6 Effective Steps To Create A Corporate Wellness Plan That Works

With employee health and well-being taking center stage in today's fast-paced corporate environment, it has become increasingly important for companies to invest in effective workplace wellness programs. A successful wellness program can bring multiple advantages to an organization, from improving employee health and reducing healthcare expenses to boosting productivity.

A comprehensive wellness plan is the secret ingredient to a thriving, productive workforce.

In this blog post, we will explore essential components of a corporate wellness plan that can help promote physical fitness, social connections among remote employees, and better work-life balance through flexible work schedules.

We'll explore real-life examples of organizations that have successfully implemented these strategies. For your remote employees, you’ll uncover how to address workplace stress through evidence-based interventions such as mindfulness training techniques. Additionally, we'll discuss how developing a comprehensive communication plan around your company's wellness initiatives can drive engagement and participation from your team members.

Ready? Let’s start by first highlighting the components of a corporate wellness plan.

Essential Components of a Corporate Wellness Plan

A top-notch corporate wellness plan is crucial for promoting healthy lifestyles, reducing stress, and boosting productivity among employees in work-from-home, traditional, or hybrid companies.

We’ve highlighted the 3 components you need to create an effective plan for your organization.

Engaged Leadership

The first step is to get your leadership on board. An effective wellness program starts with committed leaders who actively support and participate in the initiative.

Strategic Alignment with Company Goals

Once your organization’s leadership is on board, the next step is to align your wellness plans with company objectives. Your program should complement existing goals and contribute to overall organizational success.

Meeting Diverse Employee Needs

Fulfill various requirements of your staff by offering diverse activities catering to different interests, abilities, and schedules. This way, you’ll ensure maximum participation from remote or hybrid workforces.

Remember: A comprehensive wellness program can lead to improved employee health outcomes while potentially lowering healthcare costs for employers.

Now that we've covered the essentials, let's look at some real-life examples of successful corporate wellness programs.

Successful Examples of Corporate Wellness Programs

Below are 4 real-life examples of companies that have nailed wellness programs for their staff.

MD Anderson Cancer Center's Six Pillars Approach: This well-rounded program focuses on six key areas, including physical activity, nutrition, and stress management. It's a holistic approach to employee health that has proven to be successful.

Nelnet's Employee Satisfaction Improvement: By investing in a comprehensive wellness program early on, Nelnet saw an increase in employee satisfaction. This is a win-win situation for both the company and its employees.

Lowe's Health Initiative Incentives: Lowe's offers its employees incentives for participating in various health initiatives. Who doesn't love rewards for staying healthy?

Biltmore's Nondenominational Chaplain Services: As part of their wellbeing strategy, Biltmore provides chaplain services to support employees' spiritual needs. This is a unique and thoughtful approach to employee wellness.

A successful corporate wellness plan should be tailored to the company's culture and employees' individual needs. It's also important to create an effective program tailored to your WFH or hybrid workforce. Consider incorporating elements from these successful examples while keeping your company culture and unique employee needs in mind.

Next, let’s explore the 6 steps to create a wellness plan that actually works.

#1 Stealth Health Strategies for Remote Workforces

Let's talk about "stealth health". This is a clever approach to corporate wellness plans that can be a game-changer for remote or hybrid workforces, especially for HR managers and IT managers.

For instance, company food service vendors can emphasize nutritious options while maintaining delicious flavors that appeal to employees working from home or at the office. These are some tips that your company’s food service can use to achieve that balance.

Nutrition labeling: Providing clear and concise nutritional information on meal options helps employees make informed choices about their diet.
Fresh ingredients: Emphasizing fresh fruits, vegetables, and lean proteins ensures meals are both tasty and healthy.
Creative recipes: Developing innovative dishes with bold flavors keeps things interesting without compromising nutrition goals.
Educational resources: Offering tips on portion control, balanced diets, and other wellness topics empowers employees to take charge of their health journey.

Incorporating these stealth health strategies into your corporate wellness plan not only supports employee wellbeing but also boosts morale by showing you care about their personal needs - even when they're miles away from the office.

