The decision to start a wellness program for employees requires a substantial commitment of both time and resources. Programs that are started for the right reasons can transform the worksite culture and the very lives of employees and their families.
There are a few factors that can predict which programs will thrive and which ones were will fail. Here is a list of health and wellness questions that can be used to help companies make the right choice on whether or not to start a wellness program.
Implementing a well-rounded corporate wellness program can have tremendous benefits for your company’s bottom line and your employees’ health. But launching an effective program requires careful planning and execution.
Follow these 8 key steps to successfully start a data-driven wellness initiative at your organization:
Step 1: Conduct Assessments
Gather data to identify your workforce’s specific health needs and risks. Distribute health risk assessment surveys and biometric screenings to employees. Review medical claims data. This will reveal top priorities to address, like stress, inactivity, or chronic conditions.
Step 2: Obtain Management Support
Present assessment findings and make the business case for an employee wellness program to get leadership buy-in. Emphasize benefits like reduced healthcare costs, higher productivity, and improved recruitment and retention. Having visible management backing is critical for success.
Step 3: Establish a Wellness Committee
Assemble a diverse wellness committee with representatives from departments like HR administration, legal and communications. This cross-functional team will guide the planning process. Employees should be included too.
Step 4: Develop Goals and Objectives
With your committee, establish S.M.A.R.T. goals and measurable objectives based on assessment data. Tailor initiatives to focus on identified health risks and your workforce’s needs.
Step 5: Establish a Budget
Factor in costs for incentives, communications, events, technology, services, staffing and confirm budget sources. Gradually expand your budget annually as the program matures.
Step 6: Design Wellness Program Components
With goals set and budget confirmed start designing initiatives like
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Health screenings and education seminars
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Fitness challenges and team sports
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Healthy food offerings and nutrition counseling
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EAPs, stress management, and mental health resources
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Preventative care and disease management services
Step 7: Select Wellness Program Incentives or Rewards
Incentives boost engagement. Offer individual rewards like gift cards, premium reductions, or PTO for participating in activities. Consider team incentives for department challenges.
Step 8: Communicate the Wellness Plan
Promote the program launch through multiple channels like email, intranet postings, posters, presentations, and team meetings. Share activities calendar and incentives. Communicate impacts and successes regularly to sustain excitement.
With these steps, your wellness program will be thoughtfully designed to meet your employees’ needs and aligned to your business goals. Start small, pilot test initiatives, and expand the program gradually each year. Continually evaluate outcomes and employee feedback to refine and improve over time.
When well executed, a corporate wellness program benefits employees individually through improved health. It also strengthens your organization by enhancing productivity, morale, recruiting, and culture.
So follow this 8-step guide to lay the foundations for a successful, impactful wellness program that your workforce will embrace and your leadership team will value for its measurable ROI. Make employee wellbeing a strategic priority at your company and you will reap the rewards.
Do you want wellness to be company perk or a benefit?
Benefits like health, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance are non-wage compensations on top of your wage or salary. They are powerful tools employers can use to recruit and retain employees. They require long-term commitments from leadership and they are strategic. Some perks, on the other hand, they are extras that can be shared with and removed from employees with little effort.
- vacation time
- flexible work schedules
- free food
- company car
Perks are changing and transient while benefits tend to persist. Depending on how a wellness program is perceived it can be a benefit or a perk. If you want a wellness program that is a perk, you don’t need to worry about reaching any goals or producing positive outcomes.
If fact, if wellness is to be a perk, you can do pretty much anything you want under the guise of wellness. If, however, you want wellness to be a benefit, be prepared to support the program for many years. Commit to helping all employees participate and reward them for doing so.
When wellness is a benefit it has a purpose and strategy behind it. Here are a couple examples of wellness offered as a perk and wellness offered as a benefit.
| Wellness as a Perk | Wellness as a Benefit | |
|---|---|---|
| Wearable Fitness Tracker | Buy and hand out fitness trackers to your employees | Provide incentives for those who demonstrate regular physical activity, Don’t buy and give them away, have employees bring their own, or offer a discount. Use a wellness platform that will sync with the devices for easy data collection. Reward employees who are active or use their devices in team-based exercise competitions. |
| Healthy eating | Hand out restaurant gift cards | Work with your cafeteria manager or vending machine vendor and offer price discounts for healthy foods. Complete the Stop and Go Fast Food Nutrition Guide campaign and teach employees how to eat out and eat healthy. |
| Fitness | Pay for gym membership | Pay for gym membership but use gym participation data to reward employees who exercise regularly. Offer a health insurance premium discount to those who are regularly active. |
How will you know if your wellness efforts are successful?
Here are some important health and wellness questions to ask:
- If you start a wellness program today, how would your worksite be different three years from now?
- What would success look like?
- How do you plan to quantify that success?
- What measures will you use?
Before you start a wellness program, sit down with your management team and answer these questions. If you’re having a hard time answering them perhaps your organization is not ready to start a wellness program.
If you can answer them, use your answers to help you select a wellness vendor that can provide you data on how your program is improving employee health behaviors, lowering health risks, and reducing employee related expenses. Remember, to successfully measure the impact of your wellness program you need to gather the right data at the beginning and across time.
The WellSteps performance guarantee is used by many organizations as a measure of program success. They refer to it before they begin a wellness program.
Year 1. At the end of year one, program participation will exceed 50% of all eligible participants.
Year 2. At the end of year two, program participants will demonstrate a minimum improvement in health behaviors or health risks of no less than 7% For example, at the end of year two, program participants will be 7% more physically active than when they started the program.
Year 3. At the end of year three, program participants will have fewer medical expenditures than non-participants. The savings will total at least 150% of the cost to deliver the program.
How to Start a Corporate Wellness Program
How do I start a wellness program?
When you start a wellness program, you want to design it around the specific needs and desires of your organization’s workforce to ensure it is relevant and appropriate. Consider conducting assessments of your company to determine their health and wellness needs.
How can one get healthy?
There are numerous ways to get healthy. The most important ones follow a balanced diet, drinking plenty of fluids, being physically active, exercising regularly, having 6-8 hours of sleep per day, meditation, spending time with near and dear ones, avoid stress.
How to start a corporate wellness program?
Write official materials Once you organize all the details of your new corporate wellness program, you should write an official handbook for employees. The handbook should contain all the information about the wellness program, including: 10. Publicize and launch your wellness program
How do you ensure a successful wellness program?
Secure Executive Support and Engagement: To ensure the success and sustainability of your wellness program, garner support from top-level executives within your organization. Engaging leadership is crucial for creating a culture of well-being and effectively implementing the program.
