Build an Engaging Worksite Wellness Program that's a Win-Win for Leadership & Employees

I can help you create a wellness movement that inspires employees from the start, recharges a stale program or engages employees in a specific initiative.

Sara Wapole, Senior Manager, WellnessRAI Services Company                

Every time I talk with Jennifer, I feel refreshed and excited. She brings so many new ideas to the table. If you’re looking for an innovative way to approach wellness, you need to start with her. I’ve worked with many wellness consultants and programs over the years, but she truly gets it. I would refer Jennifer to any colleague or company looking to seriously improve the health and well-being of their employees!

If you don't see something you like listed above, you can email me with your wellness needs. I encourage you to read further so you understand my approach to worksite wellness.

Pam Overcash, HR Director
Gaston County

Just last year, Jen did a survey for us that clearly showed what we had planned would not be successful. We used the results of the survey to implement a different strategy and we are having phenomenal success. If you want to get serious about wellness, you need Jen on your team. Let her lead, and great results will follow.

Are you wondering if wellness is really worth it?

Worksite wellness has gotten a bad rap recently and for good reason. Most employers aren't setting a wellness strategy, deploying the right resources and engaging employees. If you invest in wellness but don't invest wisely, you can spend a lot of your precious time, energy and money having a wellness program that doesn't produce results AND that employees don't even like. 

If you take a strategic approach to building your worksite wellness program, great things CAN happen. You start shifting your culture into one of well-being. Your employees know you care about them and their health. Employees engage and make health changes. Health risks go down. Productivity and Presenteeism goes up. You can better recruit and retain employees. You see measurable results you can brag about to senior leadership and other employers. Sounds great, right?

Worksite wellness should be treated just like any other business initiative in your company. Unfortunately, it rarely gets the attention it deserves. Often the responsibilities are thrown on an overworked HR person who already has too much on their plate. Wellness turns into haphazard activities, the same people participating and maybe the occasional Biggest Loser contest. Then you pray you'll find something in your annual healthcare claims that shows a positive ROI. That's not the way results happen!

Creating a worksite wellness program that shows results takes direction.

I've consulted with hundreds of employers over the years and when I ask what they want to accomplish, I often get a wide variety of unmeasureable answers. They have what I call the "Alice in Wonderland" approach. Do your wellness efforts resemble the quotes below?

"Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?"
"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to."
"I don't much care where-"
"Then it doesn't much matter which way you go."
- Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

Alice is asking the Chesire cat for directions when she really doesn't know (or care) where she wants to go. Asking for directions without having a destination just doesn't make sense. And neither does it that you are running a wellness program with a goal.

Here's What I Believe:

Employees are adults that want to be treated like adults. No one likes to be told what to do by anyone, much less their employer. The minute you make your employees "do" wellness activities, they may comply but they certainly won't be engaged.

If your work culture doesn't support well-being, your wellness efforts will fall flat. This means if you are talking a good game but the actions aren't aligning, your employees won't buy in. Here's just a few examples - providing junk food to departments during stressful times, not allowing time away to take a walk and not asking your employees what they want. 

Employees engage when you ask them what they want and actually listen to them. Providing wellness topics they have interest in and creating the environment for them to be healthier is the base of wellness that doesn't often happen. 

So, how do you build a Wellness Program your Employees like and that gets results?

Seeing results from your wellness program takes a focused effort. It all comes down to understanding where you are, where you want to go, engaging your employees and measuring results.

Have you Fallen into this Trap?

• You think that wellness should be a series of activities to check off (because then you know they are getting healthier)..
  It happens...I've been there myself. You think you have to provide activities for employees to check off in order for them to "earn" a reward. 
• You think you know what your employees want out of wellness but you haven't asked them.
  You've been at your company awhile and through your time and experience, you know what employees want out of your wellness efforts. Why would you need to ask them what they want?
• Your wellness efforts involve the same people participating.
  There are certain departments or areas of the company that just don't participate. You've offered everything you can think of but to no avail.  

