Employee Wellness Plans : Corporate Health Promotion Program Ideas

Want some wellness program ideas and wellness policy ideas to get you started? Or maybe you want to jump start or better upon your current wellness program? The list below provides ‘best practices’ that are able to help meet any wellness program budget! The Worksite Wellness Program ideas are divided into topic areas.

General Wellness Progam Ideas

• Administer an Employee Needs & Interest Survey
• Create a Company Health Promotion Program Committee
• Identify medical programs that cover expenditures for weight management and smoking cessation
• Remove co-pay or reimburse for preventive medical care visits
• Put up handouts on a variety of wellness subject matters for staff members to take
• Design a wellness resource center or library with videos, books, magazines, DVD’s on a variety of topics of interest to staff members
• Identify employees who are mentors or champions for healthy activities and ask them to present or to list as a contact for other employees
• Plan and promote periodic or regular educational sessions.
• Create monthly educational sessions on the national health observance topic
• Put up a Wellness Bulletin Board & update it monthly
• Put up messages from national health observances during the month
• Post healthy tips in newsletters, paycheck stuffers, bulletin boards, etc.
• Offer a benefits fair
• Develop employer fitness and healthy eating challenges
• Offer company wellbeing and health fairs or other onsite programs

Nutrition Programs

• Provide free, healthy snacks for staff members (fruit, nuts, popcorn)
• Offer healthy meal choices in cafeterias and at organization programs
• Provide information to workers about the nutritional content of food served in the cafeteria
• Develop a fresh fruit “snack basket” in the breakroom or cafeteria
• Stock snack machines with healthier options
• Partially fund healthy foods in the cafeteria or vending machines (10¡ apples may be more appealing than $1.00 candy bars)
• Create a weekly or monthly healthy lunch club
• Give brochures available on a variety of healthy eating topics
• Include nutrition articles in employer newsletters
• Provide a healthy meal tasting contest Free
• Have educational sessions at lunch-time on a variety of nutrition issues of interest
• Develop an employee healthy food cookbook. Either sell the cookbook and use profits for programs, or purchase a cookbook for all staff members

Weight Loss Programs / Weight Management Programs

• Provide flexible work schedules so that employees are able to participate in weight-loss programs
• Subsidize registration expenditures for weight-management programs
• Offer a support group to help staff members who are trying to lose weight
• Arrange for registered dieticians near your workplace as a resource for staff members who want information on healthy eating, meal planning or weight control
• Provide individual counseling for employees trying to lose weight
• Offer onsite fitness and weight-management programs through your local hospital, Weight Watchers, TOPS or local, registered dietician
• Provide an educational session on diet myths and healthy eating

Physical Activity Programs

• Provide flexible work schedules to encourage exercise
• Develop a fitness space with aerobic equipment, and weights
• Establish accessible walking paths, trails, and/or bike routes
• Urge staff members to walk more by parking farther away from the entrance
• Develop a gym with aerobic equipment, weights, aerobic classes, fitness professionals
• Hold walking meetings
• Make the stairways more appealing (carpet, fresh paint, artwork, posters)
• Provide reduced gym membership fees to all staff members
• Offer facilities for workers to secure bikes
• Have 5 – ten minute stretch breaks during the day
• Partially fund gym membership for staff members who take part a minimal number of days per week (ex., 3 days per week)
• Support lunchtime walking/running clubs or corporation sports team
• Encourage stairwell use and incentives/rewards
• Install a basketball hoop outside
• Urge & support community walks or fitness programs
• Promote walking during breaks and other off-time periods
• Offer periodic fitness incentive programs to encourage physical activity
• Have educational sessions on fitness activities

Smoking Cessation Programs / Tobacco Cessation Programs

• Design a smoke-free grounds
• Establish a smoke-free workplace
• Encourage the use of 1-800-QUIT-NOW, North Carolina’s free Tobacco Use Quitline. Or check www.QuitlineNC.com
• Fully reimburse (or partially reimburse) for tobacco replacement products
• Partially fund the cost of smoking cessation workshops
• Offer handouts and information on health effects from tobacco use and tobacco cessation
• Provide awareness sessions to encourage workers to try to quit tobacco use
• Have worksite tobacco cessation sessions

Employee Health Screening

• Discount healthcare insurance premiums or cut co-payments for workers who participate in screenings and who participate in managing their risk factors
• Install Blood Pressure (BP) monitoring equipment
• Provide flu shots for staff members and family members
• Provide Health Risk Assessments to all staff members, including counseling and follow-up
• Provide periodic Blood Pressure (BP) screenings and follow-up
• Offer periodic screenings for cholesterol, blood sugar, body composition, etc.

Stress Management Programs / Work Life Balance Programs

• Offer flexible schedules for family/work life balance
• Offer and encourage an Employee Assistance Program
• Give information on substance abuse prevention
• Provide brochures and information on stress management and mental health
• Give brochures and information on work life balance, such as monetary planning, childcare, parenting, elder care, etc.
• Provide supervisor and manager training on communication, relationship building, corporation stressors, etc.
• Assess business policies and work schedules to identify business stressors
• Assess the Employee Assistance Program to make sure it is meeting the needs of the employees and business
• Schedule educational sessions on stress management and work life balance
• Have sessions on relaxation, stress management, and work life balance issues