Corporate health and wellness programs have gained a lot of popularity in the past few years. They are designed to promote the overall well-being of employees by creating a healthy work culture. However, they don’t always work despite being created with a positive intention. Understanding why these programs often fail will help you avoid such situations.
So, read on to learn more.
First, What’s a Corporate Health and Wellness Program?
Corporate health and wellness programs, also known as employee wellness programs, are special initiatives by employers that support the physical, mental, and financial well-being of their employees. As an employer, establishing a health and wellness program for your employees is a good idea since they will be more productive if they are satisfied.
Your program should cover the following particulars:
- Fitness programs
- Incentives
- Social support
- Behaviour change interventions
- Medical screenings
- Competitions
Though you can create such programs on your own, it’s usually a good idea to involve corporate health and wellness companies like Plus One for outstanding results. Such experts will not only help you create a program that works perfectly but also guide you through increasing employee buy-in.
Why Do Corporate Health and Wellness Programs Fail?
Now that you know what employee wellness programs are and where you can start, let’s review some of the most common reasons why such initiatives collapse so you know what to look out for.
1. Not Having the Right Activity-Results Balance
It’s quite common to have employee wellness programs that are focused a bit too much on activities. Such programs usually consist of a series of events, screenings, presentations, and incentive programs. A majority of employers love such programs since they are easy to administer, and you also don’t have to track participation and other data.
While such wellness programs are fun to run and engage in, they often don’t provide enough information about the effects they have on your employees. What’s more, activity-based wellness programs aren’t the best choice if you’re after positive wellness outcomes.
That’s why it’s a good idea to ensure you strike the right activity-result balance for your workplace wellness programs.
2. Downplaying the Importance of a Committee
Creating a well-designed corporate wellness program does not mean the program will be successful automatically. Remember you’re creating this initiative for your employees, so it won’t help if they don’t feel like they have much control and say in what’s happening and how everything is being done. In comparison, involving your employees through a functional committee assures them that the program serves their best interests, thus they will inherently feel obligated to join.
Of course, not all the ideas your employees suggest will be practical, but try to implement as many of these as you can to boost the motivation your employees get. When creating a wellness committee, be sure to design it in a way that drives the program from the bottom up, not the other way.
3. Undervaluing Flexibility and Customisation
Every company’s fitness center will be different as a result of unique needs and special workflows. That’s why you should create a custom fitness and wellness program to ensure all your needs and preferences are covered. You can make this process easier by leveraging the power of your program’s committee since there will be experts there who understand what tools and software can work best for your program.
You want to try as much as you can to create a customized program that not only meets your organization’s needs but also accommodates as wide a range of user needs as possible.
4. Complicating Your Program
It’s paramount that your program be as easy as possible to understand and follow. Not only that, but the incentive plan should also follow the same path so it’s painless to complete. So, create a registration process that is easy enough for a child to do with minimal friction.
One of the best ways to achieve this goal is usually to leverage technological solutions like mobile apps and others. Removing any barriers to participation will not only facilitate employee engagement but also guarantee positive outcomes.
Reclaim Your Organisation With Plus One
Health and wellness programs are a much-welcome solution for boosting your employees’ morale, so they keep delivering great results. Though you can walk this path alone, it’s a good idea to have experts leading the way. That way, you will adopt solutions you are sure are going to take your organization to the level you’re targeting.
Plus One, which is an Optum Company, has the best team to help you reach this goal. They know these and many more obstacles to look out for to ensure your employee wellness program succeeds. Visit plusoneworkplacewellbeing.com today to learn more and start your journey to guaranteed workplace well-being!
