Every business owner wants a happy, healthy and dependable workforce. And who’s responsible for that? I suspect you know the answer!
That’s why forward-thinking companies, large and small, are taking employee wellbeing very seriously. Yes, it’s the right-minded approach, but it’s also the sensible thing to do.
For that reason, we’re going to demonstrate how to create a wellbeing program for employees. It doesn’t have to be endlessly complicated or expensive, but it does need to address the key issues which may affect the health and wellbeing of your team.
A 2021 CIPD study found that more than 80 per cent of organisations were concerned about the impact of Covid-19 on employees’ mental health.
This further underlines why it’s essential to provide a working environment conducive to good mental and physical wellbeing. After all, it’s where they spend so much of their time – whether onsite or from the home office.
“Good health IS good business” Paul Drechsler (CEO, Wates Group Limited)
What are wellbeing programmes?
A wellbeing program is simply a pre-planned and structured way of looking after your employees. It can be as basic or convoluted as you like. It can include all manner of support mechanisms, such as access to mental health services or physiotherapists. But they can also be as simple as enabling flexible working arrangements or arranging staff get-togethers.
Ultimately, a health and wellbeing program is about giving employees the chance to improve (or maintain) their all-round health, both in and out of the workplace. In turn, this helps them feel more valued and invested in their work.
By creating a carefully thought-through wellbeing program for employees, you can reduce staff sickness, increase productivity and retain (or attract) talented workers.
This is why so many of the biggest and most successful companies invest big money into staff wellbeing. Take Google as an example, they offer many onsite services which promote good health, including:
- Physiotherapy
- Chiropathy
- Massage services
- Fitness centres and classes
- “Campus cafes” and “micro kitchens”
Not to mention generous parental leave and a dog-friendly workplace!
As a small business owner much of this may be out of your grasp, but it does illustrate that if the biggest companies take this stuff seriously, then you should too. You’ll just need to scale it down!
What can I include in a wellbeing program for employee?
Ask yourself this: what would affect your employee’s physical and mental health for good or bad? Go ahead and brainstorm. You will likely come up with some great ideas and pinpoint areas to address…
But for further inspiration, here are a few things which are typically included:
- Company health insurance: ensures rapid treatment in the event of any medical problems. Can also include a variety added extras, such as free dental care. Can be purchased as a group scheme to cover the whole workforce or individual plans.
- Accident protection insurance: in case of any slips, trips or other accident leading to physical injury
- Physiotherapy: deal with aches and pains before they lead to serious injury
- Cycle-to-work schemes: to promote healthy commuting
- Dental or eye care: the possibility of impaired sight or eye strain is a regular problem for office workers
- Discounted gym membership: because if you don’t use it, you lose it
- Flexi-working arrangement: working from home will parents juggle family life and help address problems with work-life balance
- Relaxation rooms: for employees to quiet their minds through meditation or light stretching
- Company away days: arrange team-building activities or attend events which the whole team can enjoy
- Health tips: provided as part of your regular employee communications or via a wellbeing app.
- Company sports: set up a 5-a-side team, golf team, volleyball or a round-robin of different sports each month
- Healthy lunches: offered via discounts – and encourage staff to get outside and breath some fresh air!
I’m sure you can dream up many other ideas. Now it’s time to execute your wellbeing program for employees…
Need help delivering an employee benefits plan? Hooray Health & Protection specialises in helping small businesses find the best deals on employee benefits and insurance schemes. Simply contact our helpful team today and ask all the questions you ever wanted to ask.
How to deliver wellbeing programs for employees
Right, you understand how it works, you’ve listed some ideas. Now what?
It’s time to work with your employees and make sure your wellbeing program will provide the most use at the best value.
Begin by asking them what do they want. Combine qualitative and quantitative feedback. Perhaps arrange a meeting where everyone talks openly about issues surrounding health and wellbeing. What do they find a struggle? What will help them?
Not everyone will want to talk at a public meeting. So, remember to invite suggestions confidentially via email.
Based on all the information gleaned above, you can provide your team with a list of wellbeing options and get them to rank the options in order of preference.
But how do you actually deliver your wellbeing program for employees? There are a number of options. Yes, you could create your own system. But there are a range of digital products which make the process much easier – for staff and managers alike.
Here are the three main types of product which can be used to plan and execute a successful wellbeing program for employees:
- Wellbeing apps: There are many employee wellbeing platforms on the market which are designed to aid mental and physical health. Exercise advice, meditations and also dietary guidance is provided on user friendly apps accessible to your whole team. Lifeworks, Sprout and Limeade are just few of the apps on the market.
- Employee Assistance Programmes (EAP): These are specifically designed to tackle issues related to emotional and mental wellbeing. Whether it’s personal trauma, heightened stress or rising anxiety; an EAP can help. Employees can complete a wellbeing evaluation and even get access to one-to-one professional support. Always check with individual providers what’s included in the package. See our checklist for buying employee assistance programmes.
- Employee benefits platforms: If you are providing a wider variety of employee benefits beyond health and wellbeing, then investing in an employee benefits platform will be a good option. Insurance, pensions, retail discount schemes can all be provided via a digital app or website platform easily accessible to your team. And of course, health and wellbeing services are often included. Learn more about employee benefits platforms.
Need help sorting out a benefits plan for your business?
At Hooray Health & Protection we provide expert advice to small businesses who want to deliver employee benefit schemes. It can be a complex undertaking for many businesses as it often requires weighing up different insurance schemes and checking out different platform providers. As an independent broker, we work across all the major insurance companies (and probably some you’ve never heard) to find the best deals. But we also understand the evolving market for employee benefit platforms and how they can help you your business.
So if you need further clarity – or want to kickstart an employee benefits scheme – get in touch with one of our friendly team today.