Employee Wellness Blog | TotalWellness

Simplicity – Your Key to a Successful Wellness Program [New Ebook!]

Written by Robyn Whalen | Thu, Sep 28, 2017

Workplace wellness should be anything but complicated. With so many employees stressed enough as it is, the last thing you want to do is overwhelm them with complex wellness initiatives and tasks. Fortunately, we’re here to help you take the hassle out of building a successful wellness program. 

Our newest eBook is dedicated to helping you keep your wellness program simple. By keeping things simple, you’ll be able to focus on the main factors that lead to behavior change and promote a healthy, happy workforce. We narrowed it down to five key factors that contribute to an effective wellness program: accessibility, communication, health assessments, screenings, and health education and activities. 

Here’s a sneak peek of what you’ll find when you download our free eBook:

Accessibility

Your wellness program should be available at the click of a button. Without an accessible wellness platform in place, you can expect low employee participation and a headache on the administrative side of things. Using an online platform, such as a wellness portal, is a great way to create a user-friendly, accessible program.

How to keep it simple:

Employees will be much more excited to use a wellness portal if it’s not difficult or frustrating to navigate. It might be a good idea to find a company with a well-designed portal that you can easily implement into your existing wellness program. Many wellness companies offer no-hassle portals that will get you up and running in no time – keeping things as simple for you as possible.

Communication

No wellness program will be successful without a communication plan in place. Communication is the foundation employees need to become motivated to get involved with the program. A good communication plan will connect, engage, and keep employees in the loop.

How to keep it simple: 

To avoid information overload, keep employee wellness messages short and sweet. When creating promotional materials, limit messages to one page in length or less. These messages should be simple, to the point, and easy for employees to understand. Avoid intimidating employees with too much wellness info at once.

Health Assessment

A yearly health assessment is one of the most valuable tools for a workplace wellness program. It’s an easy way to educate employees and provides a snapshot of their current health status. Scores from the assessment can motivate employees to start making healthier lifestyle changes.

How to keep it simple:

Keep the health assessment both easy to administer and easy to complete. To guarantee high participation levels, we think using an online platform for the assessment is the easiest way to go. When it comes to the health assessment itself, avoid overloading it with questions or using medical jargon. Keep the assessment as short as possible. No one wants to spend an hour completing a health assessment! 

Screenings

A biometric screening is a quick health exam involving a blood sample. Results of the screenings can offer your employees insight into their overall health and provide them with their key health numbers. This provides a baseline for employee wellness that can be used to track yearly progress. Onsite screenings provide a convenient and quick way for employees to receive valuable health information – without having to use any PTO!

How to keep it simple:

Employers can keep onsite health screenings simple by partnering with a company that will take care of every detail for them. A good screening partner will address the needs of your company and employees to create a customized experience. Look for a vendor that will provide a data report for you to keep, as well as some marketing materials to help promote your screening event.

Health Education & Activities

Without educational resources and activities, employees might feel lost in their wellness program and won’t know where to start. A winning wellness program will educate employees on all aspects of health and help them demonstrate healthy habits on a daily basis. Health education should be holistic and cover topics such as financial wellness, mental health, physical activity, stress, and more.

How to keep it simple:

Here at TotalWellness, we keep things simple by challenging employees to complete “Little Wins”. These are small wellness challenges and activities that employees can complete to earn wellness points. The activities are small and achievable. Little Wins prove that every healthy activity should be celebrated.

When it comes to employee wellness, there’s no need to stress over the extra “fluff” of a workplace wellness program! Keep wellness simple and achievable so that employees can thrive. If you would like to learn even more about the power of simplicity in your workplace wellness program, download your free copy of our eBook here. 

Do you think simple is better when it comes to employee wellness? Let us know in the comments below.