How to help your employee wellness program succeed

If you are a business owner who is trying to decide whether or not to implement an employee wellness program, you may be wondering what you can do to help make it successful. Many business owners struggle with the dilemma of putting money into a program and then fear that their employees won't use it. While this is a valid fear, the good news is that there are steps you can take that will increase the chances that your employee wellness program will be successful. Here is what you need to know about how to help your employee wellness program succeed-

• Do your research-It is crucial that before any aspect of the employee wellness program is designed that management, and the Health Promotions Team, have a clear idea of what employees need and are interested in. This can easily be done with a Health Risk Assessment. If the assessment is designed correctly it should return the data on what employees are most likely to participate in, should they have access to an employee wellness program. The bottom line is that offering classes in nutrition, low fat cooking, fitness or any other wellness subject will only succeed if the employees plan on getting involved with those topics.
• Commit to the long term-Businesses by their very nature are looking for a short term solution. To many business owners make the mistake of thinking that they can set up an employee wellness program, for a year and see big changes. If you are looking to establish an employee wellness program, you should realize that it needs to be a long-term and permanent commitment. Change happens slowly and your employees will need to know that you are committed, over the long haul, to help them make better and healthier choices. It is only when you do this that you will see significant return on investment; from whatever amount your employee wellness program costs.
• Start at the top-Successful employee wellness programs have top level management support and participation. You will want your program to have a "lead by example" mentality. Employees are much more likely to become involved when they see management not only promoting the employee wellness program, but becoming involved as well. The bottom line is that you must get the high levels in the company to give their support and commitment in order to effect a permanent change in the company culture.
• Make it accessible to the employees-If the program requires a great deal of time or travel to access, there is little chance that employees will stick with the employee wellness program, for the long term. Your program must be structured so that employees can easily access its benefits. Whether meetings are held in common areas, information dispersed through company email, or materials are sent to employees home, in order to be successful you will need to take the program to the people.
• Realize you will have to spend some money-However, you should keep in mind that while a budget is required it won't have to huge. Many employee wellness programs spend only $100-$250 dollars per year, per employee and see significant results. You must carefully evaluate what your company can spend and then make sure that the dollars are being spent where they are most effective.
• Involve family-Studies show that employees are much more likely to affect permanent change in their lives, if their families are involved. In addition, health care costs can be greatly reduced by efforts that are made to improve the health of an employee's family.
• Offer rewards-While some people may be self-motivated to make health changes, most people needs some external motivation. If your employee wellness program offers rewards you are more likely to gain a higher percentage of employee involvement, then if you don't. Just make sure that you are offering rewards that are of value and are meaningful to your employees.