Tip Tuesday: If your incentive is broke, fix it

Forgetting the golden rule and rewarding wrong people are among the top four reasons Sykes lists for why employee wellness incentives fail

By Andrew Sykes

July 1, 2011

An increasingly common feature of wellness programs is the existence of incentives, and sometimes even penalties, to encourage people to engage, participate and succeed in their efforts at getting healthy. It stands to reason that incentives will work, since incentives seem to improve work performance in general. Employees, when asked what it would take to get them to exercise or eat better, almost inevitably tell us "incentives and rewards." It's no surprise, therefore, that the wellness industry has become convinced of the power of incentives. If you are too, think again.

There are four keys reasons why incentives fail:

1. Forgetting the golden rule of incentives.

2. Rewarding the wrong people or the wrong behaviors.

3. Classifying mental buckets.

4. Offering "if, then" vs. "now that" incentives.

Click Here to view the details on the 'Four Keys' and read the entire article!