Creating an employee wellness program is a good method to create a more contented and healthy workforce. Higher productivity levels are the result of all these elements, which might increase sales for the company. Starting a successful business wellness programme that benefits your workers requires a number of stages.
Obtain management support
If your company’s leadership does not support you in developing a employee wellness program, you cannot begin. You’ll probably need to give a presentation to the executives in order to get their support, and you should emphasise the program’s benefits in the following areas:
- Benefits to employees: Describe how the programme might enhance the state of the workforce (for example, by helping workers feel more engaged and less stressed).
- Employer benefits: Explain how this will help the business (for example, by improving workplace morale and productivity and reducing employer health insurance premium costs).
- Strategic objectives: Illustrate how the plan advances the company’s previously stated aims (for example, by boosting employee retention and recruitment).
To increase the likelihood that upper management would approve a employee wellness program, customise your presentation to the company mission, the executives’ goals, and their leadership style.
Utilize an employee evaluation to determine needs
In order for a corporate benefits programme to help your employees, you should concentrate on their actual needs when developing it. Conduct a workplace survey to get this data and question employees directly about their individual lifestyle and health routines and concerns so that your business wellness programme may be tailored to their needs.
Some workers might just wish to be more active, while others might want to meet specific fitness objectives. In order to promote engagement in the wellness programme, address the root causes of these requirements.
Get a Wellness Committee together.
Establish a wellness committee—a team of staff members who assist in the planning, implementation, and promotion of a wellness programme inside an organization—once you have a broad idea of what the workforce needs.
Employees from various corporate levels and departments, such as the executive team, human resources, information technology, and the general employee population, should be represented on the committee.
For the corporate wellness programme, establish a budget.
The majority of companies don’t have an infinite budget for these initiatives. To offer a programme type that fits your budget, you must first determine how much you can afford to spend on the programme.
Consider the following factors to put a number on the corporate wellness programme:
- fees for vendors and companies providing employee benefits
- medical technology
- Program advertising expenses
- Program-related expenses
- Cost of staff time devoted to programme planning
Create an organisational wellness programme
Gather the wellness committee and come up with a few general categories of corporate wellness programmes that fit the bill based on your budget and the demands identified by the workforce survey. Typical forms of wellness initiatives include:
Programs for education: These hands-off initiatives give workers access to self-directed training so they can develop healthy behaviours on their own.
Community building: Through company clubs or recreational sports teams, these employee- or employer-led activities assist in fostering good relationships amongst staff members inside and outside of the workplace.
Employers who adopt preventative care programmes work with wellness vendors to conduct on-site health screenings or provide specialised programmes to assist stop harmful behaviours like smoking.
Healthy habits: To assist employees in eating better or getting in better shape, these employer-led initiatives can set up classes or provide equipment like fitness monitors.
Disease management: If a large portion of the workforce is affected by a disease that can be treated, leadership may offer these focused programmes.
You should be able to create a specific wellness plan of the kind you desire with distinct components that match your employee needs through a combination of employee surveys and talks with the wellness committee members. For instance, you can decide to provide a programme for healthy behaviours that includes yoga lessons, gym memberships, and local group runs.
Partner with a wellness provider and an employee benefits provider
Corporate wellness programmes are typically not managed by companies on their own. An employee benefits provider and wellness vendors are among the numerous personnel and resources needed to implement a business wellness programme.
Find an employee benefits provider that meets your needs and the wellness programme you wish to offer by working directly with an insurance broker. In order to offer services like on-site massage therapy and healthy culinary demonstrations, as well as products like discounted wellness gear, you will also need to select and then connect several local wellness merchants.
Technology Tools for Corporate Wellness Selection
Employees are unable to record their health-related actions on paper. You must conduct research to identify at least one technological solution that enables employees to self-manage their health objectives in order to support your corporate wellness programme. Look at wellness tech products that can assist staff in maintaining their health and getting the information they need to make wise decisions, such as:
Technology platforms: These often consist of web-based user interfaces that allow employees to enter and monitor their health information over time.
Fitness trackers: Trackers are portable, wearable gadgets that let workers keep track of their daily exercise routines, sleeping patterns, and bodily functions including heart rate.
Apps: Employees can track everything from calories to daily steps with the help of mobile apps.
Create a formal written policy for employee wellness
Before employees sign up for the programme, you should publish specific employee wellness programme rules in partnership with your wellness committee and make them a part of your employee handbook, just like you would with any other employee policy you design.
When hiring new employees and enrolling them in benefit programmes, distribute the policies. Posters should also be displayed throughout the office to inform staff members about the health campaign.
Launch the wellness initiative
Inform your staff of the newly implemented perk system. An on-site health and wellness fair for employees and their families is the ideal approach for businesses to inform staff members about the plan. To make this a well-attended event, collaborate with nearby businesses and include a wide range of topics, such as stress reduction, exercise, and nutrition.
The wellness fair should be held at least two months before the yearly open enrollment period to give employees time to assess their current health care requirements and the wellness programmes that would best satisfy those need.
Encourage wellness by offering incentives
Although it will be enjoyable, your health fair cannot replace year-round education and marketing of your wellness programme. The promotion of the wellness programme is not solely the responsibility of the wellness committee.
By providing continual incentives for workers to take actions to improve their health, such as decreased costs for employee health insurance premiums, you may embed wellness into your company’s culture. In a similar vein, arrange walking and jogging groups, designate a space on campus for exercise and stress relief, and promote workplace wellness.
Gather data and findings to guide future improvements.
Keep an eye out for any patterns in how your employees interact with and take part in your employee wellness program. Make sure to gather this input and schedule monthly meetings with the wellness committee to generate suggestions for ways to enhance the programme going forward.
Positive experiences will gradually spread among individuals who take advantage of the wellness services. Highlighting these success stories can encourage non-participants to join the programme, increasing its appeal among employees.
