How a Wellness Program Can Enhance Your Company Culture

When evaluating your company culture in these unprecedented times, start by asking two questions: “What is wellness to our company?” and “What is wellness in our company?”

When I spoke at the PDC this past January, I reminded everyone that your health, energy and vitality is your No. 1 asset! Supporting your employees’ wellness, perhaps now more than ever, is essential. Today’s workers consider wellness more than just a perk, so build it into your company culture.

Over two-thirds of employers are offering wellness perks as part of their benefits packages. With a large push from Gen Z and millennials entering the job market, it has become increasingly clear that emphasizing mental health, happiness, wellbeing, fitness and health helps companies attract and retain top talent, while boosting their bottom line. An effective wellness program will increase productivity and lead to healthier and happier employees.

“The average return on investment of workplace wellness programs is $3.27 for every $1 spent because of reduced healthcare costs.” —Well Steps

Here are four recommendations for creating wellness programs that attract, engage and retain employees:

1. Make wellness part of your talent strategy.

Both culture and wellness are hugely important to today’s workers. A study by Deloitte reported 60% of organizations say a focus on well-being improves employee retention, while 61% say it boosts productivity and bottom-line business results. Building a wellness culture have a profound impact on retaining top talent. 

In a recent ClassPass survey, 75% of 25- to 40-year-old professionals said they believe it’s their employer’s responsibility to contribute to their health and well-being; 88% are more likely to recommend an employer who contributes; and 58% are more inclined to accept a job and stay with that employer that offers a fitness and wellness package.

“Employers save on average $5.82 in lower absenteeism for every dollar spent on employee wellness programs.” —Indiana Department of Health

2.Think big when it comes to well-being. 

Wellness involves choices and possibilities; workers are motivated by the prospect of better care, fitness, schedules, stress-reduction methods and ways to care for their families. When creating a wellness program, think big to maximize appeal and participation. After speaking live to most of 9,800 associates at Lennar Homes, I created 25 “snackable content” videos (3-5 minutes) to drive actionable content for their Well-Being Max wellness program. They use them each month for Take Action Tuesday and to build their on-line library for the entire family.

Incorporate both on-site, off-site and virtual offerings that cover all aspects of well-being, including: 

• Diet and fitness strategies
• Health and cancer screening
• Safety
• Financial coaching
• Better sleep and stress reduction
• Career and personal growth
• Mental health
• Family needs

Consistent biometric screenings so everyone knows and understands their key health metrics are a must. You can even give credits for outside learning that does not directly involve your business, like cooking, parenting and relationship coaching. Supporting employees’ pursuit of activities that meet their personal preferences and lifestyle shows that your company respects them as individuals. 

3. Create a Culture of Health and Community

Not only does wellness intervention play a role in the health and wellness of every employee, but it brings employees together as they are all working together to reach a common goal. This creates a sense of community within the workplace, which brings employees and employers together as a family. Intervention with high-risk employees will not only help contain insurance claims, but result in lower incidence of chronic illnesses, lower overall BMI and higher motivation to live a healthier and happier lifestyle by creating a community within the workplace.

We’re changing faster than we know — but we must always care for our people, since they devote so much time and energy to us. COVID has changed many things, but not the need to be well; if anything, it has made it more important than ever. I am speaking to all the employees at series of events for Nekoosa and they are using the video series to help launch a new wellness app to help drive healthy habits.

An effective wellness program to promote well-being is becoming a core responsibility of good corporate citizenship and a critical performance strategy to drive employee engagement, organizational energy, and productivity.

Chip has Switched On over 1,000 events in the last 27 years. He spoke at our PDC and Matt Bruno said, “He surpassed our goals and ‘bookended’ our event with amazing opening and closing sessions.” Chip has also spoken to the sales team at Mac Papers & Packaging and will be at Mill Craft and Nekoosa this summer. Contact him at Chip@GetSwitchedOn.com or (865) 300-2742.