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County to survey staff and issue RFP as it explores employee wellness incentive program
Summary
Human resources briefed supervisors on options for a countywide employee wellness incentive program, recommended issuing a request for proposals and surveying staff first; board members generally expressed support for exploring an RFP and pilot approach.
Human resources presented options for a countywide employee wellness incentive program on Sept. 30, outlining market trends, a summary of current county wellness offerings and recommendations for next steps.
Amanda Pheasantmeier (Human Resources) told supervisors the county already offers some wellness resources and that the recently approved WellBeats digital platform would be available to employees through the Wellmark portal. Pheasantmeier recommended surveying employees to determine what incentives and activities would be most meaningful, then issuing a request for proposals (RFP) for a vendor to operate and administer an incentive program if interest is sufficient.
The presentation covered three motivations for employer wellness programs: employee mental and physical health, workforce recruitment/retention and potential long‑term reductions in absenteeism and health costs. Pheasantmeier described a number of incentive models used by other public employers, including points‑based systems that convert activity to cash or paid time off, vendor‑administered tracking and multi‑pillar approaches covering physical, mental, financial and social wellness.
Board members asked about likely costs, payroll impacts and union considerations. Pheasantmeier and Finance Director Michelle Wietner said the health‑insurance trust fund could be a potential funding source for a pilot or vendor contract; Wietner noted the fund’s balance and emphasized budget timing would likely push program implementation to fiscal year 2027 if a funded rollout were approved. Pheasantmeier said the county should start small, use employee survey and focus groups to design incentives and consider vendor partners to handle tracking, privacy and reward delivery.
Supervisors expressed general support for exploring the idea and asked HR to collect staff feedback. Pheasantmeier said she would draft an RFP only after the board indicated support for proceeding; any RFP and vendor contract would return to the board for approval before funds were committed.
