How to Design a Corporate Wellness Plan That Actually Works
If you want to improve employee health and productivity, designing a corporate wellness plan is an essential process. It can help you reduce the overall cost of employee-provided healthcare while also increasing employee happiness and confidence. Moreover, if you manage to design a corporate wellness plan that actually works, you and your employees can also benefit from:
● Reduced absenteeism
● Reduced risk of injuries
● Improved morale
● Increased loyalty
● Reduced need for medical compensation
So, without further ado, let us see how you can design a corporate wellness plan that your employees will enjoy.
Find out the interests and needs of your employees.
The first question you should ask yourself is what your employees expect from a corporate wellness program. It would be best if you took the time to listen to your employees' needs before you start organizing and putting together your plan. At the same time, don't forget to remain open-minded and flexible as you progress with the process. Things can change at every step, so you need to be prepared to make some changes.
A great way to find out what your employees need, for instance, is to design a survey. To get a better picture of their health, you can include biometric exams that assess their blood pressure, cholesterol, weight, and glycemia in the survey. At the same time, don't forget to ask essential questions such as if they smoke, drink, eat a healthy diet, or are sedentary. The more detailed you are, the easier it will be to identify what the wellness program should include.
If you want to design a corporate wellness plan that will actually work, you need to listen to your employees’ needs.
Set your goals
Your wellness program's goals set the tone for everything else. A program centered on ROI will be very different from one centered on employee engagement. As a result, you must establish your objectives before you begin. For example, if you want to improve your employees' health and save on healthcare expenses, you must incorporate prevention workshops into your program. Teach your employees how to have better life habits, prioritize their health, and not neglect checkups. At the same time, don't forget that your goals should be realistic, relevant, and easy to reach. Not to mention that they need to be time-limited. That way, it will be much easier to determine if you achieved them when the time has passed.
Initiate a wellness committee
A wellness committee promotes the program, plans the events, and communicates with management and employees. Moreover, the committee supports program evaluation and provides suggestions and insights. But who makes up the committee? Management, union representatives, HR, employees, remote workers, or administrative assistants should be on the committee to represent all departments. Furthermore, the committee should not include fewer than six or more than twelve members. Of course, it all depends on the size of your organization and the goals of your program. At the same time, we recommend you include some naysayers on the committee. That can help you understand why some employees hesitate to participate in and support a wellness program. It will also give you the chance to change their mind about it if you manage to design a corporate wellness plan that actually works.
A wellness committee can help your wellness plan have a better reach in your company.
Delegate some team leaders
Employee wellness programs are frequently better delivered if you have a leader close to the members. Depending on the size of your organization, you might want to create smaller teams with leaders or captains. Their role is to support, motivate, inspire, inform, and share knowledge with program participants. It's like when you need to reduce downtime when moving the office; you can keep it running smoothly as long as you have leaders that can coordinate and communicate with the rest of the team and motivate them to stay on track. Moreover, employees perform better when motivated and inspired by a leader who works with them. As a result, pick leaders from among the employees so they will know how to interact with their team.
Spread the word
Don't let your corporate wellness program go undetected, with only a few employees aware of it and using it. Instead, inform your staff about your program and explain its benefits. Give your employees regular updates and include the program in your company's structure. The more you talk about it, the more likely it is that employees will use it and all of its benefits. Therefore, write emails to inform employees about your initiative and make fliers and presentations. Repeat the message often enough but always keep it fresh with new information. If you want to take things a step further, you can make a program logo and endorse it with thematic days. For instance, you can have a wellness Wednesday, yoga Tuesdays, and healthy eating Mondays.
Hire professionals to help you
Designing a corporate wellness plan and making sure it actually works can be difficult. So, if you're starting from scratch but want to achieve great results, it's a good idea to hire corporate wellness professionals to help you. They have the skills and experience to ensure the success of your program by making the concept attractive and engaging. Your employees will want to join you on this journey of becoming healthier and happier.
However, even if you receive the much-needed help from professionals, don't forget that you still have a lot of work to do. Support all your employees' hard work to achieve better health by choosing your caterers with care. In addition, make nutritious snacks and treats available to them at all times, and pick vending machines with healthy alternatives. Also, offer your employees the opportunity to spend time outside in the sunlight, especially during the winter.
In conclusion
If you design a corporate wellness plan it may help you have healthy and productive employees. Therefore, use the information in this article to start making the changes your company needs. You may start with small steps, and as your wellness plan evolves and matures, you can incorporate new ideas to assist you with more complex problems. We can assure you that it will not be simple, but the rewards will be tremendous for you and your employees.