By Caitlin Ackerman, Wellbeing Manager
Everyone “wants” a workplace wellness program, and we could argue that most companies “need” a wellness program. The average cost of employer-sponsored health insurance for annual premiums was $7,188 for single coverage and $20,576 for family coverage. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation Report, the average premium for employer-sponsored coverage has increased 22 percent over the past 5 years, and 54 percent over the last ten years. These numbers are only increasing and the fact of the matter is - if companies want to reduce premium costs, they need to invest in the health of their employees.
To invest can take various definitions. It can be a reference to money expenditure with the expectation of achieving profit. Or, it can mean devoting one’s time, effort, or energy to a particular undertaking with the expectation of a worthwhile return. The consistent trends of workplace wellness programs over time, show that companies who are “investing” in these programs are undoubtedly pouring money into their employees with a national average of $150 - $1,200 per employee per year. However, workplace wellness programs are not simply successful because we “invested” money into them. We need to start investing time, effort, and energy into the success and potential impact of these programs, if we truly want to see them lift and start to make lasting change on your employees and your pockets.
The challenging piece is “time and energy,” right? Whose time and energy can we afford to use and how to use it without impacting other key areas of business development and growth process? A workplace wellness program cannot simply fall on your Human Resource and Benefits Teams. Time and time again, we have seen this responsibility added to the plate and lengthy to-do list of People Leaders; and though they graciously and excitedly take on the responsibility, it quickly falls to the wayside when other priorities arise, or when programs are not getting the utilization that leadership requires because they never had the proper, space, time and energy to invest from the beginning.
Building a holistic employee engagement strategy requires a deep understanding of employee needs, company needs, and the great world around them. Deploying a successful holistic employee engagement strategy requires the execution of a team aligned to the same goals, with equal responsibility for sustaining a positive and engaged culture. At FitPros we often hear from our clients struggling because of a “lack of focus on culture/community,” “lack of leadership involvement,” “lack of employee permission,” and more. We understand the struggle, we have compassion for how much work goes into making your wellness program successful, and we partner to take a lot of work off of your plate by coordinating all the logistics, creating marketing materials, customizing sessions, and tracking engagement. Your dedicated account manager works on your behalf to organize your programs in a fashion that makes for seamless implementation. We want to help companies deploy their strategy, not only engaging buy-in from employees but C-Suite Leadership as well. Everyone at a company has a role to play in the success of their employee wellness program. Invest not only money but a fair distribution of time & energy. Lead them to the water they will drink.
FitPros partners with our clients 100% of the way, actively working as an extension of their team to help establish an active, sustainable and people-first culture. Check out a few best practices below that will help you launch, preserve, or expand your employee wellness program.
Intersectional Strategy
FitPros operates under our 5 Pillars of Wellness and believes in being holistically fit. Often, we see a variety of teams or departments within an organization working really hard in parallel on specific initiatives, sometimes with peripheral vision and others not so much. It’s going to be essential for Human Resource, Benefits, Diversity & Inclusion, Workplace Events, and Learning & Development teams to take an active role in understanding where their goals and initiatives intersect to better serve their employees. Physical wellness & mental health are not the sole responsibility of the benefits team. DEI teams should be involved to ensure representation and equitable access. L&D teams should collaborate on workshop selection, target audiences, & preferred learning modes. There are going to be programs and strategies that are more siloed experiences, but when it comes to leading a holistic employee experience - you not only need various types of programs, you need various perspectives and promoters driving initiatives.
Employee Wellbeing Portal & Targeted Communications
How do employees know when events are taking place? Are they given permission to attend the sessions and fully be present? In early 2020, FitPros launched our Employee Wellness Portal with the goal of having one central location where employees could go to learn what is happening at their company, sign up for live events, catch the recordings for sessions missed, and have unlimited access to wellness resources such an on-demand content, DIY activities, resource books, vendor discounts and more. Since “employee wellness” should be happening during working hours, its unique desktop access makes it efficient for browsing, adding events to personal calendars, and taking micro-breaks throughout the day for a mindful moment or to share a resource with a colleague. This houses our Les Mills On-Demand Fitness Classes, Meditation Library, and other workshops, it provides articles, worksheets, and ways to stay active in your community with access to discount codes of various products/services.
When you work with FitPros, you are assigned a designated account manager and team who works on your behalf to place experts who are the right fit, ensure the program purchase are tailored for your group & partners with you to launch a targeted internal marketing campaign to drive engagement. Our Client Success Team creates marketing materials, reviews your customized engagement guide stocked with email templates, notes for managers and C-Suite personal, and other little things that go a long way. Our clients set up a recurring cadence of calls with our team to track utilization, engagement, feedback, and growth. When you partner with FitPros we operate as an extension of your team, collaborating to drive a successful strategy.
Employee Recognition and Gifts
To show appreciation and recognition to your employees goes a long way. Having initiatives under this umbrella is part of a well-rounded wellbeing strategy. This could include providing incentives or recognizing wellness warriors. There will always be a place for incentives to drive participation and engagement, as there is a certain percentage of employees that will join just for the incentive but then benefit from the information shared and motivation it provided. At FitPros we can provide a variety of rewards and incentives to your employees, including care packages, gift cards, and tangible items to ship to the workplace or their homes. Another subtle way to recognize employees is to recognize employees for a wellness accomplishment. Sharing their story can be a very powerful way to inspire others, whether this is related to physical or mental wellbeing.
Wellness Warriors and Success Team
The value of having representatives from various roles and departments in your organization to help communicate and advocate for your wellbeing program goes a long way. People are more likely to join an initiative if their fellow coworkers they rub elbows with are talking up the opportunity, versus another email from HR, for example. Additionally, having your leadership team (at all levels) communicate the wellbeing opportunities is another key to success, so employees feel a sense of permission to join programs ideally on work time if you really want to drive participation. FitPros Client Success team can provide you with best practices around pulling together a wellness committee, getting leadership on board, and creating a strong engagement strategy. If you’re looking for someone to lead your wellness committee, we’ve got you covered. Our Wellness Warriors can help enhance your culture through leadership, strategy, and camaraderie, working as your personal wellness specialist 3-5 hours a month. With a designated FitPros facilitator, we will be the point of contact for your staff to directly learn how to spread the wellness word within your company. Think of it as a Personal Coach for your internal Warriors.
FitPros is here to partner with you to build, drive, and sustain an impactful employee wellbeing program! Interested in learning more? Email hello@fitpros.com or complete this form to get in direct contact one of our wellbeing managers!