At some point in the past, you’ve probably had a strategy session about your workplace wellness program and planned how to roll out the next 6 or 12 months of initiatives.
Recent events have likely impacted those plans.
There are perhaps fewer people in the office, employees that do work from the office might be working staggered hours and the budget for health and wellness may have been trimmed.
So planning your health and wellness events might be taking a back seat to other considerations. However, now really is the time to get people interested in their health and wellbeing. After all, they’re definitely hearing about the need to stay healthy on the news all the time. But given the restrictions above, how can you do it?
Planning to plan
Planning a full annual calendar at the moment may be out of reach, as things can change very quickly these days. It may be a better idea to aim for a quarterly plan, and if you can, keep it general. If you are comfortable planning a bit further, you could come up with a theme for each quarter like “Know Your Numbers”, “Energise Your Life” or “Eating Well” and consider what they might contain closer to the time of delivery.
But what might such a plan entail?
- Health and wellbeing initiatives that are repeatable on a regular frequency are great – you don’t have to organise something over and over again, saving you time, and some of them are very friendly on your budget. For example, a regular health and safety newsletter such as our Well at Work newsletter — which also has the advantage of being available in a contact-free digital version.
- Online webinars and workshops are an excellent way to reach employees, whether they’re working from home or the office. Yes, people might be “Zoomed Out”, but a Zoom event where they aren’t talking shop or closing deals can make a refreshing change and give participants a chance to learn about improving their health and wellbeing. Or in the case of our Mental Health First Aid course, upskill themselves at their own pace.
- More active initiatives like step challenges, are also great as they can usually be done by any employee, anywhere, anytime. You can amp up the teamwork by opting for a team challenge. Challenges also have the advantage of carrying over a few weeks which can keep participants engaged for a longer length of time than a consultation or check.
- Face to face events like heart health checks and skin cancer checks still have a place. A good provider will be able to conduct checks that meet COVID-19 guidelines. Staggering your event times to cover all employees might mean that instead of your usual 6 hour event, you might opt for 2x 3 hour events.
A quarterly plan might contain one or a few of the above elements. Promotion is key, both digitally and onsite to foster interest and engagement, especially if the workforce is not all onsite.
Contact us if you’d like to further explore any of the above options.
