At the best companies, wellness has become intertwined with company culture. Not only do wellness initiatives help employers recruit and retain top talent but investing in their employees' health also reaps myriad benefits like reduced healthcare costs and increased productivity.
Answering the question “Should we have a wellness program” is the easy part. After you answer “yes,” various follow-up questions will inevitably pop up that need to be considered when starting a wellness program.
Let’s break it down.
This should be the first question you ask yourself. What is motivating you to start a wellness program and what exactly are you trying to achieve? This question is critical because it will, in some ways, drive the rest of your program planning.
Many companies intend to start a wellness program to reduce their healthcare costs by improving employee health. Other companies are focused less on these costs and more on company culture. They want their employees to enjoy where they work, improve work-life balance, and foster creativity.
These are just two common reasons of many, but they are important to consider as they will dictate what your wellness program looks like. If you want to reduce costs, you may want to consider an outcomes-based program that looks at biometric data, for instance. On the other hand, if you want to focus on providing employees a rewarding environment that supports their wellbeing, you may want to implement a behavior-based program that focuses on overall health. Therefore, how you answer this question will undoubtedly influence your answer to our next:
Is this simply a job perk or is it tied to their benefits? Do you plan to incentivize your employees to participate or, even further, hit specific goals you set forth for them?
If you implement an outcomes-based program, you will need to determine what outcomes you are measuring and what the employee needs to do in order to achieve these goals. You may also need to navigate EEOC rules pertaining to offering incentives tied to biometric measures. We work with a lot of clients that use outcomes-based programming and will gladly offer ideas and best practices to guide you through the process.
If you are leaning more towards a program that focuses on overall wellbeing, you likely prioritize participation and engagement over metrics. In this instance, you may want to look at the performance-based challenges Motivation Alliance offers, such as our popular Movement Challenge or our Step Challenge! If you want to focus on several healthy behaviors, we recommend utilizing our achievement program feature. Build one from scratch or work off one of our templates, such as the Engagement Program template or the Stress & Mindfulness template!
You also have options if you want your initiative to be a bit less structured. Instead of a program, you can promote various areas of the software to your participants for them to explore and log at their own pace. One suggestion is to promote Motivation Alliance’s daily pursuits. Focused on four key aspects of health, our daily pursuits are broken down into four categories: Move, Nourish, Reflect, and Thrive.
Another idea would be to promote our Interactive Learning Programs (ILPs). Current popular ILP topics include Managing Stress, Building Resilience, Weight Management, Sleep, Heart Health, Tobacco Free, and Financial Wellness. We continually work to expand these content offerings. Incorporate them into an achievement program, recommend them to an entire population or subpopulation via a News & Announcement, or suggest specific pursuits or ILPs to individual participants for more one-on-one interaction.
As you begin to figure out what you want your wellness program to look like, it’s time to start thinking about this next question if you haven’t already.
Being realistic with your budget is paramount. Can you afford prizes? If so, how many and what kind? Do you want to award them to everyone, use a raffle system, or only reward those who hit their goals? Further, if you cannot afford prizes, how do you plan to incentivize your population? What resources can you utilize? There are great, low-cost ways to incentivize a population such as offering a “free” vacation day, partnering with local businesses for free or discounted gym/fitness class passes, providing one day employees can bring their pet to work, and giving an extra day off employees can use to volunteer.
Here’s another budgeting consideration: what about your time? Will you be the “wearer of all hats wellness”