Common mistakes of employee wellness programs

You may think that there is nothing easier then designing and implementing an employee wellness program-right? However, while you may assume that everyone will love your employee wellness program regardless there are common mistakes that can doom your program before it evens begins. If you fail to take into consideration these mistakes you may find that your employee wellness program never really takes off.Knowing what these mistakes are will help you to avoid them and design the employee wellness program that your business needs and your employees love. Here are some common mistakes of employee wellness programs-

- Failing to get the support of upper management-The reality is that the success of your employee wellness program will come from the top down. If you cannot get upper management onboard and involved with the employee wellness program the chances are high that it will never get off the ground. The employees in the business will be looking for examples and approval from upper management so if they are not interested in getting healthier then the chances are high that no one else will be either. This makes it crucial to work with upper management long before your employee wellness program is put into place. While in the planning stages the upper management should be involved and then at least one member of management should serve on the Health Promotions Team that will design and run the program.
- Failing to adequately fund the program-Every business no matter the size is looking to cut costs and make their dollars go as far as possible. While it certainly is possible to fund an employee wellness program for not a lot of money not giving it enough funding will quickly doom it. Business owners will need to see their employee wellness program as an investment. This means that while you may not see immediate returns they will grow larger as the program expands and helps more employees. The key to making sure that you have enough funding lies in the planning process. The Health Promotions team will need to take adequate time to research what areas are of most interest to the employees in the business. Then they will need to find cost effective ways to install these components as part of the employee wellness program. Using resourcefulness, creativity, and planning an effective employee wellness program can be implemented for not a lot of money. Keep in mind that there are a lot of free and low cost resources within any community that can be used as part of an employee wellness program.
- Failing to involve the employees who are at the highest risk-No matter how great your employee wellness program is if it does not include the employees who are at the highest risk then it is not effective. Employers will need to determine which employees are costing them the most money and then find ways to include them in the program. Studies show that high risk employees cost 3-5 times more then the average employee. This means that if you have employees who are obese, smoke, or have other high risk medical problems they are costing you far more then you will even spend in an employee wellness program. The way to avoid making this mistake is to offer incentives as part of your employee wellness program. Keep in mind that you can offer incentives that will be for participation in the program or penalties (such as higher insurance premiums), for non participation. Whatever it is you will need to make sure that it is something of value to your high risk employees.