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A workplace wellness program is always evolving. So there is no need to start building an all-inclusive wellness center right now. Start off small and gradually encourage employees to embrace healthy lifestyle choices, like exercising, eating healthy, and quitting unhealthy habits.
Here are five steps to take to create a corporate wellness program that your employees will love.
1. Survey employees
Anonymously ask employees what services they would find most valuable.
Make sure to ask whether they’d prefer onsite resources, referrals, or reimbursement for external resources.
2. Identify program sponsors
Find employees who are passionate about wellness and committed to encouraging employees. Executive buy-in is essential to a successful employee wellness program.
Sponsors contribute by showcasing healthy behavior and participating in wellness initiatives. At the end of the day this will inspire other employees to prioritize their health.
3. Form a wellness committee
Choose a group of employees dedicated to bringing well-being to your organization. Have them form a committee and serve as change champions to develop a program that best serves your employees.
This committee handles reviewing survey data, choosing popular initiatives, creating challenges, and more.
4. Define your goals
Work with your sponsors and committee members to determine objectives for your program.
For example, suppose your employees want to improve their physical health. You can set one goal for how many employees participate in an initial wellness screening and another goal for how many join a challenge.
Create goals for all the wellness initiatives in your program to track your success.
5. Find the right wellness resources
Once you know which services you need, speak with different vendors to explore solutions you can add to your wellness program. There’s no need to pick one vendor and implement every initiative they offer just because it’s part of a package.
For example, if smoking isn’t common in your office, smoking cessation may not be a program you want to include in your wellness benefits. Meanwhile, you may want to offer more robust resources for healthy eating.
Focus on the resources that will be most valuable for your team instead of those that impact your corporate health plan costs.