employee communications

Establishing a wellness program in a company is a big undertaking. When done correctly, it can enhance both the performance of your employees and their overall work satisfaction. There are 2 keys to a successful corporate wellness program: proper planning and implementation.

Here are the steps you should take to plan and implement an effective employee wellness program:

  • Do an organizational assessment –an organizational assessment should not be skipped when starting any kind of program or project. Remember that you will be investing both time and money on this project so you can’t afford to mess it up.

It starts with an evaluation of previously conducted wellness programs in the company as well as the current state of wellness of the employees. Find out the reasons why the programs did or did not work and apply those lessons to the programs that you are now planning.

It is important, before doing anything else, to ask yourself what you aim to accomplish as an organization through the programs that you are planning.

  • Consider the needs of the workforce –any program will not be effective if it does not address the needs of the people they are intended for. Remember that you are ultimately doing such programs for thebenefit of your employees.

Find out if any of your employees already have disabilities or health problems. The ideal wellness program is inclusive, involving all members of the workforce regardless of their age, health status, or physical fitness. Also, consider their schedules. Your employees should be able to participate in your wellness programs without disrupting their work schedules or requiring them to stay at the workplace longer than they should.

  • Get support from the top of the organization – getting the management’s buy-in is always a good thing. You need to have the support of the bosses if your wellness programs are to succeed. The visible support (and even better, the direct participation) of the higher-ups of the company can greatly encourage other employees to participate in your wellness programs.

Convince management of the value of the wellness programs that you intend to run. Make them realize that they are going to benefit from the healthier workforce as well.

  • Create a wellness committee –form a committee with members coming from the various departments of the company. Involve them in all the stages from planning to implementation and monitoring. They can also be the ones tasked to rally the employees from their departments to support your wellness programs. Most importantly, they can give you ideas and feedback from the point-of-view of the employees.
  • Listen to employee feedback and opinion – aside from the ideas coming from your committee members, you can also go direct to the employees and solicit suggestions and feedback. You would commonly come across post-event or program evaluation surveys, but you might be missing out on getting their inputs in the conceptualization and planning stages.

You might want to conduct an annual survey to gather suggestions on what new programs you should introduce and what changes need to be implemented in your existing wellness programs. When you listen to your employees, they feel a degree of ownership or affinity and will thus be more likely to give their support.

  • Consider getting outside support – if you think the work would be too much for you and your committee to deal with, you should seriously think about hiring a third party service provider. There are health care professionals who specialize in corporate wellness programs. The combination of their knowledge and experience can be truly beneficial in creating and running wellness programs that are effective, safe, and sustainable.
  • Plan your wellness projects strategically – you should have a wellness program that’s composed of timed projects and activities that are intended to complement one another. You can even design a step up program that “grows” as the employees’ fitness levels improve. Keep your projects exciting rather than boring. Offer something new, yet still in sync with your program goals and strategy, to your employees.
  • Draw up an incentive scheme – you need to offer some form of reward to your employees. While you can say that their improved health should be enough reward for them, there is nothing like something tangible coming from the company to make the employees feel more motivated to keep participating in the corporate wellness program.
  • Evaluate your progress – make sure that the projects and activities that you are holding are still relevant and effective. You will be wasting your time if you are not getting the results that you want. Go back to your goals and see if you have achieved them. Evaluate the structure, process, and outcome of running each project. Feel free to make tweaks here and there if necessary. If you have to make bigger changes, perhaps it would be a better idea to scrap that particular project and launch another one in its place. An effective employee workers program constantly evolves and improves over time.

Planning and implementing an effective employee wellness program takes a concerted effort from everyone in the company. Follow the 9 steps enumerated here and you should be on your way to improving the overall health and wellness of your workforce. Soon enough, you will be seeing gains in terms of your employee’s mental disposition and attitude as well.

 

 

Authors Bio – Jon is a formal writer and he loves to write on corporate sizzling topics. His main areas of writing are Absence Management solutions and environment management at the organizations.