4 Steps to Implement a Successful Employee Wellness Program

Employee Wellness Program

Company Background

Benefits of the Employee Wellness Program

Employee Needs Assessment

Components of the Program

Marketing of the Program

Implementation of the Plan

Evaluation of the Plan

This paper aims at developing an employee wellness program for the organization so as to ensure that the due attention is paid to the health and wellness issues that are being confronted by the employees. The paper would also propose strategies for the effective marketing and evaluation of the developed employee wellness program.

Employee Wellness Program

Company Background

The organization under consideration has been in the business since last 10 years. The organization is a manufacturing concern that is indulged in the development and sales of beverages, including fresh juices and gerbil teas. The organization operates in 3 different regions of the United States of America and employs a total of 500 people. The organization has a healthy business and the employees work dedicatedly for the purpose of the attainment of the goals of the organization. This paper aims at developing an employee wellness program for the organization so as to ensure that the due attention is paid to the health and wellness issues that are being confronted by the employees.

2. Benefits of the Employee Wellness Program

The wellness program would enable the organization to inspire the employees to pay attention to their health and well-being through the deployment of some sophisticated tools and strategies. This, as a result, would enable the employees to enhance their overall health and well-being. The program would also enable the management of the organization to create a culture of wellness within the organization and encourage the employees to take responsibility of their own well-being. (Staff Members of the International Public Management for Human Resources, 2013)

According to a number of studies, an unhealthy lifestyle is observed to be one of the most evident and five major causes of death in the United States of America. In the United States of America, cancer, stroke, heart diseases, respiratory diseases and diabetes are the underlying causes of around 70% of the deaths. In addition to that, around two thirds of all the citizens of the United States of America are overweight and even though there has been a decline in the use of tobacco but one out of every five Americans is observed to be a smoker. (Staff Members of the International Public Management for Human Resources, 2013)

Apart from that, it has also been indicated by a number of studies that with every dollar that the organizations spend on employee wellness program they save around 2.30 to 10 dollars. These savings are made in terms of reduction in absenteeism, reduction in work related injuries, decrease in sick leaves, decrease in the health insurance costs, reduction in stress levels, increase in employee morale and enhancement in the performance as well as productivity of the employees. (Staff Members of the International Public Management for Human Resources, 2013)

3. Employee Needs Assessment

The needs of the employees were assessed on the basis of a survey. The employees of a particular branch were provided with surveys that consisted of questions in relation to the health and well-being. The employees were also asked to propose recommendations or strategies that would enable them to address the identified health and wellness issues in an effective and appropriate manner.

The need assessment led towards the identification of the following important facts:

Most of the employees in the organization had an unhealthy lifestyle, including inappropriate eating habits, no exercise habits and low time for mitigation.

As the organization confronts a high demand for products, therefore, the employees also go through psychological stress and did not have enough time for mitigation and stress management. This also has a negative impact on the intellectual abilities of the employees.

The employees do not have time to indulge in interpersonal relations other than the work relations. Furthermore, the employees believed that the organizational environment needs to be a more social and spiritual.

The following survey was used to determine the need for the initiation of an employee health and wellness program in the organization:1. Do you think your organization pays sufficient emphasis on employee health and well-being?

2. How much time do you spend within the organization?

3. Do you maintain a healthy work style and have sufficient time to exercise?

4. Does the organization have a healthy and social environment?

5. Do you get enough time to communicate with others and maintain healthy interpersonal relations outside the office?

6. How do you reach the workplace and how many transportation do you use?

7. On the scale of 1 to 5, with one being poor and 5 being great, how would you rate your health?

8. Which of the following do you think you need to improve the most?

Physical health.

Social health.

Intellectual health.

Occupational health.

Emotional health.

Spiritual health.

9. On the scale of 1 to 5, with one being lowest and 5 being highest, how would you rate your stress level?

10. Would you be interested in attending the activities of an employee wellness program that your organization might initiate?

11. Recommend the tools that you think shall be included in the wellness program.

(McClintick, 2009)

4. Components of the Program

The following activities would be offered within the suggested employee wellness program:

Primary Care:

One of the basic reasons that underlie the emotional stress of an employee is the responsibilities that he or she has towards his family. If the employee is not able to address these responsibilities effectively then this lead towards the creation of emotional stress and depression. (Staff Members of the University of California, Riverside, 2014) The program, therefore, will provide the employees with a 12-month primary care and insurance for the dependents, whose age lie between 0 and 15 years. This activity will address all the employees. The health services will be provided by the licensed hospitals of the region in case of common illness as well as screenings, examinations and referral managements. (Staff Members of the International Public Management for Human Resources, 2013)

