A company wellness program is one of the best ways to raise health awareness among your staff It can provide practical knowledge about health concerns and encourage employees to think about healthier behaviors. And since it’s a workplace program, it provides a supportive environment among co-workers and from management for them to make and sustain the changes that will result in a healthier lifestyle.

While wellness programs are beneficial to your employees in many ways, your company may also reap several benefits from implementing one:

  • Higher employee productivity
  • Less absenteeism
  • Reduced health care costs
  • Lower workers’ compensation costs
  • Fewer injuries
  • Higher loyalty and morale

With the costs of health insurance on a continuous upward trajectory and your organization’s need to retain healthy and productive workers, the decision to start a wellness program should not be too difficult!

What Are the Critical Components of a Company Wellness Program?

There are numerous health issues that companies can address through a wellness program, which makes it difficult to list every one of them. So, here are some of the essential components you can focus on:

  • Smoking cessation and prevention
  • Stress management
  • Regular exercise
  • Weight management
  • Early detection and screening
  • Disease management
  • Cardiopulmonary resuscitation training
  • Automated external defibrillator (AED) training

Here are some steps you can take to get the program started:

Begin by Conducting Several Assessments

Gather information on the health of your workers. You can use this data to design a unique plan that is beneficial to all of your employees and includes components that the vast majority will use.

Contact your health insurance carrier to find out the medical and pharmaceutical utilization rates, and talk to your staff to get their input on the types of wellness programs they would like to see initiated.

Create a Wellness Committee

After you complete the assessments, it’s helpful to establish a wellness committee made up of employees, management, human resources, safety, information technology, and union representatives, as applicable.

This committee’s purpose is to evaluate current services and programs, along with assessing the needs and preferences of the workforce. They will help to set goals and objectives for the program, as well as helping to promote, implement, monitor, and evaluate the wellness program, acting as representatives of their peers.

Establish a Budget For the Program

Without proper funding, the program won’t get very far. Your wellness budget should include promotional material, screening fees, incentives such as gym memberships, Fit Bits, and the cost of the committee members’ participation.

Decide on the Components of Your Wellness Program

Your company’s program will be unique, and there are plenty of choices for its elements. Start by looking at the list above and add components that focus on the behaviors, interests, and needs of your workers. Use the results of any surveys and assessments that you previously conducted to help you decide which components would best serve your employees!

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