Wellness coordinators don’t always get the recognition they deserve. They are responsible for a variety of tasks, as well as the preparation and evaluation of wellness initiatives. As a wellness coordinator, your attitude can not only make or break employee participation but can impact how well an employee does throughout the wellness program. Taking a positive, proactive approach to your wellness program can make wellness initiatives more popular and effective.
Being a proactive wellness coordinator means taking action when it comes to your wellness program. A proactive wellness coordinator will reach out to employees, encourage them, and empower them to make healthy changes in their lives. Taking a proactive approach to employee wellness is more effective than a reactive approach for many different reasons:
- Health and wellness is an ongoing process – there is always action to be taken.
- Activity is contagious, so the more effort you put into employee wellness, the more your co-workers will, too.
- A positive, proactive approach sets employees up for success by providing a strong foundation that helps employees develop motivation, excitement, and momentum.
Being proactive doesn’t mean being “in-your-face” or nagging your employees about wellness. What it does mean is being one step ahead of what your employees need when it comes to health and wellness. Taking that early step will put you and your wellness program in a position for success.
Below are three strategies that wellness coordinators can use to help take on a more proactive approach in their roles:
Encouraging Healthy Lifestyles
A huge part of proactive wellness is encouraging healthy lifestyles. Step outside of the specific services your workplace wellness program offers to provide your employees with the resources they need to develop healthy habits both inside and outside the workplace. A proactive wellness coordinator will aid employees in their health journeys. Don’t wait to be asked to provide healthy resources!
Some ideas for proactively promoting healthy lifestyles:
- Share useful and credible information about nutrition, exercise, sleep, and mental health.
- Be a resource yourself by serving as a go-to for healthy information – let employees know they can come to you to discuss healthy lifestyle changes or any obstacles they might be facing.
- Have a health “library” or some type of catalog of helpful information for any challenges your employees face.
Being proactive in how you promote employee wellness can help you obtain better results from your wellness program. It’s one way to set your employees up for wellness success.
Planning Wellness Events
Proactively planning wellness events is another great way to ensure your program runs smoothly and efficiently. Taking the first step in wellness event planning helps you avoid any surprises and stay ahead of potential troubles down the road.
Some ideas for proactively planning wellness events:
- Be a good teammate when you’re working with wellness vendors.
- Ask thorough questions to be sure your vendors and partners know exactly what you need.
- Go above and beyond by providing excellent wellness events with all the bells and whistles.
- Communicate often with any stakeholders involved with your wellness event – vendors and participants included!
- Focus on quality and quantity by providing frequent, excellent events employees will look forward to.
Many wellness programs are made up of the wellness events they host. Be sure your wellness events go off without a hitch by staying ahead of the game and being a proactive wellness event planner.
Jumpstarting Employee Recruitment
Proactively recruiting employees to your wellness program and events is a great way to not only boost participation but to encourage excitement about being involved with wellness. Taking the first step to reach out to your employees helps them see the value of building up their own health journey.
Some ideas for proactively recruiting employees to wellness:
- Communicate clearly and often about the specifics and details of your wellness program and its initiatives.
- Seek employees out instead of waiting for them to come to you.
- Answer questions in a powerful way that sways employees towards your program.
- Don’t get stuck on new-hires! Recruit both new and current employees to your wellness program.
The most effective way to attract wellness participants is to show them the value and excitement of being involved. Proactively seeking out employees with wellness information does both of those things. Ultimately, part of being a successful wellness coordinator is being proactive about the job you’re doing.
What proactive steps do you take as a wellness coordinator? Share in the comment section below!
Editor's Note: This post was originally published in June 2016 and has been updated for freshness, accuracy, and comprehensiveness.
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