It's no secret: Engaging employees in corporate well-being programs can be challenging.

In fact, according to research from HealthFitness, nearly 60 percent of eligible employees don't participate in their corporate well-being program. Many cite corporate culture as a barrier. Others point to a lack of information. And yet others say a personalized approach is the key to getting them more involved, including access to live experts.

So, we know there's an opportunity to better engage employees. And we know why they're not engaging with well-being programs. But what creative approaches are companies taking to engage employees more effectively? Here are three unique tactics we've developed in partnership with our clients over the last year:

1. Using Darth Vader to inspire employees

It might seem counter-intuitive to use the most storied and celebrated villain in movie history as the impetus to getting your employees more involved in well-being, but for med tech giant Boston Scientific, it worked.

The company's medical device specialists working in its Maple Grove, Minnesota facility build catheters that are used as access tubes for medical devices. This unique job requires frequent grasping of small parts and tools, long periods of standing and sitting, and often completing the work under a microscope (literally!).

Dan Dehmer is the man responsible for managing 80 medical device specialists who work on 14 manufacturing lines throughout three shifts. Employees rotate throughout the workstations on the lines during their shift. And although Dehmer and his team encouraged employees to take stretch breaks, they didn't have a mandatory set time for stretching.

Enter Darth Vader.

Boston Scientific implemented a customized ergonomic stretching program designed to help employees address issues before they become more serious medical concerns. One creative tactic used to engage employees in this program: playing the “Imperial March” (Vader's theme song) to signal to employees that it's time for a stretch break.

“Once employees hear the music shift to the ominous marching beat they know to finish their task and stretch,” Dehmer says. ”Workers even shout out 'time for a stretch break' to their co-workers to serve as a reminder.”

2. Using chat technology to reach employees where they are

One challenge many companies are facing in 2019 is reaching remote workers. In fact, reports say a whopping 70 percent of people now work remotely at least once a week.

Multinational tech companies in particular are affected by this challenge—50 percent of HP's 15,000 employees across the United State are remote workers.

Enter chat technology—in this case, Microsoft Lync and Skype.

HP and HealthFitness created the “CubeFit” program, which combines live experts with chat technology to offer energy breaks employees can do right at their desks. These classes, 10 to 15 minutes in length, are led by our fitness experts and are streamed live via Lync and Skype during the workday.

The classes cover meditation, yoga and strength training, just to name a few. And, another fitness expert manages the “chat” box to answer employee questions before, during and after the workout.

3. Make models of your employees—literally

Another unique approach Boston Scientific implemented to engage employees in daily exercise: making them the face of an internal communications campaign.

A number of the medical device specialists who work on the assembly line serve as the models for posters and handouts in the plant, demonstrating stretches and exercises.

“Our employees make realistic models,” Dehmer says. “Our diverse workforce comes from all over the world and ranges in age from recent high school graduates to pre-retirement,” he says. “If employees see one of their co-workers on the posters demonstrating the stretches, they are more likely to participate and own the program.”

He's absolutely right—the program has been so successful, some employees are even volunteering to be models for the campaign!

As more industries and employers place greater emphasis on worker well-being in the years ahead, finding creative ways to engage employees will be key. Learning what companies like Boston Scientific and HP are doing to reach these people can be a great place to start.

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Nicole Chaudet is the executive director, product execution, with HealthFitness. She is charged with leading the team that takes new products, services and product enhancements to market. She has been delivering employee well-being programs and solutions, both on-site and in a consultative role, for more than 20 years.

Instant Insights /

3 creative ways to get employees engaged in a corporate well-being program

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