Maintaining a high level of employee fitness is an important way to keep your health insurance costs down. Employee fitness providers can help you enhance the productivity of your workers. Workers also tend to be sick less often if they are physically fit.

An employee fitness help program can advise you on how to get a health program started and how to keep your employees motivated to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Aside from the obvious physical benefits, an employee fitness program is a great job perk. From an employees standpoint:

1. An employee fitness program can significantly lower your employees' stress levels.

2. An employee fitness program can increase the well-being, self-image and self-esteem of the employee.

3. An employee fitness program can increase the stamina of the employee.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Sign up for a free employee fitness program online

If you want to start small and not invest a lot of money in a fitness program, you can join one of the many fitness organizations that allow you to sign your group up for activities. Some of the programs focus on simple activities that almost anyone can do, such as walking. Others use different kinds of physical activity to get results.

I recommend: Participate in an online program such as America On the Move. You can easily enroll participating workers and make this your company’s employee fitness web site. You can also encourage your workers to participate in the Adult Fitness Test. Both programs are free.

Utilize a worker fitness web site

There are quite a few worker fitness providers that offer websites to help employees track their exercise regimen. Some programs cost more than others. Some programs encourage gym membership while others encourage activities such as walking that don't require any special equipment.

I recommend: MediFit Corporate Services offers an online worker fitness website. This program motivates workers to participate in some type of exercise each day. Each worker has a personalized website to record his or her activities. Pacific Elite Fitness has a worker fitness web site so your employees can track their health gains and weight losses. They also send trainers to your facilities once a month to assess employees’ progress.

Hire employee fitness consultants

Whether you just want a simple program that involves a few treadmills and stationary bicycles, or you want a full-fledged fitness center on the premises, you can find consultants to help you achieve your employee fitness goals. It's simply a matter of you deciding how important the employee fitness program is to you and your company. Consultants can help you work through this process.

I recommend: Club One Fitness manages over 60 corporate fitness centers. They can consult with you as you set up your worker fitness site. Precept tailors your employee fitness information to create a customized health and fitness program for your employees. This means your employees not only have a fitness center on the premises, they have way to track their progress.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Make sure all employees have the chance to participate in the employee fitness program. Post signs in the break room with pertinent information about worker fitness goals. Schedule motivational speakers from time to time. If you have a fitness center on site, make sure everyone has time during the workday to access it.