So you’ve created a wellness program – complete with incentives, challenges, screenings, and a portal. It has all of the features it needs to succeed. However, you’ve been noticing that employees are not excited about the program and participation is lower than expected. This could be because your wellness program does not have the proper foundation in place – and this foundation is communication. 

Effective wellness communication serves as the primary building block for behavior change and measurable progress. Your employees will not succeed–or even become interested in the wellness program–without a communication plan in place. If communication hasn’t been a focus of your wellness program plan, it’s time to shine the spotlight back on your wellness communication strategies.

Employee wellness is a hot topic in America right now. With more and more companies implementing employee wellness programs, you’ve probably heard a lot about the benefits and positive outcomes of focusing on employee health.

If your company does not have a current wellness program for its employees, it is missing an opportunity. An employee wellness program could be your ticket to happier and healthier employees.

Still on the fence about starting a wellness program? Here are ten signs that it might be time for your company to invest in a wellness program of your own:

One of the most important parts of starting a wellness program is determining how you will inspire employees to participate and begin the journey towards a healthier lifestyle. Incentives are excellent motivators to help get employees started and keep them on the right track. They also help to add some extra fun to make achieving wellness seem less intimidating.

To get employees to take the plunge into their new wellness program, you will need to craft an incentive plan that will positively impact employee participation as well as spark some enthusiasm too. Employees that are excited about their wellness program and the perks that come with it will be more likely to work towards a healthier lifestyle, and as a result, you can expect a positive ROI.

Incentives are a great way to increase employee participation, motivation, and engagement, but which incentives will be right for you and your employees?

Wellness is a broad term that can be applied in several different ways. It can mean something a little different to everyone. When hearing the word "wellness," some might immediately think of fitness, while others may think of nutrition or diet. While eating and exercise are two vital factors in wellness, they do not account for all factors attributed to holistic wellness.

Your company is missing an opportunity if your wellness program is only focusing on physical wellbeing. Wellness programs should look at the full continuum of mental, emotional, and physical elements of an employee to improve corporate wellness. An excellent way to do this is by supporting holistic employee wellbeing.

Maybe the idea of a health fair doesn’t exactly leave your employees squirming at their desks with anticipation.

However, the idea of a workday full of helpful education, free resources, and fun certainly will!

An Employee Wellness Day is a spin on a traditional health fair, and your company will reap benefits from hosting one. This is an interactive and fun event that should be all about your employees and creating a culture of wellness.

Hosting an Employee Wellness Day is guaranteed to inspire, educate, and engage employees. This type of event will give your employees a much-needed break–and it’s a great way to start off the New Year. There are many ways to revamp an old-school health fair and personalize it for your employees.

Here are just some of the many benefits your company will receive from hosting an Employee Wellness Day and tips to help you make it an incredible experience:

Much like living a healthy lifestyle, a wellness program is never a finished project. It takes dedication and ongoing commitment to keep your program thriving. There are always areas for improvement and opportunity. A wellness program should adjust over time to continually complement employees’ needs, changes, and successes.

As an HR professional, you have a strong voice in your company’s wellness program. You have the power to strengthen and implement positive change in your employees’ journey towards a healthier lifestyle. Assessing your wellness program identifies any areas of weakness and opens up room for improvement. Be sure to ask these five essential questions to improve your wellness program:

You’ve probably heard all the dangers of sitting for a majority of the day. It’s a huge risk faced by today’s working folks because we tend to be tied to a computer desk all day long.

People throw solutions to sitting disease around all the time. Everyone thinks they know how to fight what a sedentary lifestyle does to their bodies.

Some of those solutions might seem like a great idea. But a lot of times, they don’t come without an expensive cost. One awesome, effective and costly solution is the standing desk.

For small businesses, having a worksite wellness program is no longer an added bonus. Small business owners are adopting wellness programs to reduce health insurance costs, recruit and retain employees, and create a healthy workforce.

The good news, is you don’t need millions upon millions of dollars set aside in a wellness budget. All it takes to be successful in wellness is to tailor what you’re doing to what your employees need.

In our new ebook for worksite wellness professionals at small companies, Wellness Essentials for Small Businesses, we take a look at the logistics of a solid employee wellness program. 

The breakroom is where your employees go to re-charge throughout the day. Even if they don’t spend a significant amount of time in that room, it’s still a re-charging, rejuvenating space.

That’s because your breakroom houses all the things your employees need to take powerful breaks throughout the day. It’s where everyone goes to get coffee or water. It houses people’s lunches or snacks. And in some offices, it’s even a place to restock on supplies.

Creating healthy break time for your employees is one way you can empower their healthy decisions throughout the day. Make each of your employees’ experiences in the breakroom a positive, healthy experience.

Nobody will argue the fact that employee engagement is important. What they will argue, though, is how you can go about boosting employee engagement in your workplace and in your wellness program.

There has been lots of research done, and there are lots of recommendations and best practices for building up an engaged workforce. When it comes to wellness, we think in order to learn which engagement best practices are truly best, you need to know just how engaged (or unengaged) your workforce is.