The Ultimate Checklist for Employee Wellness Programs

In an age of blurred lines between work and life, employee wellness programs have become the pulse of flourishing organizations.

With 89% of employees feeling their company is not concerned about their overall well-being, the divide between what employees expect and what they get is noteworthy (Source: Gallup, 2024).

What if wellness were more than a gym membership or a health screening opportunity every year? What if it were more than a "wellness strategy" that would alter everything? 

What if wellness was a way of life, a philosophy to put a completely different spin on how companies show care for their people – physically, mentally, emotionally, and financially? Companies that capitalize on this approach not only have healthier employees but also uncover creativity, loyalty, and resilience that fuel ongoing success. 

In this blog, I will provide the ultimate checklist for creating, launching, and maintaining meaningful employee wellness programs with real data and stories from the organizations that have executed successful wellness strategies. 

Why Employee Wellness Matters

Employee wellness is more than just a gym membership or a fruit basket; it is holistic, physical, mental, emotional, and financial. The data will help tell the story:

• Productivity and Engagement: Organizations with strong wellness programs have an employee productivity and performance advantage. Employees who enjoy their work do not engage as often in negative emotions, and their workplace is vibrant.
• Cost Savings: For every dollar invested in wellness, you can expect $5.82 reduced absenteeism costs as ROIs range from $1 to $6. After implementing some form of wellness, 72% of employers found their healthcare costs decreased. (Source: Grapple, 2023)
• Retention & Satisfaction: Employees at companies that prioritize wellness recommend their workplace and intend to stick around for years to come.
• Mental Health: A significant number of employees who cite workplace stress and face mental health challenges reiterate the importance of having support in mental health.

These figures underscore a truth: wellness isn’t just good for employees; it’s a strategic lever for organizational success.

The Ultimate Checklist for Employee Wellness Programs

Developing a wellness program that will resonate is a conscious action that takes thoughtfulness, transparency, and flexibility. The checklist below is designed to help you through the development, execution, and evaluation of the program. 

1. Assess Employee Needs and Interests

Generic programs fall flat. Customising initiatives to your workforce’s specific needs boosts participation and impact. Some of the following things that you can do: 

• Conduct anonymous surveys to uncover problems related to physical, mental, and financial health.
• Administer health risk assessments (HRAs) or biometric screenings to assess what risks exist, such as hypertension or burnout.
• Facilitate sit-down discussions for employees (focus groups) to determine what wellness offerings are most meaningful to employees.
• Examine workforce demographics (e.g., age, gender) to identify different approaches to provide targeted solutions.. Women are more engaged in wellness programs than men, and Millennials are more engaged with the social concerns of health.

Real-World Example: Champion Health’s 2022 Workplace Health Report revealed 67% of employees faced moderate to high stress. Targeted stress management programs reduced negative stress by 10% in one year.

2. Get Leadership to Support the Program. 

When leadership embraces wellness, employees are inspired to participate, which greatly increases the chances of a successful program. Here is some simple advice:

• Present leaders with a compelling business case, focusing on ROI ($6 for every dollar spent) and the potential productivity costs. 
• Encourage leaders to 'walk the talk' and engage in healthy activities such as a fitness challenge around the company offices or taking the hour block of time to attend a mindfulness facilitation that the company provided. 
• Provide a wellness committee that has direct access to someone on the executive team so that they can connect the wellness initiatives to business objectives.

Real-World Example: Johnson & Johnson reported 250 million dollars in health care costs savings over 10 years due to their leader-driven wellness programs, with a return on investment of 2.71 dollars returned for every dollar spent.

3. Determine Goals and Metrics

A program without defined goals and metrics is without direction. Defined goals provide better alignment for the programs offered and help leaders understand value.

• Consider defining SMART goals (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound); e.g., reducing absenteeism by 15% in 12 months.
• Consider evaluating metrics such as:
  • The program's participation rates
  • The company’s healthcare cost reductions
  • Employee engagement scores
• Use baseline data developed through health risk assessments to demonstrate improvements in wellness, viz a reduction in stress levels, increases in wellness levels, etc.

4. Having Multiple and Inclusive Options for a Program

• Provide physical wellness options that would involve dollar value, such as paying for gym reimbursement, on-site fitness classes, and/or a step challenge.

• Address employees' mental wellness by providing on-site counselling, or through apps like welUp that provide free mental health consults.
• Address financial wellness by providing tools for budgeting, retirement planning, or student repayment assistance. For Instance, welUp’s no-cost EMI would make affordable healthcare available to everyone.

