There is no single right way to approach wellness programs but winning wellness programs share common success factors. These include commitment from management, staff member involvement, adequate resources, and a health policy that goes hand in hand with the organization’s mission, vision and values.
Health Promotion Program – A Range of Approaches
While the goal is to eventually have a long-term, robust health promotion program, some organizations prefer to start with a single program at a basic level.
For instance, the first steps may be as simple as offering lunch-hour sessions on first aid or healthy eating; or they could launch a pilot project to figure out how interested personnel are to ensure personnel needs are being met before taking on anything more ambitious.
This approach provides a chance to show the impact on employees and the workplace so senior management are going to be more willing to consider a bigger and more far-reaching strategy.
Other organizations plan a variety of wellness programs to meet the needs of the different kinds of individuals that make up their workforce. And some decide to develop a sound company case, complete with a health strategy, before trying any type of wellness program.
Organizations want to ensure that a new health promotion program is fully integrated with their overall business vision and mission.
Health Promotion Program – Success Factors
Regardless of whether your business chooses to think big from the outset or to start with something smaller, always keep in mindthe following key success factors
o support and participation from management;
o staff member involvement in planning;
o wellness programs that meet worker needs;
o A realistic budget; and
o continuous review.
In sports, a game plan is a series of steps that a team must follow to accomplish its goal of winning. Most winning teams plan to win. Companies also need game plans, even if they don’t call them by that name.
Good planning will help to ensure that your health promotion program happens the way you want it to, and that costs may be identified in advance and kept within budget. Good planning avoids small problems from becoming bigger.
Steps in Creating a Health Promotion Program
Obtain senior level management support. You could need to create a corporation case to convince managers that the health promotion program is a corporation strategy-that employee health and job satisfaction affects their productivity. Workers need to see evidence that senior level management believes in and is committed to employee health.
Establish a planning committee. Members can include representatives from employee groups in addition to from human resources, health and safety, and communications.
Collect information. To prove that your wellness program is beneficial, establish a benchmark before the wellness program starts. You could wish to look at worker satisfaction, absenteeism rates, stress levels, drug costs or WCB expenditures.
Assess what workplace facilities are available to support staff to make healthful options like showers and change areas or a secure place to store a bike. Assess employee needs through a recent survey or questionnaire, suggestion box or focus group. Communicate the results.
Create the plan to reflect the information accumulated. Include wellness program goals, activities and how you’re going to measure whether your goals were met.
Keep the plan flexible. You could need to change direction in response to employee feedback or changes in the company’s structure.
Get senior level management approval. Support for staff time and a budget are needed.
Put activities in place. Provide a selection of activities that develop awareness, increase knowledge, develop skills, and provide social interaction.
Activities could include walking clubs, participation in national campaigns like Corporate Health Promotion Week, SummerActive, WinterActive, corporate challenge, golf days, and newsletters that provide information about community resources.
Worksites can also make it easier for workforce to make healthy options by providing flextime to allow workforce to fit activity in when it is convenient or by subsidizing wellness programs in cooperation with community or private fitness facilities. A policy on catering for meetings can ensure that healthy foods are offered.
Evaluate the plan. Share your successes with others, learn from your mistakes and modify activities.
A wellness program doesn’t need to be complicated or a gigantic investment. Just do it. Get support from management, bring a few committed individuals together to generate some ideas and get began.