10 Top Tips for Increasing Staff Engagement with Wellness Initiatives

Here are number of ways in which any call centre can help improve staff engagement with wellness programmes, followed by some behaviour changes adopted by staff participating in wellness initiatives.

1. Get people excited

Communicate the value to individuals within your call centre of your wellness initiatives, not the value to the organisation. Explain clearly the personal benefits they will experience if they take part.

2. Create something for everyone

A range of flexible initiatives that are well subscribed is much more successful than a limited number of expensive, under‐utilised interventions. Be creative with your wellbeing solutions.

3. Cultivate the motivation to opt in rather than the desire to opt out

Start small and make your initiatives effective. Word will spread and everyone will want to take part. Before you know it, you’ll be managing a waiting list rather than spending time persuading people to come along to events.

4. Keep it fresh, keep it simple

Timing is a big part of staff adopting wellness change, so make sure you send regular, consistent messages and keep the initiatives simple. Ongoing, straightforward initiatives will have a greater cumulative effect than fancy interventions that no one understands. Think about awareness-raising events and practical, useful workshops rather than complicated competitions or online
surveys.

5. Appeal to groups and individuals

Think about the people and the teams within your call centre and target them accordingly. Some staff will prefer group initiatives, others will opt for interventions targeted at the individual. If you’re not sure what people would respond to best, ask them.

Behavioural Changes

Here are some behaviour changes that individuals taking part in wellness programmes can make.   The idea is that, if you’re in charge of a wellness programme, these are key strategies and decisions that your initiatives will lead staff towards.

6. Change your attitude

Your wellbeing success is dependent on how seriously you value yourself. From this moment onwards, your wellbeing needs to be a top priority. Living a healthy life should not be an added bonus in your routine, it should be the bedrock of success in all other areas.

7. Make sure the timing is right

If you sense some hesitation around putting your wellbeing first, ask yourself what’s stopping you, and then systematically remove or reframe each of these obstacles. For example, if you think you’re too busy to be healthy, consider the long-term implications of continuing your current routines. This will provide the motivation for instant action.

8. Make a list of the biggest personal incentives for living a healthy life

If you don’t have plenty of good reasons to do the right thing, you’ll come up with hundreds of good reasons (i.e. excuses) to do the wrong thing, and then you’ll rationalise these behaviours. Be clear on what good wellness will provide you with, including energy, focus, personal effectiveness, positive mood, confidence and a sense of achievement. What else can you add to this list? A long list of benefits will overcome any excuses or procrastination.

9. Change your behaviour

Start with the simple things. Get hydrated, eat regularly, watch your portion sizes, get active today and protect your down time. One simple step at a time will lead to dramatic results. Simple steps will generate progress which will in turn generate further motivation.

10. Set yourself up for success

Decide on some healthy living objectives and some deadlines to meet these targets. Enter some events, team up with some colleagues to eat healthily, set some parameters around your relaxation time and decide what you’ll do with this time. Whatever resources you feel have been lacking for wellness success in the past ‐ gather them around you now and use them to keep you on track.

Jeff Archer, The Tonic (www.the-tonic.com)

To find out more about boosting employee engagement in the contact centre, read our articles:

• 11 Team Engagement Ideas to Inspire Your Remote Workers
• Remote Staff Engagement: 9 Strategies to Make Your Team Smile
• Staff Engagement: How to Motivate Employees – With a Checklist