Invigorate your wellness strategy

Worksites are the critical link in helping improve employee health and well-being. And savvy employers fund and support a wellness program for the good health of the company, too. The results are lower health and medical costs and engaged and productive employees who give you better results. If your company has a wellness program that’s getting lost in the mix, powering it up can be a win-win for both you and your employees.

The most efficient way to increase focus on wellness in your organization is to partner with a vendor to maximize your program's effectiveness and success. Ceridian helps businesses mesh existing home grown initiatives with programs that assess and address the health of your employee population such as a health risk assessment (HRA) and health coaching programs.

Following is a guideline for creating and launching a wellness program - and points to consider whether you're managing it in-house or with a vendor. Either way, you should have a plan, process and goals before you embark on a wellness initiative.

1. Create a Culture of Wellness

The first step may be your most difficult task. One of the biggest mistakes employers make is buying and implementing a wellness program without working within their organization to demonstrate the value a wellness program offers. Getting and having the support of your company's leadership is important to any program's success.

Other ways to influence change and create a culture of wellness include:

• Ensure messages and communications about the importance of wellness come from all levels of management.
• Encourage employees to exercise during lunch and offer flexible schedules so employees can commit to an exercise program.
• Provide opportunities for employees to share input on the wellness program and make an effort to incorporate their suggestions.
• Don't forget about your health-conscious employees. Don't focus solely on at-risk employees. Help the healthy stay healthy.

2. Establish a Wellness Vision Statement

Often, organizations implement a wellness program before taking the time to define a vision that describes what they hope to accomplish. If it's unclear at the start of the program, it's likely your outcomes will be unclear several months after a program is introduced. Work with key stakeholders to define and create a wellness vision. A sentence or two with a broad vision of success will give you something to work toward and will guide you along the way.

3. Set Goals and Objectives

Meet with key decision makers as well as employees who you identify as wellness champions across your company. Keep them involved in the planning, launch and management of the program. Following are some questions to consider before you get started:

• What are your five main, long-term objectives for implementing a health and wellness program?
• How can the demographics of your employee population help build your plan?
• Outline what wellness initiatives you have now or have had in the past. What was successful? What wasn't?
• How did you communicate past programs to employees?
• What are the roles and responsibilities of your project team?
• What are the roles and responsibilities of your vendor?
• How would you like to partner with your vendor?

Use your responses to these questions to create long-term objectives. Longer term objectives can include ROI, behavior change, improved employee retention, reduction in medical claims and improved absenteeism. Where would you like to be in three to five years?  

Set short-term goals for the first two years of the program. Use the SMART formula by making your goals Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely. SMART goals should be aligned to long-term objectives and provide a way to reach each objective. For example, "Sixty percent of employees will complete an HRA in year one." Or, "Five percent of employees will engage in a health coaching program by a set date."

4. Write a Wellness Plan

Document your long- and short-term goals in a wellness plan. Create an outline that will give you a concise visual of your goals for years one through five of the program.

5. Evaluate Your Program

Think about how you will evaluate the results of your program. Metrics can include the number of employees who engage and participate. You can also evaluate behavior change measures such as tobacco quit rate, reduction in BMI and reduced stress levels. Determine how you will capture and track your wellness program metrics.

6. Promote, Promote, Promote!

You can have the greatest wellness program on the planet, but if your employees don't know about it, it won't succeed. It's also not a matter of promoting the program just once during the launch. It has to be a strategic, ongoing effort with a promotional campaign at least each quarter.

Offering incentives is a great way to both promote your program and motivate your employees to act. Incentives can include cash cards, a discount on health care premiums or a limited time membership to a fitness center. It's important that your incentives reward behaviors for enrolling in the program and for finishing it.

To maximize participation, create an annual promotional plan. Communication vehicles can include e-mail, posters, flyers, health fairs and holding lunch and learn sessions. If you're working with a vendor, make good use of the materials provided with the program. A Web site, wallet cards, table tents and brochures can help you spread the word in a ready-to-go, professional format.

"Develop realistic goals and design a program that fits your culture," says Zachary Meyer, Ceridian executive vice president and general manager. "Wellness needs to be viewed as a core business strategy that creates competitive advantage with a healthy, resilient workforce."