Wellness programs have become increasingly important in the workplace, with workplace wellness programs focusing on improving employee health and lowering healthcare costs. It's important to note that wellness isn't just about physical health, but also mental health and good health behaviors.

Regular exercise and smoking cessation are just a few examples of behavior change that can improve employee health and lower healthcare costs. In fact, a randomized clinical trial found that program participation in a workplace wellness program led to a significant reduction in healthcare costs.

To sum up: Stealth health is all about providing healthier alternatives appealingly. Why not consider it? Your workforce will thank you.

#2 Addressing Workplace Stress through Mindfulness Training

Workplace stress is a major concern for employees, especially in today's WFH (work from home) and hybrid work environments.

The good news?

You can help your team tackle this issue head-on by incorporating evidence-based interventions like mindfulness training.

Benefits of Mindfulness training:

Improves focus and attention,
Promotes emotional well-being,
Fosters resilience to stress,
Enhances interpersonal relationships, and
Bolsters overall mental health.

These benefits sound great, right? But how do you get started?

Create awareness: Educate your workforce about the benefits of mindfulness practices. Share success stories from other organizations that have implemented similar programs.
Incorporate into daily routines: Encourage employees to set aside time each day for mindfulness exercises such as meditation or deep breathing techniques. Provide resources like guided meditations or apps to support their practice.
Cultivate a mindful culture: Model mindful behavior at all levels of leadership. Offer workshops on topics like mindful communication or decision-making to foster an atmosphere where mindfulness is valued and practiced throughout the organization.-

#3 Conducting Research and Developing Communication Plans before Implementation

Before you plunge into implementing your corporate wellness plan, it's crucial to do some groundwork first.

These 2 steps below will prevent you from expending effort and funds on a strategy that won't yield any results.

Researching Evidence-Based Initiatives

Dive deep into studies on workplace wellness programs that have been successful in promoting healthy behaviors among employees. A good starting point would be examining randomized clinical trials or case studies from reputable sources like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Developing a Clear Communication Plan

Create an engaging presentation or video explaining the goals of your corporate wellness plan, its components, and how employees can participate in various activities designed for their well-being. Incentivize participation with rewards such as gift cards or extra vacation days - this will encourage more employees to take part in your comprehensive wellness program.

Remember, communication is key. Regularly update your staff on the progress of the wellness initiative and share success stories to keep everyone motivated and inspired.

Learn more: Find out how your company can customize Lanteria HR to suit your HR needs and prioritize employee wellness today. Book a free demo call now

#4 Employee Surveys to Identify Specific Needs

Every employee is unique, and so are their needs. To create a corporate wellness plan that truly resonates with your remote, traditional, or hybrid workforce, you need to know what they actually want and need. This is where employee surveys come in handy.

The insights gathered from each survey will help you tailor your corporate wellness program to the unique requirements of your workforce while maximizing its effectiveness.

Bonus Tip 1: Use surveys to promote open communication channels for continuous feedback on your wellness initiatives throughout the implementation phases. This way, you can make necessary adjustments as needed based on real-time input from employees themselves.
Bonus Tip 2: In addition to surveys, consider conducting focus group discussions or one-on-one interviews with key stakeholders across all levels of the organization. This will provide valuable qualitative information like how your employees feel about certain events. The qualitative data can complement quantitative survey findings. After all, wellness programming isn't just about physical health, it's also about mental health and good health behaviors.

Workplace wellness programs focus on employee wellness initiatives, such as physical activity and smoking cessation, to promote good health behaviors. By encouraging regular exercise and healthy habits, you can help your employees improve their physical and mental health, which can lead to lower healthcare costs and improved public health.

#5 Flexible Work Schedules & Encouraging Regular Breaks

The traditional 9-to-5 work schedule can limit the productivity of your workforce. In today's dynamic world of remote and hybrid workforces, flexible work schedules are the way to go.

Research by the International Labour Organization indicates that varying working hours can be beneficial for both employers and employees, resulting in higher productivity, contentment with the job, and staff retention. It's a win-win situation that gets even better.

