Designing an employee wellness program can seem overwhelming. How do you address the individual health needs of an entire workforce? Sometimes, you just need to know where to start. 

Determine the needs of your employees. Crunching data on lost productivity only tells us one side of the story. Asking employees for input on wellness program offerings will help you determine not only which programs to put in place, but give ownership to those who will benefit the most. Surveys, wellness committees and coordination with department leaders provide valuable input.

Create a plan. Once you assess the needs of your employees, what will it take to put them into place? What is your budget? What is the level of commitment from key company leaders? How will you determine success? These are all questions that need to be addressed to start the framework of your program.

Get people involved! Now the real work starts. You’ve developed a program, but how do you increase participation? Create a marketing plan, recruit wellness ambassadors, determine incentives and coordinate with department managers to help ensure their employees have the time and resources they need to take advantage of program offerings.

Ask for constant feedback. Successful wellness programs are constantly adjusting to meet the needs of their employees. Survey data and enlisting the help of wellness committees and ambassadors can provide a steady stream of necessary information to keep your program on track.

Change is good. Adapting to the ever-changing needs of your employees is crucial to program success. Combining key data points with employee and manager feedback will lead to the advancement of your program.

With so many employers beginning to understand the need for quality wellness programming, it is important to enlist the help of industry leaders with a proven track record of success. Curtis Health has been helping individuals and companies improve the health of their workforce for over thirty years. Contact us today to find out how we can help you!

As employee wellness programs continue to grow in popularity, it’s important to consider how you determine return on investment. Traditionally, programs used general data, such as health risk assessments and biometric screenings to determine ROI. Now, more employers are shifting the measure of success to focus on improved employee morale and increased productivity. Happy employees improve workplace morale and create a better company culture. Employees who feel supported at work are much more productive than those who become so stressed out that they start missing work.

Successful wellness programs focus on the “whole” employee, and not only individual physical achievements (weight loss, quitting smoking, increased physical fitness). By broadening the definition of wellness to go beyond physical statistics, employers can see happier employees, higher productivity and greater employee retention rates.

So how can a holistic employee wellness program benefit your company?

1.       Improve Employee Morale

Low employee morale is usually a sign of high stress, low engagement and a lack of exercise. Successful wellness programs focus on the “whole” employee, and not only individual physical achievements (weight loss, quitting smoking, increases in physical fitness). Survey results consistently show employees are more productive when they work for an employer who takes an interest in their health. A recent poll by Refresh Leadership noted that 71% of employees consider benefits package offerings are extremely or very important to their job satisfaction.

2.       Reduce Injuries

Injuries occur more frequently among unhealthy employees with higher risk factors. On site fitness classes such as group exercise and walking groups can increase the physical health of your employees, while health education, such as back care and tobacco cessation classes can help employees make positive lifestyle choices that reduce potential injuries.  

3.       Diminish absenteeism

When employees are sick or injured and they take time off, companies lose thousands and sometimes millions of dollars on temporary employment and downtime. Wellness programs tend to result in fewer sick days and fewer absences. According to the Health Advancement Research Organization, absenteeism was 27 percent lower for those workers who ate healthy and exercised regularly.

4.       Improve productivity

Employees who feel better and are healthier are more productive, which improves your organization’s bottom line. Offering stress management and meditation classes can help promote mindfulness and increase productivity. Recently a Health Advancement Research Organization found that employees who ate healthy and exercised regularly improved job performance 11 percent higher than their peers who were obese.

5.       Improve employee retention and attract talent

Employee turnover is extremely expensive, and wellness programs show employees that their employer values their health. Working for a company who cares about you as a human being leads to increased retention. In addition, offering wellness benefits demonstrates to job seekers how committed you are to the health and happiness of your employees. And the numbers are remarkable. Almost half (45%) of employees at small or mid-sized companies reported that they would stay at their jobs longer because of employer-sponsored wellness programs, according to the latest Principal Financial Well-Being Index.

Want to learn more about how an employee wellness program can benefit your company? Contact Curtis Health today to find out how we can design a program specifically designed to meet the needs of your employees.