Incentives: To Pay or Not to Pay

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IncentivesTo Pay or Not to Pay?

• By Tabatha Elsberry, BSHP, CMI, CWWPC

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Today

• Goals WHY?
• Definitions
• Pros and cons
• Levels of Programming
• Dos and donts
• Incentive Planning Process

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Why have incentives?

• Because human behavior is purposefulAND.
• Wellness requires WORK..AND
• Delayed Gratification

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Goals?

• What should incentives accomplish?
• Get interest
• Have a higher peak of participation
• Less drop off in participation
• Should motivate extrinsically, but
  then.INTRINSIC!

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Definitions

• Incentive Positive, desirable reward
• Disincentive Negative, undesirable consequence
• Influence behavior

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Definitions

• Pay Value Perceived positive or negative type
  of reward to adhere or avoid certain behaviors
• Motive Force Extent to which an incentive
  produces compliance response rate

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Types of Incentives

• Tangible
• Material goods
• Financial
• Time off
• Privileges
• Intangible
• Belonging, acceptance, recognition, mastery,
  competition

• Worksite
• Plan utilization
• HRA
• Participation
• Preventive care
• Health and Productivity
• Achievement

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Pros to Incentives

• Flexible
• Easy to do
• Multiple possibilities
• Powerful

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Cons to Incentives

• Possible to reward inappropriate behavior
• Not easily known pay values
• Can create lie
• Dependency creating
• Unintended artifacts

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Levels of Programming
Fun light T-shirts
MerchandiseNewness Water Bottles
Cash, Coupons Belonging
Coupons Premium ReductionsTrinkets
Fitness merchandise
Benefit Dollars 15-25 Part 19-58
Part 65-95 Part
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Dos

• Determine target audience
• Attractive reward
• Clear rules to earn it
• Balanced effort
• Simple, efficient record-keeping
• High motive force retention
• Targeted evaluation
• Modifications over time
• Direct to behavior of focus
• Meet regulations/laws HIPAA, EOE, ADA
• COMMUNICATE EARLY, OFTEN, WELL

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Donts

• Wrong rewards
• Not enough of reward
• Effort vs. reward balance
• Overly complex
• Poor Execution or Follow-through
• Have too much trouble
• No reminders

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Planning Process

• Planning
• Design
• Implementation
• Transition
• Evaluation

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Planning Design

• Congruent with work culture
• Past positive experience for group
• Clear desired behavior
• Simple set of rules
• Test against HIPAA, unintended artifacts,
  gaming
• Possible pilot group to test

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Implementation

• Easy to convey and share rules
• Strong endorsement from mgt
• Simple record-keeping
• Multiple marketing channels
• Reminders of status at increments
• sentinel features to limit gaming

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Transition

• Improvements or modifications each cycle
• New rolled out with fanfare
• Efficient record-keeping with changes
• Adhere to start and end dates
• Emphasis on participants, directed at
  non-participants

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Evaluation

• Annual evaluation
• Goals for incentive clear up front
• Set of measurements determined ahead of time
• Measure economic return
• Use evaluation to modify for next cycle

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Questions