Building A Wellness Program For Your Small Business 

Health and wellness have started to become one of the hottest topics for most adults. Some people are happy to take control of their own health journey, while others may need a little bit of encouragement. One thing that a lot of businesses are starting to incorporate would be wellness programs. There are even corporate wellness companies that will help you create the perfect program for your business. If you are a small business owner and don’t have a wellness program for your employees, then here is everything you know about building one.

Start With A Plan

Like anything you do with your business, it is important that you have a plan going into it. You don’t want to rush to buy a bunch of gym equipment or training classes if they aren’t actually going to be used. While you are planning your program you might even find creative ways to save money and still offer amazing activities. If you do not have a plan in place, you will end up stressing about your program on a daily basis instead of just letting it do its job.

Learn About The Benefits

There are a lot of benefits that come along with developing a wellness program for your business. Since your employees would be living a healthier lifestyle, it can help to lower healthcare costs in the long run. Wellness programs can also completely change the culture of your business. Employees that are offered and participate in a company wellness plan tend to be more productive and have a lower turnover rate. Your employees will also be a lot happier with their job which will be more welcoming to newcomers. Having satisfied employees isn’t the only thing that will come from implementing a wellness program. You may even be able to take advantage of certain tax incentives depending on where you are located.

Gather Some Information And Assessments

After you have started planning, it is time to learn about what would be popular in your workplace. There are a few different assessments that you should conduct to make sure that you are creating the ideal program for your company. The first assessment that you should do would be to figure out what the needs and interests are of your employees. The more that you can involve them, the better the program you will create. After assessing your employees, it is time to conduct a health risk assessment. Once you have looked at the health of your employees and what they are interested in, you will be to offer them activities and information that best fits their needs. After you have taken these assessments, you will want to look at utilization rates of certain activities, as well as conducting an environmental audit to get a feel for how your business is running.

Figure Out What You Are Going To Offer

There are numerous things that you can offer to promote a healthier and happier work environment. Some things are as simple as offering pamphlets, while other things might be a bit larger like offering a fitness center on-site. You could offer healthy snacks or even cater lunches once a week if it fits into your budget. Some companies offer yoga, smoking cessation programs, and paramedical services. You can offer healthier transit options like bike-sharing or even just allowing naps. A good thing to do every so often would be to host wellness challenges and adventures.

Get The Support

You can’t expect your program to work if you don’t have anyone to support it. The first thing that you should do would be to get a wellness program manager. This person would be in charge of planning wellness events and making sure that everyone is happy with what is going on. You can hire someone new or just hand this job over to someone that is already working for you. After you have decided on a manager, it is time to form a wellness committee. This will just be made up of your employees and they are there to give suggestions and help plan events.

Establish A Budget

Fitness equipment and yoga classes aren’t free and while the wellness of your employees is important, you shouldn’t be going into debt to ensure they are happy. It is important that you look at your expenses and set a budget for your program. If you don’t have a very big budget you could host wellness events, like a race, and use that money to pay for some of these perks.

Make Privacy And Inclusivity The Top Priorities

As an employer, you want to make sure that your employees feel cared for and included. You want to keep your program simple, straightforward, and easily accessible to everyone. It is crucial that you aren’t negative or degrading to your employees because that could cause some serious problems. Another part of the wellness program that you should be very mindful of is the privacy factor. Some employees may be hesitant to join because of preexisting conditions and the possibility that they could lose their job if they are in poor health. Make sure when you are explaining this program that you are stressing the importance of privacy.

Don’t Give Up

Implementing anything new into your business can be difficult. You aren’t going to save a ton of money or notice increased productivity in the matter of a few days. It is also important to remember that once you get a wellness program up and running, you don’t just let it run on auto-pilot. You should constantly be looking for ways to improve it and bring more to the table. Keep in mind that it can take up to 18 months before you notice any real progress, so don’t lose hope if you aren’t getting the return that you were hoping for right away.

Creating a wellness program can be difficult but benefits are well worth the hard work. There are corporate wellness companies that you can reach out to if you would like some assistance. Whether you choose to create your own program or get help from others, there is no denying that a program would be a great addition to your small business.