How do I Develop and Design an Effective Wellness Program?

 

Because of the continuing rise of health insurance premiums along with the importance of a healthy workforce, employers should be continually looking for ways to support their employees healthy living practices.  One of the easiest and best solutions to support healthy living Is to implement a wellness program.  Wellness programs typically have 5 key goals:

o  Lowering employer health premiums by reducing employee utilization.

o  Reducing workers’ compensation and short-term disability expense.

o  Improving employee engagement.

o  Reducing absenteeism and improving productivity.

o  Improving morale at work.

Outlined below is a five step program to make your wellness program a success.

Step 1: Administer a Needs Assessments

Gathering information is an important step in developing any workforce wellness program. The data collected with assist the HR team in designing a program the is not only valued by the employees but can impact the bottom line. Surveying employees to evaluate and chart their person wellness needs will assist in creating a roadmap for the future.  Surveying employees will evaluate the current climate as to how a program might be received, what the program should look like and what information employees are willing to share.

Step 2: Secure Leadership Support for the Program

A key challenge in securing a wellness program is obtaining management support and communicating the potential value of a wellness program to the organization's bottom line.  Providing data that support this type of initiative are a key requirement.  Measurement tools that HR may want to utilize as a benchmark include the current workers’ compensation experience modification rate (EMR), current benefit expense and employee satisfaction and engagement ratings.  As with any initiative, management buy-in is critical when creating a budget for the program.  An important driver to secure support is to show that an effective wellness program will result in reduced company expense and an improvement in productivity.

Step 3: Establish a Wellness Budget

Establishing a budget is a crucial step in creating a wellness program. Without sufficient funding, the program will lack success.  While many employers can secure financial support from their broker and health insurance companies the employer needs to be the primary financial force behind the program’s success. When creating a budget, companies should include expenses relating to effective ways to promote the program, promotional materials, marketing materials, vendor fees, participation incentives, promotional materials and any consultant time.

Step 4: Establish Key Goals and Metrics

Using the information gathered from the employee benefits survey, employers can establish goals and objectives for the program. For many organizations, a key goal is to improve workers' health and thereby reduce health care costs. Here are a few examples of typical goals and metrics:

o  The number of on-site weight loss meetings attended by employees and the total number of pounds lost over a period of time.

o  The number of employees taking advantage of a smoking cessation programs and their ability to quit.

o  The number of employees taking advantage of an employer-sponsored gym membership and the number of times they “work-out” per week.

o  The number of employees attending the annual health fair.

o  The number of employees attending employer sponsored nutrition education classes.

The final objectives should be clear, time-limited and communicated in such a way that it is easy to determine whether they have been achieved.

Step 5: Follow-Up

Conducting a follow-up survey to determine the effectiveness of each type of program would allow the employer to verify the support for the program as well as confirm that the programs offered are aligned with the original purpose behind the program.  As with any project, evaluating the effectiveness of the wellness program is important in sustaining management and employee support and in revising or implementing new programs.

Good luck in the creation of your wellness program.