Implementing an employee wellness program can be a very effective way to reduce healthcare costs and build a much engaged, and proactive workforce. All of these factors can lead to greater levels of productivity that can generate improved business results. Unfortunately, many business leaders don’t yet know how to start an effective corporate wellness program that gets results. So, you will find 8 tips for building an effective corporate wellness program for your employee health.
Collect feedback from employees
The most effective corporate wellness activities and programs focus on the actual needs of employees. Wondering how to extract this information? Launch a workplace survey and collect feedback from employees directly. You can send out at least 5 to 10 low-cost wellness ideas out there for employee perks and see which ones are the most popular among your employees.
Keep Employees hydrated
Staying hydrated every day is important for your employees health as their productivity depends on it. Water is best, but juice, fruit or even meat can help hydrate you. It helps you maintain the proper function of every system in your body, including your heart, brain, and muscles. So, always plan to arrange enough water cooler and juicers for your employees.
Find out the barriers to a healthy lifestyle
As part of your survey, you can also try to identify the barriers and concerns that employees have in their way to a healthy lifestyle. For some, it could be getting more active; for others, it could be to eating healthy or to reach daily fitness goals. Get to the center of these issues and try to resolve them to increase participation in the wellness program.
Get a Corporate Wellness App
To optimize your corporate wellness activities, it’s time to research and find an app that can help your employees self-manage their health goals. There are many corporate wellness apps available that can help your employees to keep track of their health conditions, count daily steps, receive health tips, and motivation they need to live a healthy life. I would recommend CircleCare – a corporate wellness app that provides companies with a platform and tools to motivate their employees via positive reinforcements and rewards to establish and maintain healthy lifestyle choices.
Partner with the Employee Benefits Company and Wellness Vendors
An effective corporate wellness program requires input from trained individuals and resources, including the support of the employee benefits company and wellness vendors. Be sure to discuss with your insurance agency to find out what wellness benefits and tools they offer because many offer free and low-cost options now. Connect and maintain a list of local wellness vendors that offer services like onsite yoga sessions, healthy cooking demos, and even discounted fitness gears.
Put the whole plan into writing
Just like any other human resource policy you create, you will also want to write down a clear corporate wellness program guidelines and make them part of your employee handbook. Hand them out when recruiting and when enrolling employees in their benefit plans, and send out a weekly newsletter to inform employees about these wellness activities.
Keep the families involved
Look for corporate wellness activities that include family and friends. Friends and families are an integral part of our lives and it will help keep employees more engaged and accountable for their efforts.
Personalize the experience
Offer a variety of wellness activities to choose from. There is no one size fits all strategy when it comes to corporate wellness. Some might prefer walking or trekking where some might be more interested in mindfulness activities. Try to use technology to find out about employee preferences and personalize their experience according to that.