If You Build It, Will They Come?

Getting employees to engage in new programs and benefits is always a challenge HR leaders face. No matter how good the benefit is, there’s no guarantee of participation.

Changing the way your employees receive their healthcare is one of the biggest benefit adjustments your organization can make. Apprehension about employee participation rates after making such a change is normal.

Why?

Because traditional healthcare systems have conditioned people to expect a poor experience.

Overcoming the sick care mindset

The long wait times, inconvenience, and limited provider interaction common in traditional healthcare systems have trapped many people in a sick care mind-set. It forces them to wait until their health issues are too big to ignore before they make an appointment that will cost them time off work and offer them little more than a prescription as a solution.

A Vera clinic is different. Free, unlimited preventive care and health coaching, longer appointments with providers, and starter prescriptions are just some of the benefits. And it’s all available on-site or near-site, so they can get the care they need when they need it.

Download Now: Benefit Strategy Design: Solving an Impossible Task

So, how can you make sure that your employees understand the benefits and engage with their new on-site clinic? Here are our favorite ways to promote participation.

1) Communication, communication, communication

Clear communication about the benefits of Vera helps employees understand how their new clinic is different.

Prior to launch, we work with our clients to communicate clinic benefits across multiple channels. When the City of Kirkland opened their Vera clinic, clear communication strategies led them to a patient engagement rate of 90% within the first year.

2) Incentives

We believe that our patient experience is unlike any other and transforming an employee into an engaged patient only takes a single visit. Incentives help to make that happen.

Designing clear incentives around Vera services, like our Annual Whole Health Evaluation, give employees a reason to walk through the clinic doors and see how their new clinic can serve them.

3) Workshops

Workshops such as lunch & learns offer an opportunity for curious employees to learn more about their new clinic.

Clinic providers and HR leaders can answer employee questions, provide additional info, and meet with employees face to face. This connection helps break down barriers that might otherwise make employees apprehensive about making their first visit.