(Written by Amy Haft, FEI Senior Account Manager)
It is a long-held belief that workplace wellness programs make sense. After all, employees are a captive audience; incentives can be created to influence participation in wellness initiatives, which may lead to healthy behaviors and an uptick in productivity; and employers stand to gain an edge on managing ever-rising health care costs. One could conclude that a well-designed and effectively managed wellness program benefits both employer and employee. Not only does it make good sense, but is also provides value to both parties.
You may have reached this point in your wellness journey—senior management is on board and there is a clear mandate to pursue wellness programming. Now the question: where do you begin?
There is no scarcity of good wellness service providers and resources to research. Recruiting other wellness advocates in your organization to join you on your quest provides important assistance with this effort. These fundamental people will help build a supportive culture, spread positive energy and create momentum for your wellness program. They will help identify your organization’s strengths and work collaboratively with other departments to achieve a greater impact and sense of ownership.
A good strategy begins by looking at what you already have. A key component of a best practices approach is to integrate wellness programming into your overall benefits strategy, organizational initiatives and within your organization’s unique culture. There is no “one-size-fits-all” solution. Those who wish to create a successful workplace wellness program will come to realize that building such a program takes commitment.
There are also a multitude of other factors that come into play, including your workplace environment, financial support and social support. Each organization is unique and can only benefit from customizing wellness programming that fits your workplace.
No matter where you are in your journey to create an effective workplace wellness program, FEI can help you find what works best in your organization. Within the next few weeks, we will be announcing a new service to extend our ability to help—you can expect to hear more about our new Wellness Consultation service in the near future!