Wellness Program Incentives

There is no single right way to approach wellness programs but successful programs share common success factors. These include management support and commitment, employee involvement, adequate resources, and a health policy that goes hand in hand with the organization’s mission, vision and values.

Corporate Wellness Program: A Range of Approaches

Although the objective is to eventually have a long-term, all-inclusive wellness program, some employers prefer to begin with a single program at a basic level. By way of example, the first steps could be as simple as offering lunch-hour sessions on first aid or healthy eating; or they could launch a pilot project to find out how interested workers are to ensure workers needs are being met before taking on anything more ambitious. This approach provides a chance to show the effect on workers and the workplace so management will be more willing to consider a larger and more far-reaching strategy.

Other employers plan a variety of pushes to meet the needs of the different sorts of people that make up their workforce. And some decide to develop a sound company case, complete with a health strategy, before beginning any type of program. Employers want to make sure that a new program is completely integrated with their overall company vision and mission.

Corporate Wellness Program: Success Factors

Whether your business chooses to think big from the outset or to begin with something smaller, always keep in mind the following key success factors:

• backing and participation from upper management;
• employee participation in creating;
• programs that meet employee needs;
• a realistic budget; and
• continuous review.

In sports, a game plan is a series of steps that a team must follow to accomplish its goal of winning. Most winning teams plan to win. Businesses also need game plans, even if they don’t call them by that name.

Good planning will help to be sure that your wellness program happens the way you want it to, and that costs are able to be identified in advance and kept within budget. Good planning prevents small problems from becoming bigger.

Steps in Developing a Workplace Wellness Program

Obtain management support. You may need to advance a employer case to convince managers that the wellness program is a employer strategy-that employee health and job satisfaction impacts their productiveness. staff members need to see evidence that management believes in and is committed to employee health.

Establish a planning committee. Members are able to include representatives from employee groups as well as from human resources, health and safety, and communications.

Gather information. To prove that your Worksite Wellness Program is constructive, establish a benchmark before the program begins. You may wish to look at employee satisfaction, absenteeism rates, stress levels, prescription expenditures or WCB costs. Assess what workplace facilities are available to support staff members to make healthy choices such as showers and change areas or a secure place to store a bicycle. Assess employee needs through a survey or questionnaire, suggestion box or focus group. Communicate the results.

Design the plan to reflect the information gathered. Include program objectives, activities and how you are going to measure whether your objectives were met. Keep the plan flexible. You may have to change direction in response to employee feedback or changes in the company’s structure.

Obtain senior staff approval. Support for employee time and a budget are required.

Put activities in place. Offer a variety of activities that foster awareness, expand knowledge, advance skills, and support social interaction. (Activities could include walking clubs, participation in national campaigns such as Company Health Promotion Programs Week, SummerActive, WinterActive, corporate challenge, golf days, and newsletters that support information about community resources.) Workplaces can also make it easier for staff members to make healthy choices by offering flextime to allow staff members to fit activity in when it is convenient or by subsidizing programs in cooperation with community or private fitness facilities. A policy on catering for gatherings is able to be sure that healthy foods are provided.

Review the plan. Share your successes with others, learn from your mistakes and modify activities.

A wellness program doesn’t have to be complicated or a huge investment. Just do it. Get reinforcement from upper management, bring a few committed people together to generate some ideas and get started.