How to plan an employee wellness program

More employers then ever before are seeing the value of having an employee wellness program. They see this type of program as an investment in their workforce that can pay off for years to come. The bottom line is that employers who put an employee wellness program in place are seeing great payoffs however, it takes a lot of planning before you can begin using it. Companies that try to circumvent the planning process and use a pre made employee wellness program or someone else's program generally do not have the success of those businesses that take the time to go through the planning process and establish their own employee wellness program. Here is what you need to know about how to plan an employee wellness program-

- Start by establishing a budget-The first thing that any business should do when setting up an employee wellness program is to set up a budget. You need to know how much your business can afford to spend before you begin putting together an employee wellness program. Keep in mind that how much you spend will in large part determine how extensive your employee's wellness program will be but it does not necessarily have to determine the quality of it. If you are willing to be resourceful, use some creativity, and take your time planning you can put together an employee wellness program even on a limited budget. The Health Promotions Team should take the time to make themselves familiar with the low cost or even no cost options that are available in the community. In addition, many businesses have begun working together in order to pool their resources and expand their employee wellness program. This is a great way to keep costs down and yet still offer your employees many different components of a wellness program.
- Determine the location of your employee wellness program-After putting together your budget you will need to figure out where your employee wellness program will take place. Your actual business(the physical location), may or may not be the right space. If your business is spread out over different sites you may need to visit them all to figure out which locations will work best. Keep in mind that you want to choose a location(s) that will work for the majority of your employees if you want the highest levels of participation. There are many different questions that can help you to find the best locations. Some of these questions are-
1. Are there empty spaces(such as conference rooms), that can be converted for employee wellness activities?
2. Is there someplace within the business that can accommodate large groups of people or will offsite locations need to be considered?
3. Is there a business cafeteria that can be used for cooking classes or other types of food demonstrations?
4. What type of technology support will you need for certain employee wellness activities? Will you need TV's or other electronics?
5. Will there be one site that will need to be the headquarters for the employee wellness program?
6. Are there any other special considerations that should be taken into account?
7. Will there be showers and changing rooms available for fitness based events?
- Decide who will be taking part in the employee wellness program-If you want to be successful with your employee wellness program then there should be consideration about the people who are most likely to participate. It can be helpful to ask certain questions that can help to bring to light the most likely participants. These questions are-
1. What is the age range of employees at the business?
2. What is the type of work most employees do?
3. What are the health interests of the employees?
4. How much time are they likely to devote to the employee wellness program.