A twist on the old health fair
February 6, 2009 by Bill MeltzerPosted in: Employee education, Healthcare costs, In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views, Our best management idea, Wellness
A few years ago, company health fairs were all the rage. Now they’re making a comeback, with a slight twist.
In the past, the fairs often better served the vendor(s) who came on-site than the needs of the hosting company or their employees. More recently, companies have refined the planning of the events to serve specifically to launch or promote a wellness program.
To be successful, the events need to serve two purposes: boosting employee education and building their enthusiasm to participate in the wellness program. To make sure you and your employees get the most out of a wellness fair, it helps to be aware of the plusses and minuses – and some little touches that can mean the difference between a so-so event and a hit.
Double-edged sword
On the plus side, employees received easy-to-grasp information on key wellness topics such as illness detection, symptom control and smarter medication practices. They also receive important services like free blood-pressure screenings.
On the down side, some experts said the more newfangled events were more like “disease fairs” than “health fairs.” In other words, the tone was little too somber and employees weren’t particularly tuned in because they weren’t enjoying themselves.
Wellness program consultant Dr. Ron Goetzel believes that the savviest firms strike a balance in their health fairs. Stick with the screenings, but also feature exhibitors who offer “lighter,” more enjoyable services. Examples:
- a booth from a local health-food store
- a chair-massage station
- elder-care info from the AARP, or
- a “complimentary medicine” info booth (e.g.,a chiropractor or an acupuncturist).
Offering incentives
In many cases, employees still need an incentive to attend the fair and get the desired screenings, in addition to doing the fun stuff. Some real-life programs that’ve worked:
- a contest offering prizes to employees who visit every station
- quizzes and prizes based on info from different vendors’ literature
- flex-scheduling or time-off incentives for getting screened (e.g., a comp day or an extra afternoon off), and
- cash incentives (as little as $20 and as much as $100) to people who voluntarily take part in various screenings.
May 1st, 2008 at 1:58 pm
Adding incentives is a really great idea and encourages people to attend your fair. We had a customer who gave each attendee a pedometer at the beginning of the event and had them log how much they walked during the fair. It was a great idea!
June 17th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
Another twist on the traditional health fair could be to team with an on-line health screening company. You can simply notify the employees of the relationship and offer them the at home health screenings as a value-added benefit. You can even hold events, at the employees expense for participation, and then give a small reward. For example, the employees can purchase two cholesterol tests and then whom ever drops their cholesterol by the largest percentage over a 3 month period can win reimbursement for the kit costs and perhaps a lunch of their choice.
February 13th, 2009 at 10:25 am
Glad to see the inclusion of complimentary medicine. How about reiki, yoga and meditation? Our company is too small to sponsor a health fair, but we have some ongoing programs that have been very successful. I give free reiki treatments to our employees, and they love it. We have also had morning meditation and brought in a yoga instructor for classes after work. Featuring these types of modalities at a health fair would be great way to introduce employees to a new approach to wellness.
February 16th, 2009 at 11:57 am
Offering door prizes and drawing at each vendor table have proven a positive for many. Local hospitals will send representatives (Dr. and nurses) to give out information on wellness, take BP, do cholesterol checks, etc. The local YMCA and gyms will come in and give demonstrations for spinning classes, Yoga, and many times offer company discounts for memberships. Using medical vendors that are health plan participants has it’s advantage, in that the company insurance program will cover the tests being done. If the vendors can bring a stand alone bus or the company has a clinic or auditorium available for on-site blood draws. The employee does not have to go off-site for an appointment. These can be done several weeks ahead of the health fair and the employees pick up their tests results on the fair day. Having local physicians and RN’s available to read results of previously completed medical tests while employees attend the health fair, encourages participation.