When it comes to business, the most successful companies are the ones with the happiest employees. If you want your employees to be happy and report greater job satisfaction, you can’t ignore their wellbeing. Implementing a wellbeing program in your office can be one of the best moves you make to save your business money and boost productivity.
Corporate Wellness Magazine reported that for every $1 invested in wellbeing programs, companies saved nearly $4 by reducing sick days, decreasing overall health costs, and boosting productivity. Below are some great ways you can get started building an effective employee wellbeing program for your office.
Figure out Your Employees Needs
The first thing you should do before you implement a new wellbeing program is assess your employees’ needs. This can be done with a simple meeting or an online survey. Asking your team directly what would help them be the best employees they can be in the office will let them know you care and make them more likely to engage in the program.
Analyze the Data to Create an Effective Program
Once you’ve got the data and opinions from your employees on what kind of program would work best for them, it’s time to start creating your new wellbeing program. It’s best to include a balance of fitness classes and wellness workshops that support the existing office culture.
Including both education about wellness with physical fitness will give employees a variety of options to choose from and accommodate the wellness needs of every member of your team.
Get the Word Out to Your Employees
Putting in place a communication plan about your new wellbeing program is the best way to make sure every employee is aware of the opportunities that are being offered and how to take advantage of them. Try creating a monthly calendar that has a schedule of all the workshops and classes offered.
Keep the calendar posted in visible places around the office and send out updates via email. Also, encourage your employees to ask questions, voice their opinions and provide feedback on the program so you can adjust to meet their needs.
Incentives Are Key to Sustaining Your Wellbeing Program
In order to drive long-term engagement, it’s important that you put in place a solid incentive system to encourage employees to participate in the program. While everyone may be excited about the idea of a wellbeing program at first, it’s still a new challenge and behavior pattern that can be difficult to sustain at first.
Encourage your employees to stay healthy by giving them incentives like gift cards for completing classes or perks around the office for sticking with the program. Breaking old habits take time, so helping your employees along the way to really get into the program will help them enjoy it and be more likely to stick with it long term.
Employee wellbeing is so important to office culture because not only does it create healthier and happier employees, but it saves companies money and boosts productivity levels. Creating your own effective employee wellbeing program doesn’t have to be as hard as it seems. All it takes is a little planning and motivation to create a happy and healthy work environment.
For more tips on how to create a healthy office, check out our blog post “How to Be Mindful at the Office.”