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A growing number of companies are offering corporate wellness programs because they care about their employees– and let’s be honest– they care about profits. Science has caught up with wellness practices, and data shows that mindfulness boosts employee performance and increases productivity. Well-being programs are not just a tool to attract young talent in Silicon Valley. Target, Procter & Gamble, General Mills, and Comcast have also added employee health to their line item budget.
How do you implement a culture of well-being without the budget of a multi-billion dollar company? Here are the top three DIY strategies for corporate wellness success.
#1 Get Leadership Involved in Corporate Wellness
The most successful programs have C-suite approval and encouragement. Leadership discusses the programming in all-hands meetings and town halls. They follow up with encouraging messages on the company Slack or Teams channels. My most successful clients have the company President or CEO make a cameo at Desk Yoga sessions. Leaders who embody well-being practices in front of their employees convey that wellness is essential to the company culture. In return, employees feel permission to take advantage of the services offered. Leadership support doesn’t cost anything, and the returns are exponential.
#2 Have a Corporate Wellness Engagement Strategy
Engagement in wellness initiatives is a critical measurement for companies, but many programs lack an engagement strategy. Often, I’ll have a new employee participate in a wellness session and say, “I’ve been here for 3 years, and I had no idea about the program!” There’s an easy fix for increasing employee engagement. Here’s what we do for our clients:
Write down all the employee touchpoints you have within the organization (newsletters, Slack/Teams channels, calendar invites, onboarding, all-hands meetings, intranet pages, flyers, etc.). Each employee has a unique communication preference. Noah prefers to get updates on the Slack Wellness Channel, but Taylor won’t join unless it’s on her calendar. Mark forgot to bring his phone to the bathroom and noticed the wellness flyer on the walls, and Judy signed up right away during orientation.
Once you have all communication channels, figure out a cadence for each. Our happiest clients communicate two to four times per week across multiple channels using our marketing toolkit. The newsletter goes out once a month, while announcements on the Slack/Team Wellness Channel happen 2-3x per week. The Intranet page changes quarterly, and a new calendar invite is sent every eight weeks. If you feel like you’re repeating yourself, you’re not. Employees have unique communication preferences and will only look at specific channels. In addition, people must hear the same message multiple times before it sticks.
Pro tip: Sit down for half an hour once a week or an hour once a month and schedule all your communications in advance.
#3 Provide Continuity
To create a culture of well-being, there must be consistency. You wouldn’t eat a salad once and expect real change, would you? Think of the most popular fitness styles, such as Bikram, Rocket Yoga, CrossFit, or Peloton. What do they all have in common? Repetition. Bikram classes have repeated the same 26 poses since 1974. Continuity is essential for employee growth not only because it makes your job easier but also because we are creatures of habit.
How do you create consistency in a wellness program? Instead of booking a one-time Wellness Talk or yoga class, book a series of sessions or programs. Our happiest clients have a consistent class once a week, with wellness talks that meet the moment for novelty. A Sleep Habits Talk compliments the weekly Desk Yoga sessions as we head into the winter with shorter days and longer nights.
Continuity in leadership involvement and communications also engrains well-being in the company culture. Asking the CEO to encourage participation once sparks excitement, but having them repeat the message creates positive change. The same principle applies to engagement strategies. For best results, provide consistency within your wellness program through initiatives, leadership encouragement, and communications.
How can ZaaS help? For continuity in wellness programming, our ZaaSription covers everything from weekly classes, novel health talks, analytics, and strategy sessions to ensure employee needs are met. If you know what employees crave, our Custom Program lets you schedule what you want when you want it. “Thank you for implementing your engagement strategy last quarter. Our attendance increased by 37% company-wide!” – Sharon, Director of Human Resources.
ZaaS offers corporate wellness services to B Corps and large companies globally. Contact us today to get started!
