Wellness Program Incentives

Many companies recognize the need for a comprehensive strategy to help their staff members be the best they have the potential to be. They also know that successful and sustainable wellness programs are much more than a few “lunch and learn” programs.

Your wellness program must include a wide range of key components, including:

• A clear agenda or statement of goals and objectives.
• A plan characterized by passion.
• A strong leader who is creative and organized.
• A focus on short-term outcomes combined with an overriding vision.
• A measurable plan (what’s important gets measured!).
• A policy of celebrating and communicating success.

Creating Your Employee Wellness Program

Plan carefully to ensure that your wellness program is seen as part of a sweeping commitment to maintaining the health and safety of each employee. Indeed, creating a strong plan takes much work and time (and sometimes resources). But planning is essential and well worth the expenditure necessitated. As the addage goes, “failing to plan is planning to fail.”

You might start by conducting a survey of employee needs and interests. If you do this, pay attention to the results and plan accordingly. If you do not, the staff members will not support the program.

Collecting information about what you’re already offering is also a great idea. By way of example, you might be surprised by your corporation or organization’s current wellness and health policies.

Another significant step is to set an agenda and/or measurable objectives to help you determine priorities, timelines and the resources necessitated to launch the program. Be bold and creative in your planning, but also realistic.

Senior Leadership

The leader of your wellness program must be able to wear many hats. The leader’s duties include:

• Creating a vision of the wellness program after receiving input from all interested workers.
• Communicating ideas and a rationale throughout the corporation (to senior managers and fellow staff members alike).
• Keeping others enthusiastic about and committed to a wellness program.
• Serving as a role model and wellness coach.
• Creating and maintaining leadership skills such as giving effective presentations and being well-organized.

Good leaders avoid becoming overwhelmed by overly ambitious and complex plans. You may want to stick to short-term goals and objectives at the beginning so that you get immediate and visible results. These first steps are the basis for a efficacious wellness program.

Good leaders involve as many people as possible in the program. By way of example, you’ll want to form a Company Wellness Program Committee made up of a diverse group of employees to provide advice during the planning phase. This approach will:

• Assist you to obtain significant information from all parts of the company.
• Organize ambassadors who will help you enable the wellness program.

Keeping Score and Celebrating

Always keep in mind how you will monitor progress and evaluate the success of your wellness program. Assessment allows you to:

• Determine areas of excellence.
• Determine factors that affect participation in your programs.
• Grasp management’s backing for your efforts (and maintain that backing).
• Better understand concerns that need attention.
• Learn from mistakes and change the program to keep it on the right track.

When you evaluate your program, you can measure such things as:

• Employee absences.
• Employee turnover rates.
• The expense of your Employee Assistance Program.
• The expense of benefits, including short-term and long-term disability payments.
• The expense of your prescription drug plan.
• Accident rates and safety records.
• Employees’ participation in wellness programs (and whether they’re staying in the programs).
• Changes in employees’ health habits.
• Level of employees’ awareness of healthy lifestyle issues.
• Results of your environmental wellness audit.
• Other perceivable changes in areas such as morale and job satisfaction.

A great communications plan supports ongoing information to employees (including senior managers) and creates excitement about the wellness program. Positive reinforcement is part of an effective communications plan. By way of example, you might recognize individuals who have helped set up the program or provide tangible rewards for meeting goals.

Everyone needs to know whether employees are getting involved, enjoying the activities and getting some profit from them. Showing that a wellness program has economic benefits is frequently an important factor in maintaining strong backing from the top.

If you focus on the key elements of your wellness program and communicate openly and continuously while planning and delivering it, you will create a solid foundation and leave a legacy that endures.