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A Guide To Designing An Employee Wellness Program

What would happen if your employees knew they could get free health care if they lost weight or improved their fitness? That simple question has sparked a new trend in employee wellness programs.

However, these programs can also offer an opportunity to improve productivity, boost morale, create healthier environments, reduce absenteeism, and increase job satisfaction. Employees who participate in wellness programs report feeling better about themselves, increasing their self-esteem and confidence. They also tend to sleep better at night and enjoy fewer stress related illnesses.

Health programs for employees come in various forms such as annual medical checkups, fitness tests, smoking cessation programs, etc. The costs vary from company to company. Some companies offer free employee health insurance plans, whereas some even give additional benefits such as gym memberships or food vouchers.

Designing a wellness program should allow for evaluating and monitoring employee progress. Design goals and wellness programs in a way where outcomes can be monitored, helping them to be adaptive to employee needs. In contrast, many wellness solutions allow companies to monitor engagement with employees.

HR professionals need to ensure that such data points are used at regular intervals to check wellness offerings and address relevant wellness concerns. This also empowers companies to end parts of their wellness programs that are not working and extend initiatives that have higher employee engagement for a better impact.

Providing these types of programs is also seen to result in higher productivity and lower absenteeism among employers, as well as community goodwill among employees.

Wellness programs can benefit employers by:

  • Lowering health care costs.

  • Reducing absences.

  • Achieving employee productivity.

  • Reducing workers’ compensation and disability-related costs.

  • Reducing injuries.

  • Improving employee morale and loyalty.

To implement a successful employee wellness program, follow these 7 steps:

1. Set goals 

When creating a wellness program, it’s very important to ensure that all parts of the program give benefits to both the staff and the company. It is crucial that wellness programs cater to your employees. Make a list of things you want as a result of the wellness program. If it’s difficult to design you can now hire a wellness program company which will create a wellness program according to your requirement.

2. Set up a team

If you don’t want to invest in a wellness program designing company you can form a good team who is capable of handling the project. Even though it is possible to have HR lead it, it should also include people who have a good understanding of the employees and who have an interest in promoting a healthy workplace as well.

3. Learn about your employee’s needs

To design wellness programs, HR professionals have to research that has shown that employees are empowered to perform better when their voice is heard within the firm. Listening to what employees have to say and learning about their health and well-being is the essential step of an impactful wellness program.

Surveys and assessments can be used to design wellness programs by providing insights into what the employees want, and how much time they are willing to commit to wellness programs. You can even create a wellness committee to oversee employee needs.

4. Collect data

Doing good research by talking with employees to identify the areas that need to be addressed and how can be solved. This can be done through face-to-face meetings and internal surveys.

5. Make a plan for your wellness program

After collecting the right data, the next step is to develop the strategies that can be used to achieve them. You can even take help from your employees and might even have a good suggestion for the program.

6.  Explain the program

Now you have to explain your wellness program to employees. Educating them about the strategies in your wellness program design will help raise awareness, and provide the information they should be able to understand the program that is involved, the importance of wellness, and the positive effect it will have on their lives.

7. Feedback and adjust the wellness program

A good employee wellness program is continuously optimized only if you involve your employees after all you have designed it for their benefit. The team should always be open to new ideas and feedback to improve the program and make employees even healthier.

Summary

Employees who are healthy and happy usually have higher productivity levels Which leads to many benefits for the company. Wellness programs don’t just increase productivity but also lead to increased engagement, improved employee morale and retention, and reduced health risks.

And it also creates a positive connection between employee wellness and the performance of a business. A good employee wellness program should concern the employees’ emotional, physical, mental, and financial health.

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