to educate them and understand what isimportant to them.

Do this by demonstrating how employee risk factors impact healthpremiums, absenteeism and presenteeism, and by reinforcing employeeeducation and information with ongoing analytics that illustratehow changes over time are improving lives and other bottom linefactors that are important to employees and the company. Properlyeducated employees will come away understanding how their behaviorswill influence their own personal pocketbook, as well as how theirbehavior impacts business costs, company growth, and profits.

Wellness Champion networks are a boots-on-the-ground approach toeducating all employees. These networks demonstrate organizationalcommitment to wellness; providing an avenue for front-lineemployees who are passionate about wellness, to educate their peersabout the program, rally engagement, and collect feedback on whattheir fellow colleagues want in a program. Champion networks willassist in keeping all employees invested in your program and morewilling to take steps to demonstrate their buy-in.

3. Quantify the Risk

“Your eyes can deceive you. Don't trust them,” Obi-Wan Kenobionce said to the young Luke Skywalker. That's a good health lessonfor employees, too. Individuals cannot judge their own health risksjust by looking in the mirror, but employers can help them betterunderstand their health risks by offering free health riskassessments or biometric screenings.

These screenings can serve as an intervention point to alertemployees to health risks they may be unaware of, thereby betterengaging them in their health. They also can serve as a benchmark,planning tool or an annual health improvement assessment tool. Whenused in combination with a wellness scorecard, automated healthreminders, wellness challenges, or other communications thatrecommend health improvement actions, employees can remain moreengaged in reducing their health risks.

A growing body of evidence also suggests that these techniques,used in concert with telephonic or electronic personal healthcoaching, are more successful in motivating individuals to set andachieve goals, leading to a greater overall reduction in healthrisks.

4. Incentivize to Get the Big Payoff

The big payoff at the end of most every Star Wars movie is,ultimately, the defeat of the Dark Side, whether accomplished byblowing up a Death Star or returning a fallen lightsaber to itsrightful owner. Wellness programs are seeking that same kind of bigpayoff: overcoming the dark side of human nature that resistschange. To help overcome that resistance, employees must bemotivated, inspired, or encouraged. Extrinsic motivators, such asincentives, are usually necessary for initial engagement andemployee buy-in.

Programs that include explicit health promotion incentives,particularly financial, have proven to influence employees' initialdecisions to become familiar with and start to participate in ahealth improvement program. Properly designed incentives will helpemployees take responsibility for the behaviors which increasetheir health risks. In many cases, employee success with earlyefforts can produce an intrinsic desire to continue, regardless ofwhether the incentive is continued.

A properly strategized and communicated program, with anincentive initiative that resonates with employees, can savecompany's thousands of dollars per member, as demonstrated by amultitude of business and organizational case studies across thenation during the last decade.

Recognition of the valuable role incentives play in wellnessprograms led to changes in the Affordable Care Act, increasing themaximum permissible reward for health-contingent programs from 20percent to 30 percent of the cost of individual health coverage,and up to 50 percent for programs designed to prevent or reducetobacco use.

How you choose to incentivize your employees is up to you. Justremember, the big payoff probably won't happen without the rightmotivation.

5. Consider a Multi-Tier, Yet Simple, IncentivePlan

“Always in motion is the future,” Yoda said. And always inmotion is the future of your wellness plan. As such, employers andwellness vendors continue to tweak their programs or research newprogram designs to enhance engagement. If your current incentiveplan is seeing declining or stagnant results, perhaps it's time totry something different.

Recent research suggests, for example, that a simplemultiple-tier incentive designs may have more favorable outcomesthan a single tier approach. In a study recently published onlineby Population Health Management Journal, two incentive designs forachieving step goals were evaluated. During 2011, employees whoreached a goal of 500,000 steps per quarter were rewarded with afinancial incentive. The prevalence of participants in the stepprogram was 64.7 percent. By comparison, in 2012, a three-tier stepgoal plan was implemented, incorporating a flexible design whereemployees could be rewarded for reaching 400,000, 650,000, or900,000 steps per quarter.

The participation in the tiered program increased to 72.8percent in 2012. In addition, the percentage of employees whoreached at least one quarterly incentive increased from 36.3percent in 2011 to 51.4 percent in 2012. The average steps per daywere higher in 2012 compared to the same employees in 2011. Thefindings suggest that a tiered incentive design, focusing on onegoal (physical activity in this case) may be an effective approachto further enhance employee engagement in physical activity.

6. Offer Alternatives and Accommodations So All CanParticipate

In “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” Han Solo is asked, “Is thatpossible?” To which he replies, “I never ask that question untilafter I've done it.” Not only is it possible today to offeralternative wellness plan options to accommodate all needs, butit's the law. Wellness programs must provide reasonableaccommodations for individuals whose health status may not enableparticipation.

It is important to obtain appropriate legal advice about whatconstitutes special needs, how those needs are documented, and whataccommodations are available and reasonable in the context of thewellness program expectations. An example of an accommodation isenabling a person to take a series of online health improvementclasses or make a visit to their medical doctor to earn anincentive, in lieu of completing a designated physical activity ormeeting certain biometric outcome measures.

7. Lead By Example

Everyone needs an Obi-Wan Kenobi, a Yoda, or a Rey to lead thecharge, impart wisdom, or set an example for how we learn to usethe Force within us. Executives, benefits managers, and wellnesschampions are the Yodas of your group. Make sure they are front andcenter in wellness discussions, challenges and other activities,leading by example. Employee testimonials are also powerful tools:inspiring and encouraging others to reach deep inside themselves todiscover and nurture that willingness to be part of the employeecommunity striving to reach a new level of health awareness.

The opportunities to ensure greater engagement truly aretremendous. Follow these seven steps to find the healthier, moreengaged Force within your employee group.