No matter what type of incentive is selected for a financial wellness program, the value must be high enough to motivate employees to take action. (Image: Shutterstock)

A recent case study by Enrich Financial Wellness illustrates the role incentives can play in increasing participation in financial wellness education programs, which are proving to be a valuable benefit to both employers and employees.

It's no secret that U.S. employees could benefit from financial education:

• 49 percent of employees are concerned about their finances.
• 46 percent consider finances their main source of stress.
• 48 percent of those with financial stress are distracted at work.
• 16 percent say financial stress negatively impacts their health.

Employers with financial wellness education programs can experience reduced absenteeism, increased productivity, greater employee engagement and retention and reduced health care costs.

Related: 10 findings on employee financial wellness

But reaping the rewards requires high adoption rates from the start. Employees may be slow to participate in a financial wellness program because:

• They aren't aware of it: To use it, employees must know about it.
• The value isn't understood: Employees may not initially recognize the impact of improving their financial health. In other words, they don't see what's in it for them.
• They aren't motivated: Despite awareness and recognized value, employees may not be interested in or excited about the program.

Offering incentives can make a big difference in overcoming these obstacles.

Enrich case study

In the case study, an organization with 52,000 employees committed to contributing $250 to an employee's HSA if they completed five out of nine financial wellness courses offered through the program. Prior to implementation of the incentive, the financial wellness program had:

• 6,277 sessions per month
• 26,777 page views per month
• 4.25 page views per session
• 8 minutes, 2 seconds average time per session

After offering the incentive, participation increased substantially:

• Sessions per month increased to 9,424
• Page views skyrocketed to 95,819
• Page views per session more than doubled to 10.17
• Average time per session increased to 14 minutes, 18 seconds

These numbers show a clear correlation between the incentive and increased participation. This organization's success demonstrates what a well-structured incentive program can do.

Be creative and strategic

No matter what type of incentive is selected, the value must be high enough to motivate employees to take action. Some organizations offer sweepstakes, giving employees who complete financial wellness courses entry into a drawing for a $250 gift card. Other employers may offer a cash incentive or even extra vacation or PTO.

Rewards for participation do not need to be limited to course completion; companies may incentivize enrolling in the program or creating a financial health action plan to follow over time. Any combination of accomplishments can be rewarded, but companies need to consider some aspects before rolling out an incentive to employees.

Employers need to consider the value of the incentive and ensure it is high enough to motivate employees to take action. For instance, a $10 gift card isn't going to prompt many employees to change behavior and adopt a new program. Similarly, companies need to ensure the amount of the reward does not put a strain on the bottom line, even with the expected future return on investment. Incentives should correlate with the size of the task completed. For example, enrolling in the program may result in a smaller reward than completing multiple courses.

Developing an incentive program should be collaborative among upper management and strategic based on overall goals.

Read more: 

• How to raise the bar for financial wellness
• Financial wellness programs pay off for repeat users
• 4 behavioral strategies to boost financial wellness

Kris Alban is executive vice president of Enrich, a San Diego-based company that provides financial wellness education and action plans to more than 300 employers nationwide.