Health Handouts : Setting Up and Running Your Corporate Wellness Program

Many organizations recognize the need for a inclusive strategy to help their workers be the best they can be. They also know that thriving and sustainable wellness programs are much more than a few “lunch and learn” programs.

Your wellness program must include a wide range of key elements, 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 strategy (what’s important gets measured!).
• A policy of celebrating and communicating success.

Creating Your Company Wellness Program

Create carefully to make sure that your wellness program is seen as part of a sweeping commitment to maintaining the health and safety of all employees. Yes, creating a good plan takes much work and time (and occasionally resources). But planning is important and well worth the investment necessitated. As the saying goes, “failing to plan is planning to fail.”

You might begin by delivering a survey of employee needs and interests. If you take this route, pay attention to the results and plan accordingly. If you don’t, the employees won’t support the program.

Collecting information about what you’re already offering is also a good idea. For example, you may be surprised by your employer or organization’s current wellness and health policies.

Another valuable step is to establish an agenda and/or measurable goals to help you come up with priorities, timelines and the resources required to kick off the program. Be bold and creative in your planning, but also realistic.

Senior Management

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

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

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

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

• Help you to get important information from all parts of the business.
• Develop 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. Evaluation allows you to:

• Determine areas of excellence.
• Ascertain factors that affect participation in your programs.
• Grasp management’s reinforcement for your efforts (and maintain that reinforcement).
• Better be aware of problems 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 expenditure of your Employee Assistance Program(EAP).
• The expenditure of benefits, including short-term and long-term disability payments.
• The expenditure of your 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 good communications plan supports ongoing information to staff members (including senior managers) and creates excitement about the wellness program. Positive reinforcement is part of an effective communications plan. For example, you might recognize people who have helped established the program or provide tangible rewards for meeting goals.

Everyone needs to know whether staff members are getting involved, enjoying the activities and getting some profit from them. Showing that a wellness program has financial benefits is often an significant 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 lay a solid foundation and leave a legacy that lasts.