January 1 – the day marked by fresh starts and resolutions tolose weight, stop smoking or live a healthier lifestyle. Morebusinesses hoping to make these positive changes stick for theiremployees are investing in employee well-being programs. But, much likethe resolutions themselves, businesses can’t just launch a programand expect it to maintain itself. It takes continued work and astrong commitment.

Workplace wellness is a $40 billion industryand growing, according to estimates from the Global WellnessInstitute. This money is being invested in well-being programs,which are designed to encourage healthier lifestyles, curb preventable chronicdiseases and ultimately reduce health-care costs for both thecompany, and individual employees.

Creating sustainable, positive changes through a well-beingprogram can be a challenge. To ensure success, encourage greaterengagement and achieve the desired ROI, you should follow thesenine best practices identified in a peer-reviewed study conductedby StayWell:

1. Garner strong senior management support

Fifty-three percent of employees who don’t participate inwellness programs cite lack of management support, according toHBR.org. To succeed, employees at all levels – from the executivesuite to the manufacturing floor – need to buy in to your program.When designing a program, you must make sure it supportsmanagement’s sincere interest in employee well-being and also meetslarger goals of reducing health risks and health-care costs, which,in turn, improve productivity and engagement.

2. Design a comprehensive program

Overall employee participation increases with comprehensiveprograms because more employee interests are addressed, accordingto Kaiser Family Foundation. To make a difference, your programshould offer something for the 70 percent of the employeepopulation who may not be ready to change their behavior yet, andaddress all aspects of well-being, including stress management andchange resiliency, as well as all stages of diseaseprogression.

3. Integrate incentives

Participation rates increase with appropriate incentives,according to StayWell research. Incentives must be designed todrive strategically important outcomes. These can come in the formof short-term initiatives that guide employees along a path tolong-term, sustainable intrinsic incentives. Or you can usenon-financial incentives, such as recognition for reaching certaingoals or games in which employees compete against each other.

4. Develop an integrated, comprehensive communicationstrategy

According to research, 69 percent of employees who don’tparticipate in wellness programs cite lack of awareness. A solidcommunications strategy – which addresses employees’ reasons fornot participating, provides feedback and recognition forparticipation, and leverages data to determine the most appropriatecommunications channels – will drive greater participation.

5. Have dedicated onsite program managementstaff

HBR.org reports that 75 percent of employees participating inwell-being programs say that a personalized, customized approachfrom on-site experts and coaches is important. Greater engagementwill occur if you have dedicated, certified well-being staff onsiteas part of the program, and those individuals are available attimes that are convenient for employees.

6. Leverage multiple program modalities

While TechCrunch reports that U.S. adults spend an average offive hours per day on their smartphones, it’s important to realizethat many employees – especially those over age 50 or earning under$50,000 annually – may not have a smartphone. While you’ll want toensure that the program maximizes employee convenience by beingavailable at any time, from any location, through an app, it isequally important to offer in-person, mail and telephone-basedoptions to engage, as well.

7. Utilize population-based awareness-buildingactivities

When population-based cultural activities are part of thewell-being program, participation rates increase, StayWell researchreveals. You will want to include activities that increase socialconnectedness, including the participation of colleagues andmanagers. Additionally, chances of a program’s success increase ifactivities are linked to your company’s greater purpose or enablesparticipants to give back to larger communities andnon-profits.

8. Offer biometric health screenings

Employers reported lowered health risk and savings in healthcarecosts when screenings were incorporated into their corporatewellness program, according to the HERO Employee Health ManagementBest Practice Scorecard. You’ll want to consider whether theprogram encourages employees to see their primary care physiciansfor biometric testing and follow up, and whether those results areincluded in the program. Also important to continued success ishaving screenings that provide instant results and in-the-momenteducation.

9. Encourage vendor integration

Integrating across all vendors to support employee well-beingincreases convenience for employees. For example, can an employee’sactivity tracker and device data be leveraged to personalize theprogram? Additionally, the program should encourage referrals andtransfers to collaborating vendors to achieve strategicoutcomes.

Implementing these best practices can result in tangiblebenefits. The StayWell research published in the Journal ofOccupational and Environmental Medicine reports health risksdeclining by 4.7 percent in companies that employed these bestpractices, compared to just a two percent decrease at organizationsthat did not. Beyond employee health risks, these best practicescan help businesses achieve tangible results and achieve theirgoals of improved health management efforts, higher programparticipation and lower overall health-care costs.