My Experience with What Didn't Work

I've seen various perspectives of worksite wellness. I've managed wellness programs at three different employers, which gave me the experience and understanding of what it takes to build a successful wellness program. I've been through challenges with senior leadership, organized health fairs and walking programs. I've had programs that were a hit with employees and those that I had to cancel because no one attended. Through these experiences I learned a lot because I had to. There was no one guiding me, so everything was a built from scratch experiment.

In my 8 plus years in the employer insurance market, I've consulted hundreds of employers in various industries. Many employers seemed interested in wellness. They would ask for a 3-year wellness strategy and I would get excited thinking I could really help them get their employees healthy.

I'd hand them over a strategy based on what I knew about the group, the wellness industry and best practices. Then I'd check in with them after 6 months and guess what happened?

 Nothing! Many times all of my hard work would sit unused and the group's priority seemed to shift to something else.

Wait....these employers seemed really excited about having a successful wellness program yet nothing happened when I wasn't either doing it for them or checking in with them frequently. That got me thinking....what was the problem? Here's what I found:

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When's the last time your employees thanked you for your wellness offerings?

As employees, we spend more time at work than with our families. Although we get up each day to earn a paycheck, most people want to believe their employers care about them and their well-being. An investment in your employees' health and happiness can return itself through employer loyalty and productivity. 

Think about it....aren't you more likely to go above and beyond for someone who has invested time and energy in you?

A wellness program doesn't have to be something employees dread or feel they have to do. It can be a user designed experience that promotes self leadership and positive personal motivation. 

I want to help you build a successful wellness program that changes your employees' lives and positively impacts your business. To do this and have the most impact, we need to get to know you and your culture. That's why we have a 5 step process to build a tailored wellness strategy unique to your culture.

The Wellness Roadmap is a step by step guide to building a wellness program that gets the results YOU want. It's created from collecting four types of data - leadership interviews, employee input, environmental reviews and available healthcare data. 

We start with a conversation ​with the main HR and/or wellness contact to understand the company, current state of wellness and any history of wellness programming. Below is a breakdown of our step-by-step Roadmap process.

​Step 1: Interview leadership to understand wellness goals, perspectives and beliefs. 

Step 2: Conduct an environmental assessment of employee workspaces to determine how easy or how difficult it is to be healthy.

Step 3: Conduct an employee needs assessment to understand what employees want from health and wellness at their workplace and perceptions of the current wellness culture. ​

Step 4: ​Gather existing data to tailor the strategic operating plan to relevant health metrics.

Step 5: Present the Wellness Roadmap to ​leadership and deliver a detailed operating plan for you to reach your wellness goals.

Here's What People Are Saying:

John Doe UI/UX Designer

“Jen is a tremendous resource for employer groups.”

“Jen has a passion for worksite wellness and for working with employers to implement programs that are effective for them. She has worked with a variety of employer groups, so she understands that each group is different and that works for one group doesn't work for the other.

She takes the time to understand the employer and to ensure that the worksite wellness program fits their culture and with their overall benefit strategy. As importantly, she focuses not only what works for the employer, but also on what works for and successfully engage their employees. As a result, Jen has a track record of success."

Susan Murray

- Vice President, State Health Plan at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of NC

“Jen is a trusted adviser.”

“For nearly 10 years, I've had the distinct pleasure of knowing the consistent compassion and commitment that Jen exhibits as a health promotion professional. She is genuinely committed to the cause of not only improving employee health among her clients, but connecting with individuals and inspiring them to find a life of purpose and happiness."

Jason Horay, ATC, MS, CHES

- Health Promotion Coordinator, North Carolina  Medical Society Plan

John Doe UI/UX Designer

What happens if you do nothing to improve employee health?

If nothing changes, then nothing changes. If you do nothing, you'll continue to see the same results you already have. You'll invest money in activities best practices tell you to do but you're not sure of the benefit or really what you'll get out of it. Besides, if you have a steady workforce, your employees aren't getting any younger.

Sure, you can continue to invest time in health fairs where everyone grabs free giveaways then goes back to their unhealthy habits. Or perhaps invest money (and a lot of it) in biometric screenings without getting the bang for your buck. 

Eventually your boss will ask what you are getting out of the wellness investment.

And what are you going to tell them? Can you tell them how many people are truly engaged (and not just participating)? What about your strategy for next year or your vision for the future?