What are some essentially elements of a corporate wellness program?
Fitness memberships (can be via an onsite fitness center or through discounts or reimbursements offered through the employer); massage therapy, various health screenings (blood pressure, body composition, glucose, cholesterol, bone density, derma-scan, waist to hip ratio, postural analyses); CPR/AED trainings, healthy living workshops or series such as stress management, healthy eating, weight loss, proper desk ergonomics, etc.
Incentive programs are THE way to motivate employees to engage in healthy behaviors. There is some kind of prize involved (let’s say, a T-shirt for working out at least 30 minutes per day, at least 3 days a week for three months) to act as the “carrot” to engage the employee. Incentives can also include massage or personal training. There’s plenty of room for creativity and it’s essential to tailor each incentive program to the particular population you’re working with in order to get the best participation possible.
Lunch and learn opportunities, small group training, health/wellness newsletters, health screenings and health fairs, fitness contests…
LaRue, CSCS
www.lecfitness.com
[email protected]
According to the Wellness Councils of American (WELCOA) the seven benchmarks of success for developing results-oriented wellness program are:
1. Capturing Senior Level Support
2. Creating a Cohesive Wellness Team
3. Collecting Data to Drive a Results-Oriented Wellness Initiative
4. Crafting An Annual Operating Plan
5. Choosing Appropriate Health Promotion Interventions
6. Creating a Supporting Health-Promoting Environment
7. Carefully Evaluating Outcomes
Hope this helps.
First, congratulations on working with a company that is implanting a wellness program. You may already be underway. I see you have some great responses to the question already. Here are a couple of ideas on corporate health and fitness from the ÔÇÿvault’ for you.
Full participation comes easier when you ensure that you keep employees’ personal health risk appraisal [HRA] and fitness data confidential; give corporate leadership aggregate data. Employees are more likely to share their health issues when they know you protect their anonymity. If you use an online HRA tool even better, employees may go in to their personalized online center and update their own information.
Work with all department leaders e.g. human resources, finance, legal, operations. Their input is valuable in creating a menu of health services; involve each department leader in the internal marketing component to bolster employee participation.
Working with the company aggregate demographics and health risks identified through your HRA you may craft a good employee ÔÇÿpoll’ asking employees which health/fitness programs they would participate in when offered.
Best wishes for continued success!