There are so many different types of workplace wellness programs, it can be overwhelming deciding what works for your business. At the end of your wellness initiative, the goal is for your employees to think more about their health and make healthier decisions. When you put your employees’ needs at the center of your wellness program, it makes narrowing down your options easier. Here are a few questions to help you figure out what will work best for your company and your employees.
What was the last wellness initiative and how did it go?
If you did something in the past that employees seemed to enjoy, got good feedback or had a high participation rate, then you might want to do something similar. You don’t want to repeat the exact same thing, but you can reuse the elements that received the best feedback. If your last wellness program didn’t do as well as you hoped, it’s a great opportunity to change it up this year.
It’s important to ask for feedback at the end of your program, or at the end of the year if you run wellness programs throughout the year. You can use that feedback to track outcomes, plan your next employee wellness program and make it better than the last.
How big is the company?
The size of your company directly relates to your employees’ experience in your corporate wellness program. If your company is enterprise-sized, it may be better to organise programming at a departmental level. Smaller teams with their own goals—or teams competing against each other—can make a challenge feel more personal and increase participation.
If you have a smaller company, such as a new startup, you can tailor your programming even more closely to your employees. Shared activities create something to talk about between coworkers, help build company culture and can make employees more likely to participate.
Are there going to be prizes?
A great way to encourage employees to participate is to offer prizes or another reward. Think about what your employees really want and what will motivate them. Fitness products can encourage healthier lifestyles, while workplace incentives can also be meaningful.
Big prizes for top employees aren’t the only way to motivate. Micro-rewards or a points-based system help everyone feel like they have a chance to earn something. Employee recognition is also a strong motivator—even announcing top participants in weekly meetings can help people feel valued and eager to participate.
How can we make a healthy lifestyle easier for our employees?
Think about how you can make healthy living the easier choice. Ideas include providing healthy snacks, ensuring catered meetings have nutritious options, protecting adequate time at home, providing meditation rooms and creating social events that improve company culture and social wellbeing.
Start with the area of wellness you want to focus on—mental, physical or social—and develop ideas from there.