Workplace wellness is a $43 billion industry, with employers tending to spend more on employee wellness each year, according to Global Wellness Institute research. And adding a company wellness program to your business can help reduce your health insurance costs – a significant financial burden to organizations of all sizes.
While you may be toying with the idea of implementing a wellness program, taking the right steps early on can ensure it is successful. You need to consider the needs of your employees as well as how it can benefit your business long term.
Seven members of Young Entrepreneur Council weigh in on the most successful place to start when initiating a wellness program for your team. Here’s what they had to say:
1. HRA Or Interest Survey
Businesses that don’t have large budgets to direct toward their wellness programs tend to benefit by identifying how to use their money in the most efficient way possible. A health risk appraisal (HRA) is among the most common tools used for determining which health programs are needed most. A typical HRA takes into account personal lifestyle choices and practices, and identifies risk factors accordingly. Conducting an interest survey is another good place to start. List out all the initiatives that your business is willing to offer, and get your employees to rank them in order of preference. This, for instance, gives them the ability to determine if they prefer a program that incentivizes quitting smoking or free membership to a gym. - Derek Robinson, Top Notch Dezigns
2. Paid Time Off
If you're a small business just starting to dip its toes into an employee wellness program, it's not going to be possible to cover every conceivable ailment and injury. Instead, what I suggest is starting off with providing team members the time they need to seek treatment while still providing financial compensation. One of the biggest concerns I've seen that has kept people in dire need of treatment from getting the help they need is the pressure to support themselves and their families. Providing them with paid time off will give them peace of mind and allow them to handle the specifics of their wellness-related issues without adding undue stress. - Bryce Welker, Crush The PM Exam
3. Health And Fitness Plans
I know a big transformation happened for me when I decided to create a fitness roadmap for myself and held myself accountable to meet the fitness routine and meal routine every day. If individuals have access to a plan that gives them the direction they need to live a healthier life, they would be on top of it. A lot of individuals tend to guess what may be good for them or not; they end up making decisions that are based on gut feelings and then wonder why they are not feeling healthy. When experts are involved and health plans are created, teams can spark their health in a positive way. It starts with a plan and action. Give them the time they need to take action on the plan they have created, as well. This could mean leaving work early to play soccer or work out. - Sweta Patel, Silicon Valley Startup Marketing
4. A Wellness-Oriented Workspace
Build a wellness-oriented office environment. This takes the notion of a wellness program out of the protocol. When you are implementing any new program, it can have the negative effect of feeling like more work, which is the antithesis of a wellness program. By integrating the program throughout the entire work culture, you can add optional piecemeal items. Our office is located at Tedge Mindful Coworking in Miami, where the founders built a mindful-friendly co-working space to emphasize healthy lifestyles, offering healthy food, organic snacks, free yoga and meditation classes, as well as various events to get wellness knowledge and education. I chose this workspace because I knew my team would have these options, and I encourage taking advantage of these practices daily. - Matthew Capala, Alphametic
5. Your Benefits Broker
Some companies don't realize all of the value you can get from your insurance broker. Even if yours doesn't directly offer other verticals and benefits outside of the narrow norm, they undoubtedly have referrals and partners that they can work with to improve your suite of employee benefits. Truth be told, there are a ton of prepackaged platforms and tools that can integrate directly into many of the standard offerings at little to no cost. These brokers make money off of the commission, so although your costs may go up slightly, they should only care about making you happy. So, if you don't know where to start, reach out to your benefits broker or payroll provider to see the types of wellness programs they may have already available for your group. - Logan Lenz, PartsMarket
6. Free Competitive Apps And Prizes
Everyone likes to compete. I think the best thing, especially for a startup, is to give employees free access to apps where they can track not only their own progress, but also compete for weekly prizes within the company (if they want to, of course). It is very important that the wellness program makes your team more healthy and happy, but I also think it is important that no boundaries are crossed when it comes to their personal lives and decisions they want to make about their own bodies. - Brian Condenanza, Alchemy Coin
7. A Review Of The Company Health Plan
When initiating an employee wellness program, it's wise to start by reviewing the limits and incentives of your existing company health plan. Upgrading or changing terms may allow you to better cover preventative care or offer incentives for exercise. It's possible that changing your plans in a way that encourages more employee participation will save you money. Insurance companies stand to save from healthier health pools, so many have ongoing programs where customers can get discounts for reporting certain behavior, such as weekly exercise. These programs could easily be brought together with your own goals. - Matt Doyle, Excel Builders
