Hands-On Corporate Wellness
One of the fastest growing professions within the fitness industry is that of the Corporate Wellness Director, or others working directly inside corporations and businesses with the goals of increasing employee health and wellness. There are a number of tremendous benefits to adding a health and wellness program to any business due to the impact it can have on reducing health costs, insurance premiums, absenteeism, as well as increase productivity, employee retention, and provide a more enjoyable work environment. What the programs come down to, is that the investment a company makes in a professional or a team of professionals must pay for itself and then some from the benefits and production developed in the participating staff. With the principal goal of businesses being to make money, the end goal of the wellness director is to contribute to that goal, but instead of working with the customers or products, they work with the staff to improve their performance.
Across the nation, the methods that directors and programs take to achieve this goal varies. Typically, most programs are seen on a piece of paper and are part of a new employee packet introducing the benefits included with the wellness program to encourage everyone to participate. This packet will describe what is available and encouraged across the company and all the incentives included for participating. Many program staples include access to corporate or local gyms, healthy cafeteria food selections, extra vacation days, extra lunch time to work out, etc. Many people are told, this is what you can do and here is where you can do it. Apart from keeping track of statistics, that is where the program is left as far as actions taking place. This is because the corporate wellness director is often an integral part of the management of a company who works directly with insurance contacts and health providers as well as other financial supervisors to ensure that measures being taken are having a positive impact on the company’s bank account. Because of these responsibilities, many directors have found themselves strapped to a desk finding themselves in the same environment as their employees they are working with. Though these responsibilities cannot be taken away completely, they can be managed more effectively to provide a better push for health and fitness in the workplace. Thinking about this, the case for a more hands-on approach of the Corporate Wellness Director is an important one to consider when taking the lifestyle habits of employees into question and working to change them for the better.
The “industrial athlete” is a concept that has been widely adopted by business professionals and has led to the growing popularity of corporate sponsored wellness programs. It is noteworthy to consider the wording of the subject matter, industrial ATHLETE. The rationale behind a wellness program is that in improving the performance of employees at work, they will bring in better production for the company which will increase profits. Also, when employees are healthier, this can save the company mountains of cash by reducing insurance premiums and other healthcare costs. From employees reaching a healthier physical state, two tremendous angles of savings are accomplished. Much like a sports team, the trainers and coaches work to improve the physical performance of their players on the field in order to increase their productivity and win games, as they win more games, popularity rises, more tickets are sold, more merchandise are purchased, larger sponsors are attracted, and the team generates more revenue. When we take a look at these two environments and the results of implementing an efficient training plan, it’s difficult to understand why the two execute plans so different from one another. When companies hire on a new employee, they typically invest a week or so with direct supervision and training in order to ensure that the employee learns their basic responsibilities and is able to become self-sufficient in their job. However, when it comes to implementing a wellness program within a company, employees are left to their own devise to implement the programs and suggestions involved in the program description. Many times, if an employee is asked who the company wellness director is and how to get in contact with them, they will not be able to answer accurately. Going back to the term of employees in today’s workforce being industrial athletes, the importance of taking their education and instruction in relation to physical health and fitness must take a more direct approach in order to yield the maximum results and savings attributed to employee participation. Though it is nearly impossible to directly train every single individual employee and coach them one-on-one concerning their diet and conduct daily follow-ups, focusing on a more hands-on method of education is a very effective way to reach employees company-wide.
There is really no reason to differentiate the way we educate company employees on matters of fitness than we do professional athletes. If the goal is helping people change lifestyle habits and improve health and wellness, the most effective way comes in the form of providing guidance addressing education, demonstration and application. Any training program directed towards becoming a professional in any trade, skill, or job utilizes these three major pillars of guidance. With the whole idea and reasoning of implementing corporate health and wellness programs being that of improving a company’s overall health, it very applicable to say that employees are being trained to be more than amateurs in aspects of health and fitness. In hindsight, this will increase the effectiveness of the program and reduce potential injuries or failures caused by a lack of understanding. The corporate wellness director should think of themselves as more of a wellness coach, than a managing director. A coach provides the education for his athlete with a hands-on approach and increasing the contact time a wellness director or his assistants have with employees can greatly increase the desire for participating and seeking success. Providing some limited applications of personal coaching can create this exposure and make the program more tangible for employees to take part in. A coach does not necessarily have to be present every second to ensure retention and success, but communicating interest and availability for contact can provide more face-to-face contact and provide more hands-on time educating employees on their options and ways of participating in the wellness program. The director can provide education through any number of ways communicating points and details about the wellness program in more detail than what is provided in the employee packets, the goal of educating employees is simply expanding on the goals of the program and what material can help provide direction. Demonstrations are quite a bit more time-consuming and difficult to manage, but are integral in successfully getting employees engaged in participating and finding success. Some people learn from words and others from actions, using education and demonstration can ensure that everyone can grasp the important concepts being taught. Finally, application puts all the points into practice. Theories and principles provide good points to employ in a wellness program, but often they are difficult to apply to daily life and either need to be changed or modified in order to facilitate a greater ability to apply the theories and principles appropriately. One of the most difficult tasks of developing an effective wellness program is taking account of the fact that not every person can readily participate in the general concepts outlined in their company policies. A hands-on director can ensure that all the walks of life within a company are able to find a way to participate and receive the benefits of a healthier physical state of being.
Even though in recent years, a number of companies have enjoyed some significant success in employee participation and reduction in costs of insurance and health care, in a general sense however, participation rates are not even reaching 30% of most companies offering a health and wellness program. With some companies ranging in the 1000+ employees, it can seem a bit overwhelming for the Wellness Director to have a hands-on approach to ensure that every employee is invited and that programs are available to them. Some suggestions to create this hands-on approach in companies big and small are as follows:
Constant email access: Many employees don’t have any idea on how to get in touch with the individual who is in responsible for providing direction and guidance. Letting the company know who the director is and where to send questions that will be responded individually is a good place to start.
Perform Q&A Sessions for staff: This can be a good way to get staff members to engage directly with a number of employees all at once, many might have the same questions and being able to answer it once for several people is effective and efficient.
Provide training education seminars: Again, reaching a number of people at the same time is very efficient. With many employees honestly having no idea on how to move properly or what kind of movements to do in a gym setting, seminars can provide a base of knowledge that will help employees get excited and capable of exercising.
Walk the halls: It’s hard for people to want to interact if they have no personal investment. When employees know who the director is and see them walking among the staff they are more likely to engage and have a desire to take part in the wellness program.
Office hours: Some people are obviously not as outgoing as other employees but still would like to know how to become healthier versions of themselves. Having some time allotted every week can give other demographics the possibility of meeting with the director and getting personal feedback on what they can do better.
These are some suggestions that have created consistent growth in participation rates of wellness programs. Some directors can have even more direct contact with employees and others might have to convince management that they need a couple more staff to help gain traction within the ranks of the company. Providing more hands-on instruction and being present to employees can add an extra element to the desire of the company to improve the overall health and wellness of the company and not just come-off as a piece of paper required by insurance companies to help reduce rates on premiums. Being hands-on does not necessarily mean that other responsibilities need to fall by the way-side. The important tasks of tracking results and working with management to adjust and find ways to make a more effective workforce are irreplaceable. However, taking time each week, or even every day to provide personal support to the employees can be a simple way to improve participation and consequently improve the workplace environment. Imagine the benefits that have been observed in recent years with only 30% or so participation from companies across the nation, imagine if that number reaches, 50%, 60% and people don’t just work better, but are living better as well. Taking a hands-on approach means becoming very action oriented instead of results oriented. The draw however is with actions that are effective and productive, the results will follow.
