Workplace Wellness : Creating and Running Your Wellness Program.

Many businesses recognize the need for a robust strategy to help their workers be the best they can be.

They also know that successful and sustainable wellness programs are much more than several “lunch and learn” programs.

Your health promotion program ought to include a wide range of key elements, including -

• A clear agenda or statement of objectives.

• A plan characterized by passion.

• An effective leader who’s creative and organized.

• A focus on short-term outcomes combined with an overall vision.

• A measurable strategy (what’s important gets measured!).

• A policy of celebrating and communicating success.

Creating Your Health Promotion Program

Plan carefully to ensure that your wellness program is seen as part of a wide commitment to maintaining the health and safety of all staff. Yes, creating a good plan takes a lot of effort and time (and sometimes resources).

But planning is essential and well worth the investment required.  As the saying goes, “failing to plan is planning to fail.”

You may begin by conducting a recent survey of staff member needs and interests. When you take this route, pay attention to the results and plan as a result. When you don’t, the workforce will not support the health promotion program.

Collecting information about what you’re already offering is also a good idea. for  instance, you could be surprised by your business or organization’s current wellness and health policies.

Another important step is to establish an agenda and/or measurable goals to help you determine priorities, timelines and the resources required to launch the wellness program. be bold and creative in your planning, but also realistic.

Leadership

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

• Developing 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 workforce alike).

• Keeping others enthusiastic about and committed to a health promotion program.

• Serving as a role model and wellness coach.

• Developing 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 might want to stick to short-term objectives at the beginning so that you get immediate and visible results.

These first steps are the basis for a successful health promotion program.

Good leaders involve as many individuals  as possible in the health promotion program. for  instance, you will want to form a committee made up of a diverse group of employees to provide advice during the planning phase. This approach will -

• Be sure to help you to obtain valuable information from all parts of the corporation.

• Develop ambassadors who will help you implement the wellness program.

Keeping Score and Celebrating

Always keep in mindhow you will monitor progress and evaluate the success of your wellness program. Evaluation allows you to -

• Identify areas of excellence.

• Identify factors that affect participation in your wellness programs.

• Gain management’s support for your efforts (and maintain that support).

• Better understand issues that need attention.

• Learn from mistakes and change the health promotion program to keep it on the right track.

When you evaluate your wellness program, you are able to measure such things as -

• Employee absences.

• Staff Member turnover rates.

• The cost of your worker assistance program.

• The fee of benefits, including short-term and long-term disability payments.

• The price of your drug plan.

• Accident rates and safety records.

• Employees’ participation in wellness programs (and whether they are staying in the wellness programs).

• Changes in employees’ health habits.

• Level of employees’ awareness of healthful lifestyle issues.

• Results of your environmental wellness audit.

• Other noticeable changes in areas such as morale and job satisfaction.

A good communications plan provides ongoing information to personnel (including senior managers) and fosters excitement about the wellness program.

Positive reinforcement is part of an effective communications plan. for example, you could recognize individuals who’ve assisted set up the health promotion program or offer tangible rewards for achieving objectives.

Everyone needs to know whether employees are getting involved, enjoying the activities and getting some benefit from them. Showing that a health promotion program has financial benefits is usually an important factor to maintain strong support from the top.

If you pay attention to the key elements of your health promotion program and communicate openly and continuously while planning and delivering it, you’ll lay a solid foundation and leave a legacy that lasts.