While some corporate wellness practises have changed over the years, most things have remarkably stayed the same. For years, employers have been told to outsource their wellness promotion, administration and delivery, but does that approach to looking after employee wellbeing still hold true today? For the answer, we turned to Rob J. Thurston, President of HR Consulting Group and Bart Sheeler, co-founder of ActivHealth International, in order to take a real time look at the current approach to Wellness Programmes.
According to Thurston and Sheeler, ‘Most companies have heard of, would like to implement, or may have even attempted to offer a wellness programme. However, most have found they are too busy fighting tough economic times and watching expenses trying to make a profit to divert attention or expenses into the intangible world of wellness. While the concept of wellness may seem to be much more philosophical than the task of producing a product or service for a profit, they really have more in common than not. As companies strive to improve their processes and focus on the bottom line “health” of their business, the same happens to be true for their most valued assets, their employees. The happier and healthier the employee population, the better the productivity and lower the health care costs against trend – all of which add up to help improve the company’s bottom line.’
So how do you implement your own wellness programme without taking your eye off the day-to-day responsibilities of your business? ‘Respecting your culture and designing a programme that meets the unique needs of your population are essential in building a wellness programme,’ say Thurston and Sheeler. ‘We recommend surveying your employees to see what interests them and noting what the circumstances are specific to your company. Do you have one location, branch offices, multiple shifts and/or remote sales staff? All these factors will ultimately need consideration when you sit down to design your programme.’ So that’s that, then, no need to outsource your company’s wellness needs? Not according to Thurston and Sheeler.
The wellness experts write, ‘We believe that certain items must remain under your control, while other features will be better delivered via outsourced solutions. With this in mind, the question is not whether it makes sense for a company to offer a wellness programme, but more importantly, how to incorporate a programme that will capture the attention of the employees, drive engagement on a personal level and ultimately create a culture of health improvement. Every company is different, so the solutions will not all look the same. The key is to match a company’s available “internal” resources with a complimentary set of outsourced “external” resources.’
In terms of what you can do internally, it again comes down to culture. ‘Outside influences can be enlisted,’ note Thurston and Sheeler. ‘But in the end, your employees are internal and will shape your culture from the ground up. There are internal components that must be maintained within the company to be effective. Leadership must be involved, “walking the talk” and communications that are reinforced through internal “programme champions” are a necessity to be successful in the integration of healthy living into a company’s culture.’
So what do you outsource for? Thurston and Sheeler explain, ‘Employers use outsourcing to maintain or improve service to employees; reduce workload to existing staff; reduce programme costs; and to free up resources to focus on other key objectives, like building their widgets for a profit…Such firms will offer Health Risk Appraisals, Biometric testing, onsite Fitness and Challenges, onsite coaching, online coaching and a variety of platforms that offer real-time programming via internet access.’