Employers are constantly faced with
rising health care costs. As a
result, companies across the world are beginning to implement
workplace wellness programs to help
favorably impact health care costs.
Studies have shown that a successful
wellness program can lower absenteeism, enhance job performance and
improve morale, while attracting talented employees to the organization.
People are always looking for ways
to incorporate wellness into their
daily lives, which is why television is
filled with quick fixes. A successful
program will promote wellness and
keep the idea of healthy living in front
of the employees on an ongoing basis.
Smart Business spoke to Renay
Wolfrays, the communications coordinator of JRG Advisors, the management company for ChamberChoice,
about how your company can develop
a successful wellness program.
What should an employer expect when
starting a wellness program?
An employer should not expect to
see immediate return on investment
upon implementation of a workplace
wellness program. However, some
changes, such as improved morale,
will be more evident in the beginning.
Changes such as reduced absenteeism
and reduced health care costs will permeate over time.
A company should expect a trial
workplace wellness program to be in
effect for at least three years before
beginning to see measurable results. A
wellness program should be re-evaluated annually to determine what
improvements, if any, should be made.
Who in the company should run the work-place wellness program?
A wellness team should be formed
and/or a professional wellness coordinator should be engaged to ensure
dedication to implementing and promoting the workplace wellness program. If you choose to form a wellness
team, be sure it is motivated and
enthusiastic about promoting healthy
living. A team can easily self-destruct
if it is not confident the wellness program is important to management as
well as the overall operation of the
company.
How do you develop a successful program?
It is important to include employees
in the process. Before developing the
wellness program, the wellness team
should survey the employees to solicit
their input and feedback. The survey
should ask leading questions, such as
‘What would motivate you to participate in a workplace wellness program?’ The survey results will provide
valuable information to the employer
and wellness team when constructing
the workplace wellness program.
Goals should be established for the
wellness program on an annual basis.
The goals should be easily tracked and
moderately easy to reach. If unreachable, employees can become discouraged and less likely to participate in workplace wellness programs. Once
the goals have been defined, detailed
information should be provided to the
employees explaining the workplace
wellness program. The wellness team
should continually promote the work-place programs and ‘coach’ employees
to get involved.
How does an employer handle opposition?
Wellness programs have the ability
to impact some, if not all, of the risk
factors associated with preventable
illnesses; employees, however, may
not always work toward that objective. An employer can offer cost-effective incentives that have been identified in the employee wellness survey.
An employer should consider contests
that offer monetary rewards, vacation
days and more. A company should not
limit itself; it can offer a variety of
incentives and benefits within a set
budget.
It is important to remember that a
strong workplace wellness program
will not be developed overnight. A
company should be continually working to improve its program.
Employees will embrace a wellness
program that challenges them both
physically and mentally. Increased
participation can be expected if the
employer offers incentives. The
employer must also ensure the program is well organized and promoted
so the employees are constantly aware
of the wellness opportunity available
at their workplace.
“Seventy percent of today’s illnesses are related to lifestyle
and, therefore, preventable.”
RENAY WOLFRAYS is the communications coordinator of JRG
Advisors, the management company for ChamberChoice. Reach
her at (412) 456-7011 or [email protected].
