Engaging Millennials: A How To for Health and Wellness Programs

B:y Hollie Randall / January 2017 Hospital for Special Care How do health and wellness programs help recruit and retain this critical generation? Well, though I’m sure you are familiar with the stereotypical fight between generations by now, millennials are here and now and they are everywhere. They account for 25% of the US population1, $1.3 trillion in U.S. consumer spending2, and have surpassed the American Baby Boomer and Gen X generations in size. Millennials are beginning to enter the health and wellness world on their own as they leave their parents care and/or have their own children. They are becoming increasingly more important to engage and attract as they are the largest upcoming generation to use health and wellness services. The first step to answering the question is to simply know who they are. Born in the years between 1980 and 2000, millennials are between 17 and 37 years old; give or take a couple years depending on who you talk to. They are the first generation of the new millennium; hence their name. Being born into the Great Recession, the quickly progressing digital age and the age of terror, they have a unique and different sense of the world compared to previous generations. They are confident, optimistic, socially conscious, individualistic yet collaborative and are continuous learners. Millennials are the most racially diverse of all the previous generations and have become the most educated generation in the United States. They exercise more, eat smarter and smoke less compared to previous generations. So…if they seem to be healthier and more optimistic than previous generations, how do health and wellness programs help reach and retain them? 1. Take a holistic approach: For millennials, health and wellness takes a whole new meaning. Staying healthy doesn’t mean not getting sick. Instead, it is a daily pursuit for the ultimate goal: to be happy and to achieve balance in all aspects of life - the body, the mind and the spirit. This means encouraging exercise and a balanced nutrition as well as encouraging practicing stress relievers and getting emotional support. Not only that, but the fitness world doesn’t just include feeling good. It has been found that many millennials respond to health and wellness when it includes looking good too: appearing energized, being at a healthy weight and looking fashionable. 2. Get online. Especially across all platforms: desktop, tablet and mobile. If a millennial cannot find you or your company online, you may as well not exist. Millennials share their opinions online, generating conversation with the goal to gain insight from others because they trust the

                                                            1 http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/reports/2014/millennials‐breaking‐the‐myths.html  2 IBID 

opinions of their peers. They use phone apps to track their daily activity, search for healthy foods; they even count how many steps they take in a day – you name it, there’s an app for that. If you want to reach a millennial, you better be online. (And not last-updated- in-2009 online. 2017-up to date.). To retain them, you still better be online. If you’re a healthcare provider, they’ll feel more connected to their care – before, during and after. If you’re a….you get the gist. 3. Provide accessible information. Millennials are more likely to take preventative measures to staying healthy than to visit a doctor. And they are pretty good at self-diagnosing small issues themselves before even considering asking a doctor. They may be harder to get into your offices, but they will gobble up content heavy information online. So put the research and information where they are comfortable getting it. 4. Make it easy and convenient. Whatever it is: messaging, getting involved, etc. Make it uber-convenient (pun intended) or you already lost ‘em. ‘Nough said. 5. Be authentic with your messaging. Whether it is online or face to face, building a genuine relationship with a millennial will win them over. Though many would argue that most millennial’s lie about themselves online, they actually value transparency in relationships with brands and with people – perhaps because is harder to find. They will follow those that are honest, have integrity and most importantly, they want to be treated with respect. This authenticity needs to come from the employees, the programs and even the collateral/website – every way you reach a millennial. Be authentic when talking to patients and provide details and options. Share success stories of real people losing weight, eating better, or overcoming a disease. Lose the flowery marketing language in brochures and get to the point, provide facts and information. 6. Give millennial’s the chance to be a part of something bigger than themselves. NY Times calls millennials the ‘Nice Generation’ for their want to take part in ways to help a greater cause. That rings true with the body positivity movement to value your body and your identity in order to have a better overall health and well-being, and make positive changes in your life and in the community. Align with these ideals: taking care of your health in order to make positive changes beyond. Allow millennials to see and understand what impact your health service or product will have on them, but more importantly, how their health will impact others. Unlike the common misconception, millennials can in fact be loyal. They key to their loyalty is engagement. Not only attracting their attention, but keeping it. Using all of these tips together you should be able to reel them in – and keep them. For further information contact Hollie Randall at hrandall@hfsc.org