Comprehensive Health Review and Health Coaching

Once the employees are screened through health assessment, they would go through comprehensive health reviews. These reviews will take place in the initiation of the program. These reviews would address the employees who would be identified as having inappropriate health under the health assessments. (Staff Members of the International Public Management for Human Resources, 2013)

These reviews would devise strategies and set up action plans that would enable the employees to move towards better health and would reduce the physical stress and enhance the physical well-being of the employees. All the employees of the organization would also receive health coaching once a month. Under these sessions, the employees would be informed about all the current issues in relation to health. The coaching session would take place on the second Friday of each month at the conference hall from 12 P.M to 2 P.M. The employees would be served refreshments during this time. Such sessions would also enable the employees to enhance their interpersonal wellness as they would be able to interact with each other. (Staff Members of the International Public Management for Human Resources, 2013)

Stress Management Sessions

The organization would conduct 4 events in the months of March, June, September and December, at the locations, outside the boundaries of the organization, which would be available at the targeted time. These events would be directed at addressing various issues in relation to the spiritual, intellectual and environmental well-being of the employees. These events would be directed towards the employees who would volunteer to participate in these events. (Staff Members of the Texas Municipal League Multistate Intergovernmental Employee Benefits Pool and Deer Oaks Employee Assistance Program, 2010)

The events would call for the employees to bring lunch from their homes and would work as lunch and learn sessions. The events would invite speakers from various fields. In addition to that, these events would also consist of various interactive activities that would enable the employees to enhance their knowledge about each other, open their mind up to new ideas and processes, make them feel positive above themselves and enhance their sense of social and environmental responsibilities. (Staff Members of the Texas Municipal League Multistate Intergovernmental Employee Benefits Pool and Deer Oaks Employee Assistance Program, 2010)

Subscriptions and Memberships

The organizations would also provide the physically and psychologically unwell employees with discounts on memberships of various health and fitness centers and spas. These memberships would be provided to the employees who would be willing to become a member of the health and fitness centers. The organization would select the health and fitness center on the basis of the priorities and preferences of the employees. Furthermore, a cost and benefit analysis would also be conducted in relation to the selection of the centers at which discounts would be provided. (Staff Members of the Texas Municipal League Multistate Intergovernmental Employee Benefits Pool and Deer Oaks Employee Assistance Program, 2010)

Corporate Social Responsibility

The organization would also design social initiatives and programs that would be designed to make an improvement in the environment. Two such programs would be conducted in the month of July and December. (Staff Members of the Texas Municipal League Multistate Intergovernmental Employee Benefits Pool and Deer Oaks Employee Assistance Program, 2010)

Under the first program, a welfare program would be conducted in which the employees would go to various deprived and disadvantaged areas and would provide resources, such as food and clothing, to the people. The employees would be made an important part of this event and they would be encouraged to plan, manage and administer the entire event. (Staff Members of the Texas Municipal League Multistate Intergovernmental Employee Benefits Pool and Deer Oaks Employee Assistance Program, 2010)

Another plan would be environmental awareness and education program. This program would be conducted within the premises of the organization at the conference hall. It would start from 10 A.M and end at 3 P.M at the second Saturday of December. In this activity, the employees would be encouraged to share their experience and enhancements in their environmental and spiritual wellness. The employees would be provided with lunch and refreshments. (Staff Members of the Texas Municipal League Multistate Intergovernmental Employee Benefits Pool and Deer Oaks Employee Assistance Program, 2010)

Gaming and Other Interpersonal Activities

The organization would arrange a walk, a volley ball game, or any other physical activity once in three months. The employees would be encouraged to participate in these activities with their children and spouse. This would provide the employees with an opportunity to interact with each other and develop stronger social relationships. In addition to that, these exercises and events would also enable the employees to enhance their physical health as well. All the employees of the organization would be encouraged to take part in these activities as these would add up to their interpersonal, physical and emotional well-being and would provide the employees with an opportunity to spend time with colleagues and their families. (Staff Members of the Texas Municipal League Multistate Intergovernmental Employee Benefits Pool and Deer Oaks Employee Assistance Program, 2010)

5. Marketing of the Program

The program would be marketed to the employees through the deployment of mails, pamphlets and posters. In addition to that, the concerned authorities would also communicate the benefits of the program to the employees. The employees would be persuaded through informal discussions and word of mouth to become a part of the program as the program would ultimately benefit them. The employees would be sent emails that would consist of all the details of the plan and would highlight its importance and benefits. Various pamphlets and posters would also be published. The posters would be distributed among the employees and the posters would be placed on the entrance and exit doors and corridors of the organization so that may come to the attention of the employees in a frequent manner. (Staff Members of the Texas Municipal League Multistate Intergovernmental Employee Benefits Pool and Deer Oaks Employee Assistance Program, 2010)