We all know how easy it is for remote workers to get sucked into their screens and forget about taking breaks.

This is where you come in as an empathetic HR or IT manager by promoting regular breaks during work hours. This will help your employees become a happier workforce with better focus and mental clarity.

Encourage your employees to take a break from their work periodically, whether they're working remotely or in the office.

#6 Physical Fitness Incentives & Onsite Facilities for Remote/Hybrid Workforces

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle while working remotely or in hybrid environments can be quite challenging. We've got some excellent ideas to help you incorporate physical fitness incentives and onsite facilities into your wellness plans.

Offering Onsite Fitness Facilities

If your company has an office space, consider setting up an onsite gym. This will encourage employees to break a sweat during lunch breaks or before heading home after work. It will significantly reduce absenteeism at work, increase brain power, reduce stress and motivate your staff more, and help you retain employees and build stronger teams.

Providing Discounted Gym Membership Incentives

Partner with local gyms to offer discounted memberships as part of your comprehensive wellness program. Your employees will appreciate the cost savings and may even bump into their colleagues during workout sessions, fostering camaraderie despite distance constraints.

Fitness Challenges & Virtual Workout Sessions

Create fun monthly challenges that promote regular exercise (e.g., "10k steps per day" or "30-day plank challenge"). Reward participants with small prizes like gift cards or extra Paid time off (PTO) hours.
Schedule virtual group workout sessions via video conferencing platforms such as Zoom. This way, remote workers can join in on the fun too.
Promote regular exercise and physical activity through engaging newsletters, social media posts, or even a dedicated wellness Slack channel.

Pro tip: Encourage employees to share their fitness journey on your company's internal communication platform. This will create a sense of community and motivate others to join in.

Incorporating these ideas into your wellness plan can help improve employee health, lower healthcare costs, and boost overall morale within remote/hybrid workforces. Wellness programs are essential for HR managers and IT managers to focus on wellness initiatives that improve health behaviors and promote good health.

FAQs About Wellness Plan

What is the purpose of a wellness plan?

The purpose of a wellness plan is to promote and support employee health, well-being, and productivity by implementing evidence-based interventions, tailored programs, and initiatives that address the physical, mental, emotional, and social aspects of wellness. This leads to improved employee engagement, reduced healthcare costs for employers, increased job satisfaction, and enhanced overall organizational performance.

What is a wellness plan?

A wellness plan is an organized approach adopted by organizations to create a healthy work environment through various programs targeting employees' physical fitness levels (exercise, nutrition), mental health (stress management), emotional well-being (resilience training), social connectedness (team-building activities) as well as other areas such as financial stability or occupational safety.

What should be in a wellness plan?

A comprehensive wellness plan should include: engaging leadership support; designing plans for remote workers; addressing workplace stress with evidence-based interventions; surveying employee needs for tailored programs; developing communication strategies; measuring outcomes; incorporating feedback loops; and offering incentives or rewards systems where appropriate. It may also involve collaborating with external partners like insurance providers or local gyms.

What are the 4 steps to developing a wellness plan?

Evaluate employee needs and preferences through surveys, focus groups, or interviews.
Design a tailored program based on the identified needs, with measurable goals and objectives.
Implement the plan by engaging leadership support, communicating effectively with employees, and offering resources and tools to promote participation.
Monitor progress regularly, evaluate outcomes using data-driven metrics, and adjust strategies as needed for continuous improvement.

A corporate wellness plan can help you address workplace stress and promote resilience in employees through evidence-based interventions like relaxation techniques and team-building activities. Surveying employee needs and analyzing feedback on their preferred types of support services is key to tailoring programs that meet individual needs.

To implement a successful wellness plan at your organization, consider the examples from MD Anderson Cancer Center's six-pillar approach or Nelnet's early investment in employee wellness. Lowe's incentive-based health initiatives and Biltmore's holistic approach with chaplain services are also great models to follow.

Find out how your company can customize Lanteria HR to suit your HR needs and prioritize employee wellness today. Book a free demo call now.