Many corporations recognize the need for a robust strategy to help their workforce be the best they can be.

They also know that successful and sustainable health promotion programs are much more than a few “lunch and learn” programs.

Your health promotion program ought to include a broad range of key elements, including –

• A clear agenda or statement of goals.

• A plan characterized by passion.

• An effective leader who’s creative and organized.

• A focus on short-term outcomes combined with an overall vision.

• A measurable strategy (what’s important gets measured!).

• A policy of celebrating and communicating success.

Creating Your Health Promotion Program

Plan carefully to ensure that your health promotion program is seen as part of a wide commitment to maintaining the health and safety of all personnel. Yes, creating a good plan takes a lot of effort and time (and sometimes resources).

But planning is essential and well worth the investment required.  As the saying goes, “failing to plan is planning to fail.”

You may start by conducting a recent survey of worker needs and interests. If you take this route, pay attention to the results and plan therefore. If you don’t, the workforce won’t support the wellness program.

Accumulating information about what you’re already offering is also a good idea. for example, you could be surprised by your organization or corporation’s current wellness and health policies.

Another important step is to establish an agenda and/or measurable goals to help you determine priorities, timelines and the resources required to launch the wellness program. be bold and creative in your planning, but also realistic.

Leadership

The leader of your health promotion program ought to be able to wear many hats.  The leader’s duties include –

• Developing a vision of the wellness program after receiving input from all interested personnel.

• Communicating ideas and a rationale throughout the corporation (to upper-level managers and fellow staff alike).

• Keeping others enthusiastic about and committed to a health promotion program.

• Serving as a role model and wellness coach.

• Developing and maintaining leadership skills like giving effective presentations and being well-organized.

Good leaders avoid becoming overwhelmed by overly ambitious and complex plans. You may want to stick to short-term objectives at the starting so that you get immediate and visible results.

These first steps are the basis for a successful health promotion program.

Good leaders involve as many people  as possible in the wellness program. for  instance, you will want to form a committee made up of a diverse group of employees to provide advice during the planning phase. This approach will –

• Be sure to help you to obtain valuable information from all parts of the corporation.

• Develop ambassadors who will help you implement the health promotion program.

Keeping Score and Celebrating

Always rememberhow you’ll monitor progress and evaluate the success of your health promotion program. Examination authorizes you to –

• Identify areas of excellence.

• Identify factors that affect participation in your wellness programs.

• Gain management’s support for your efforts (and maintain that support).

• Better understand issues that need attention.

• Learn from mistakes and change the wellness program to keep it on the right track.

When you evaluate your wellness program, you can measure such things as –

• Staff Member absences.

• Worker turnover rates.

• The price of your staff member assistance program.

• The cost of benefits, including short-term and long-term disability payments.

• The cost of your drug plan.

• Accident rates and safety records.

• Employees’ participation in wellness programs (and whether they are staying in the wellness programs).

• Changes in employees’ health habits.

• Level of employees’ awareness of healthy lifestyle issues.

• Results of your environmental wellness audit.

• Other noticeable changes in areas such as morale and job satisfaction.

A good communications plan provides ongoing information to staff members (including upper-level managers) and fosters excitement about the health promotion program.

Positive reinforcement is part of an effective communications plan. for  instance, you could recognize people that have assisted set up the wellness program or offer tangible rewards for achieving objectives.

Everybody needs to know whether workers are getting involved, enjoying the activities and getting some benefit from them. Showing that a wellness program has financial benefits is usually an important factor to maintain strong support from the top.

When you pay attention to the key elements of your health promotion program and communicate openly and continuously while planning and delivering it, you’ll lay a solid foundation and leave a legacy that lasts.