Physically and mentally healthy employees are happier, safer, and more productive. An employee wellness program can provide support to employees facing challenging times and help all employees with their overall wellness. More and more companies are hopping on board the wellness wagon because they understand the connection between wellness and work, such as increased productivity, decreased stress, decreased turnover, fewer incidents/injuries, and decreased insurance premiums.
It takes several steps to start a robust corporate wellness program that gets results. We’ve compiled Tess Taylor’s top 8 tips that can inspire a quality program in your workplace today.
Step 1: Use an Employee Survey to Evaluate Needs
The best designed corporate wellness benefits and programs focus on the actual needs of employees. Conducting a workplace survey to ask employees directly is a great way to get this type of information. Some examples could include: de-stress zones, water coolers, flexible work schedules, employee assistance programs, or free healthy snacks.
Step 2: Identify Wellness Lifestyle Issues
As a part of your survey, you will also be assessing the lifestyle concerns and wellness needs that employees have. For some, it could be getting more active, while for others it could be to reach targeted health goals. Get to the heart of these needs to increase participation to the wellness program.
Step 3: Find a Corporate Wellness Technology Tool
To facilitate your corporate wellness program, it’s time to research and find a technology product that can help employees self-manage their wellness goals. There are many wellness tech tools that can help employees keep their health in check, track fitness, and weight loss goals and connect with the resources they need to make informed choices.
Step 4: Partner with the Employee Benefits Company and Wellness Vendors
A successful wellness program is made up of many people and resources, including the support of the employee benefits company and wellness vendors. Be sure to work directly with the insurance broker to find out what wellness benefits and tools already exist, because many offer free and low-cost options now.
Step 5: Establish a Written Employee Wellness Policy and Team
Just like any other employee policy you create, you will also want to publish clear employee wellness program guidelines and make them part of your employee handbook. Hand them out when recruiting and when enrolling employees in their benefit plans and have posters around the workplace that educate employees about this wellness initiative
Step 6: Host a Wellness Event Centered on Employees
One way that many companies roll out their wellness programs is with an onsite health and wellness fair for employees and their families. Work with local vendors to participate and include a wide variety of wellness interests to make this a successful event. Time the wellness event around certain dates. Schedule one at least two months before the annual open enrollment period.
Step 7: Promote Health and Provide Wellness Incentives in a Fun Way
While your wellness fair will be a fun event, it’s no substitute for year-round education and promotion of your wellness program. Make it a part of your corporate culture with ongoing incentives for employees to take steps to better their health. Host walking and running clubs, have an area on campus for fitness and de-stressing and creating marketing around the idea of wellness at work.
Step 8: Gather Feedback and Results for Future Improvements
Over time, your company will be able to spot trends in the way employees respond to and participate in wellness programs. Success stories will emerge out of the ranks of those who take part in the wellness offerings. Make sure to gather feedback and ideas for future enhancements to the program.
