Workplace Wellness: Committing to and managing the Wellness Workplan generated by completing The Healthy Us Scorecard

We started this three-part series by talking about the importance of having an employee wellness program. We alluded to the fact employers do not need to start big or spend a lot of money to make a positive impact on their team members. We also suggested a great place to start is at the Healthy Maine Works website. In a short period of time, The Healthy Us Scorecard has you on your way to developing best practice worksite wellness programs.

In our second installment, we recommended looking at your organization’s health related priorities and establishing a strategy that truly supports your employees. In our organization, we decided to provide paid time off for team members getting their annual cancer screenings. It wasn’t a big lift, but it potentially has a life-saving impact!

Editor’s Note: This month’s Workplace Wellness column is the last in a three-part series contributed by Steven Wallace, MBA, and Jason Buchanan, PhD, MBA. Jason and Steve are members of the YMCA of Auburn-Lewiston’s executive team, where employee satisfaction and welfare is discussed at every leadership team meeting.

In our third and last installment, we’d like to talk about managing the Wellness Workplan generated by completing The Healthy Us Scorecard.

There are several comprehensive areas covered in the Wellness Workplan, first and foremost being Organizational Support. Does your budding Workplace Wellness Program have a Wellness Leader?  How about a Wellness Committee? Does the Wellness Leader have executive support? Will there be a budget?  We caution you, if your answer is “no” to any of the latter questions, you probably aren’t really committed to workplace wellness. These are the basics, folks, and the hard truth is if you’re not willing to commit to the simple things, you’re not really committed to supporting your team’s health and wellness.

Right now, you might be saying, “This sounds too hard. I don’t have enough staff as it is!” If so, don’t get discouraged, because there are resources embedded in each step as you build your own customizable plan. One of the links we found helpful was the 50 Employee Wellness Program Examples for Any Budget. If you are a leader in your organization, we challenge you to let a group of engaged, wellness-minded employees talk through the strategies and suggestions in this article and then ask them what they think you should do – they’ll tell you!   

Other helpful aspects of the Work Plan guide the Healthy Maine Works site walks you through is Program Development and provides great tips on administering an employee health needs and interest survey and providing your team with a Health Risk Assessment. Wondering about how to educate your employees on population heath data or provide Biometric Screening?  Wonder no more; the Work Plan has dozens of resources that are regularly updated to assist you.

Our examples above don’t even begin to scratch the surface of the multitude of areas The Healthy Us Scorecard Work Plan addresses. Other topics – such as physical activity, healthy eating, tobacco control, behavioral health, preventative care, heart safety, diabetes, and cancer – all have tips, draft policies, and resources to help even the most novice Wellness Committee build a best-practice program.

Friends, we could go on and on quoting workplace wellness statistics, information from health needs surveys, and outcomes from peer-reviewed case studies. But why? Anyone in a leadership position already knows their business’s most important competitive advantage is their people. Workplace Wellness is just one of the ones you can protect and build your team.

We hope, if you are still reading this article, and you have the desire and ability to say “yes” to establishing a workplace wellness program at your organization, that you will. Don’t wait. After all, the clock is ticking, and in the words of Jim Rohn: “Your body, it is the only place you have to live.” Be well. Be bold. Be caring. Be better.

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When employees feel good, they tend to perform better. That’s why most Chamber BlueOptions’ plans come with employee discounts on health products and services, as well as an online health and fitness program. Just contact your Anthem-appointed insurance producer for more information or visit the Chamber’s BlueOptions web page to find a producer. For more information on the Chamber BlueOptions health plan, please contact Mark Ellis by calling (207) 623-4568, ext. 107, or by emailing [email protected].