Key steps when developing your workplace wellbeing program.
Formalised workplace wellbeing and mental health programs are quickly becoming the new competitive differentiator for organisations seeking to thrive in todays competitive landscape.
STEPS TO CREATING A WORKPLACE WELLBEING PROGRAM
Workplace wellbeing programs apply evidence-based interventions to positively impact your employee's and volunteers' health and wellbeing.
The nature of the programs you offer and the cost will depend on your workplace culture, size, and location.
SUCCESSFUL WELLBEING PROGRAM'S
· Should be cost-effective and result in a return on investment.
· Should be integrated with your workplace health and safety efforts.
· Use evidence-based assessments to identify specific gaps and health issues in the workplace.
· Address both individual and organisational gaps and concerns.
· Participation is voluntary, yet continues to create high engagement levels.
· Are offered to all employees regardless of their health status, whether they're full-time or part-time, or casual.
· Are sustainable and gain long-term commitment from workers and managers.
· Are adequately resourced and provide training initiatives that are specifically targeted to health promotion.
· Are regularly appraised for effectiveness.
· Are regularly reviewed against emerging issues.
ESTABLISH BUY-IN
· It is essential to gain support and buy-in from all levels of the organisation, including senior leaders, managers, and employees. Wellness initiatives have more impact when they have widespread buy-in.
· Research shows that you see increased worker participation and enthusiasm when senior leaders and managers actively participate in your activities.
· Identify a coordinator: a key person who will manage all the activities. This might be someone with human resources or health and safety as a part of their role.
2. ORGANISE A WELLNESS WORKING GROUP
· Establish a wellness working group /committee to implement your program.
· This may be a new role for an existing team, such as the work health and safety team; in a smaller workplace, it may be just one or two keen people! Most workplaces have employees that are passionate about helping people reach their potential. Designing a specific role that looks for these qualities can be an opportunity to further advance people in your organisation.
· Ideally, all levels and areas of your workplace are represented in the wellness team. The coordinator should take a lead role in establishing regular meeting times, following up on actions, and ensuring progress stays on track.
3. ASSESSMENT AND NEEDS ANALYSIS
· The assessment phase helps organisations identify where to focus their workplace wellness efforts. Effective wellness programs address both needs and want of employees, giving the program direction, and increasing the likelihood of high employee engagement levels.
· The data collected identifies existing policies, programs, resources, as well as opportunities for improvement. An organisation uses this information to develop its Worksite Wellness Action Plan.
· Assessment is usually comprised of policy and program reviews, psychometric assessment surveys, focus groups, and leadership listening tours.
· Wellness assessments should also seek to understand the most prevalent health issues in both the organisation and the broader community.
· Assessments include:
o Physical needs (exercise, diet, smoking, and alcohol use).
o Psychological needs (stress management, anxiety, depression, self-esteem, assertiveness)
o Workplace needs (flexible working hours, workplace demands, psychosocial environment)
o Review of workplace facilities such as access to showers, change rooms, a room that could be used for lunchtime yoga, provisions such as bike racks, and ensuring there are no barriers to participation.
· Surveys should be voluntary, and employees should be assured that the information they provide won't be made public or used for any other purpose other than informing wellness initiatives.
4. STEP 4: DEVELOP AN ACTION PLAN AND POLICY
Wellbeing program plans follow the same general format as any other business plan and include:
· Setting program goals. NB: It is essential to be realistic and not try to do all things at once.
· Set program objectives. These are the specifics to support your goal.
· Identify the strategies/activities for each objective and set a timeline for these activities.
· Identify resources, facilities, and expertise for each activity.
· Choose activities that appeal to a broad spectrum of your employees.
· It is essential to get some quick wins, so choosing the most likely programs to have the most appeal to start with is a good idea.
CREATE A WELLBEING POLICY
You should also create a simple workplace wellbeing policy. The policy document should not be too complex as it should be used to provide employees with a clear outline of the Wellness program. The policy should be communicated to all employees and should be displayed in the workplace.
5: DEVELOP AN IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
· This stage usually follows a project style format, including assigning a project manager/coordinator and team member tasks, including changes to workplace policies, and change the physical environment to support positive behaviours.
· Implementation included the promoting of activities: through email, posters, newsletters, and at staff meetings. This should include off-site, or field workers access to these resources.
· Creating community networks allows you to tap into other community events and take advantage of their promotional activities. This might include events such as Diabetes Awareness Week, Mental Health Week, or Nutrition Month.
· Action plans should include how program participation and effectiveness will be assessed.
· Using existing or new online platforms to develop a 'wellness hub' that includes information on all wellness initiatives can greatly assist implementation efforts.
6: MONITOR AND EVALUATE YOUR PROGRAM
Evaluation strategies should be used to monitor the effectiveness of your wellness program. Evaluation questions should seek to assess the following:
· Are programs addressing the top health issues and employee wellness interest? This should include using pre-and post-comparisons of surveys.
· Are programs creating a supportive environment?
· Are programs promoting employee participation?
· Are wellness initiatives linked to existing services?
Evaluations results should be shared with managers and employees to show that their feedback is being listened to. It is important to allow for progress to be small at first, all good things take time, and you can't expect everything to change straight away. Studies show that the benefits of a workplace wellbeing program may spread out over several years. For this reason, ongoing leadership and management support is imperative in allowing a wellness program to build momentum over time.