Super Bowl LIII just wrapped up and the New England Patriots came out on top, winning their sixth championship. The team has appeared in the final game eleven times in NFL franchise history, more than any other team. These statistics prove to be successful, but the question is how have they achieved this success? Strategy, or what is known as a game plan in the sporting world, has proven to be integral in helping the Patriots became one of NFL’s most successful teams. Similarly, developing a game plan that focuses on employee wellness will create a healthier culture and a more profitable workplace.
Source: Freepik
Clearly, it’s important to increase employee productivity, boost morale and develop a healthy corporate culture, but where do you begin? Below are a few tips to help you approach wellness as a strategy within your company. So, let’s get to it. Hut!
Much like the X’s and O’s on a chalkboard during a football halftime, it is essential to create a plan of action. We recently interviewed Lianne Clarke, Senior Benefits Consultant at Cowan Insurance Group, and she shared seven best practices for developing a corporate health and wellbeing strategy.
TIP #1: IT STARTS WITH A LEADER
Your senior leadership team needs to show commitment in order to develop a culture of wellbeing within the organization. This leader is comparable to the quarterbacks in football who lead the offensive line. Leadership qualities are vital to your team and employee morale.
With this being said, it is challenging to create a culture of wellbeing without a leadership team who is willing to implement a wellness strategy. Leaders who are not committed to and modelling the overall message of wellness hinder success. Instead, leadership should set the tone of the game by thinking about wellness as proactive and preventative. Look at the value of investing and the value of caring. Understand the connection between employee health, productivity and wellness.
TIP #2: ASSESS YOUR DATA
In order to establish an effective strategy, you need to understand your audience. To do this, you need to gather as much information as possible about your employees. You may look at trends in illness or disability claims, and employee engagement scores.
The more you know about the people that make up your company, the better positioned you are to create an approach that is set up for success.
TIP #3: IMPLEMENT AN EMPLOYEE WELLNESS SURVEY
Ask your employees what they want! The programs and activities that you ultimately implement will only create value if your employees are engaged and participate. Gathering opinions and feedback can help direct your efforts and set the stage for positive results.
TIP #4: CREATE A COMMITTEE AND INVOLVE PEOPLE IN YOUR ORGANIZATION
A company’s approach to wellness should be inclusive. Generally, employees appreciate the opportunity to be involved and that can translate into better engagement. Introduce opportunities for employees to be involved in the development of programs and activities. It’s important to have a cross-section of employees from frontline staff to management. These are people within your corporation that are interested in promoting health and well-being and in helping to define what’s available to them and their peers.
Source: Freepik – peoplecreations
TIP #5: ESTABLISH A BRAND
Give your programs an identity to make it easy for employees to recognize it when you are communicating with them. This may include a name and even a logo. This helps distinguish wellness programs from other programs in your company, but also helps to establish a sense of unity and community among the people who participate.
TIP #6: EXECUTE A ROLLOUT AND COMMUNICATE
If you’re going to put the effort into establishing a wellness strategy, it’s essential to communicate it to the people it’s intended for. Use a variety of mediums to get the word out. Leverage technology and send out emails or create an online portal where information can be found. Create opportunities for discussion by hosting lunch-and-learns or host an after work running group. Share reminders through pamphlets and posters. Pay attention to how your employees communicate and engage and look for opportunities to build on this to get the word out on wellness.
TIP #7: MEASURE
It is important to understand what it is your corporation is trying to measure. Are you looking at employee engagement? Do you want to see a reduction in your disability claims? Do you want to see improvement in employee survey results? Do you notice your employees are more relaxed and happy in the office? Determine what success means to your organization and what you want to measure, then collect the results. These results should serve as a guide for your approach to wellness.
You have to think long-term when creating a culture of wellbeing and measuring its success. On the football field, teams hustle back and forth and adjust their plays accordingly with the end goal being to win. Wellness is not a quick fix. It’s not simply a monthly lunch-and-learn or fitness reimbursement program. Instead, it’s an ongoing approach that leverages activities and programs like this to promote healthy living. It continues and changes as you go, and throughout the process, you need to get your employees excited about it!
Source: Freepik – katemangostar
Need some more assistance?
Get your FREE Corporate Wellness Membership Starter Kit to get you started! Employee Wellness Solutions Network can help you create a healthier culture resulting in a more profitable and successful workplace. Our membership give you access to services including corporate wellness specialists, trainers and health coaches to help you create the best strategy for your organization. To learn more about the memberships, visit Employee Wellness Solutions Network.
We’re now tossing the coin to you. It’s your turn to tackle a wellness strategy within your company. Go get ‘em!
Sources
New England Patriots Statistics: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_England_Patriots
New England Patriots Success: https://www.forbes.com/sites/lancesalyers/2017/02/06/the-1-thing-every-organization-should-learn-from-the-new-england-patriots/#7005b8133c81
Lianne Clarke: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VN_AR45y4gs
Employee Wellness Solutions Network: https://ewsnetwork.com
Corporate Wellness Membership: https://ewsnetwork.com/pricing/