A successful wellness program must be aligned with what employees consider important. Implementing a wellness program without employee input will not guarantee that the health of your workforce improves. Employees need to be shown the value of wellness through education with incentives to participate.
Here are five steps you can take to drive positive health outcomes with your wellness program:
- Survey employees to determine what’s important to them: Surveying your workforce can help you understand what kind of wellness initiatives matter to them. Rewarding employees for survey participation can help you paint a comprehensive picture of their needs and preferences. Once you receive employee input, implement programs based on their responses. This shows your workforce that their input is valid.
- Don’t be prescriptive: Rather than telling employees how to participate in their wellness journey, offer them a menu of options to choose from. Having limited or rigid wellness options can discourage participation, making employees feel like their personal needs are not important. Employees also appreciate having the freedom to do as much as they feel comfortable with. Wellness doesn’t need to be an “all or nothing” endeavor. Letting employees take small wellness steps is better than making no progress at all.
- Create a culture of inclusivity: Employees are more encouraged to participate in things like wellness initiatives when they feel a sense of belonging in their workplace. Embracing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives shows your employees—especially those from marginalized populations—that their employer appreciates them. Corporate Wellness Magazine states that setting up employee resource groups (ERGs) can also help promote diversity and inclusion. These are groups formed by individuals who share common backgrounds, interests, or experiences. By making sure these populations are seen and advocated for, these groups can help form targeted wellness initiatives, leading to greater employee engagement and a stronger sense of belonging.
- Encourage utilization from the top down: You may need to incentivize participation as employees are sometimes hesitant to raise health concerns to their employer. This is especially true regarding mental health issues, given the stigma they can carry. To address this, create an open and accepting environment where employees feel comfortable addressing health needs. Encouraging utilization among management and the C-suite helps set a participatory example. When employees see their managers participating in wellness initiatives, they are more willing to join in. You can also incentivize your workforce by rewarding them with cash or other perks for taking part in their wellness journey.
- Start small and grow it over time: A good place to start is with annual health screenings. This allows employers to gauge the willingness of employees to participate and helps employees understand their own health needs. As a greater share of the workforce takes part, implement additional initiatives gradually. Once your wellness program is in place, monitor cost and utilization to ensure the program is effective. Tracking potential changes in healthcare spend can also help you determine the program’s value. As the program grows, form a wellness committee comprised of diverse individuals from different generations, sexes, races, and departments to assess and adjust program offerings to efficiently meet workforce demands.
With a wide range of background and age groups present in today’s workforce, it’s important to build your wellness program to address everyone. Learn more in our white paper, Employee Wellness Programs – Nurturing a multi-generational workforce to thrive, and see the way forward.
With more than 10,000 clients managed in our National Employee Benefits Practice, Risk Strategies delivers the high-quality, cost-effective, and compliant benefits programs and solutions employers need and employees value. For more employee benefits insights, visit us at risk-strategies.com.