Real-World Example: Google’s “gPause” meditation program, paired with financial planning workshops, saw 70% employee participation and a 15% drop in reported stress.

5. Establishing a Culture of Wellness

All programs are anchored by culture. A wellness culture supports long-term engagement with programs. 

• Incorporate wellness into daily rhythm, standing desks, healthy food options in cafeteria, “walking meetings.” 
• Recognize employees who achieve individual fitness goals or mental health course completion. 
• Train managers to support wellness, as 80% of employees say manager encouragement boosts participation.

Real-World Example: Salesforce’s “Ohana” culture, with wellness perks like mindfulness zones, led to 92% employee satisfaction and a spot on Fortune’s Best Workplaces list.

6. Leverage Technology and Partnerships

Technology is about accessibility and engagement, while partnerships are about expertise.

• Provide wellness apps for meditation, nutrition, or sleep tracking; 50% of employees prefer some sort of digital tool (e.g. welUp).
• Partner with local gyms, mental health care agencies, or financial advisors to help diversify your offering.

Real-World Example: SaveIN employees use the welUp app, which provides them up to Rs. 5 Lakhs Healthcare Credit Limit at 0% interest. 

7. Communicate Effectively

Utilize clear and consistent communication to support awareness and participation. Only 60% of employees recognize that their employer provides wellness offerings.

• Use multiple platforms to communicate offerings: emails, posters, intranet, town halls, etc.
• Share stories of success; showcase an employee who accessed counselling for coping with stress.
• Report back on the impact of the program, like participation metrics or saved costs.

Real-World Example: Cisco's targeted communication initiatives led to a 25% increase in enrolment into their wellness programs within 6 months.

8. Evaluate and Iterate 

Because if you are not measuring, you are not leading to long-term success.

• Gather feedback, via surveys or focus groups, immediately following implementation.
• Review the data. Review pre- and post-implementation data, including measures such as absenteeism or engagement.
• Refresh your offering based on feedback. For example, launch sleep workshops if problems arise in employee sleeping behaviours.

Real-World Example: Microsoft’s annual wellness program evaluations resulted in a 30% increase in participation through adding virtual mental health resources.  

9. Ensure Adherence to Compliance and Privacy Requirements

Legal and ethical issues are in place FOR the employees and the organization. If an organization is NOT compliant, it increases the chance of being sued or creates distrust. To ensure adherence to compliance and privacy requirements, organizations must:

• Follow regulations such as HIPAA or GDPR to keep health data private, including wellness recordkeeping.
• Ensure participation is voluntary, and do not let it affect outcomes for those who do not participate.
• Clearly articulate how data collected would be used and retained.

Real World Example: In 2023, the EEOC fined an organization $6.4 million for alleged coercive behaviours surrounding wellness programs and the associated ways that they used and stored the data. This demonstrates the importance of compliance. 

Addressing Common Obstacles

Even the best chosen wellness programs will not be without obstacles. Here’s how to tackle them:

• Low Participation: Engage employees early through surveys and incentives. An increase in effectiveness of 40% for programs that include employee engagement.
• Cost: Start small and easy with low-cost activities (walking challenges) or free resources (mental health apps).
   Scale as ROI becomes evident.
• Remote Workforce: Offer virtual classes, apps, or mailed wellness kits to include remote employees, who comprise 43% of the U.S. workforce.
• Skepticism: People want proof, not based on evidence. Openly chart your progress, share information on success rates based on your data, but also the pre- and post-contract evaluation. (70% of employees report concerns about their data being misused)

Conclusion

In summary, a great wellness program is certainly more than checking off the boxes; it changes the lives of people and creates a new workplace. Not only do employees receive energy to do their job, resilience to withstand trauma, and peace of mind navigating a challenging work experience, but organizations benefit by receiving high performance, lower health insurance costs, and an attractive employer brand. 

Developing an employee wellness program is in some respects a cross between an art and a science; it combines the humanity of empathy with the strategy. By following this checklist, assessing the organizational needs of employees, gaining stakeholder buy-in, defining objectives for the program, and refining the program, you can develop a program that connects with employees and their ability to thrive at work, while also enhancing the success of the organization. The data is clear; wellness is not a "nice to have", it is the conduit for a healthier, happier, and wealthier future. 

A thoughtfully designed wellness program is not a cost; it is an investment in your Company's most valuable asset: its people. 

Choose welUp for modern employees, as it will make the ultimate checklist for your employee wellness programs.