4 Essential Characteristics for a Good Wellness Initiative

4 Essential Characteristics for a Good Wellness Initiative According to  Deloitte research, nearly 2.8 million employees are quitting their jobs every month, with many citing a ‘lack of empowerment’ as the key reason. Nowadays, staff engagement is down to so much more than trips away and pay rises, with more and more employers understanding there is a strong need to focus on effective health and wellness initiatives to keep their teams happy and focused at work. With this in mind, we’ve listed the four key steps to introducing a successful wellness initiative in your workplace: 1. Be flexible accessible When looking to develop a wellness strategy that can be integrated throughout the entire business, it is important to make it as inclusive and accessible as possible. To successfully accomplish this, you will need to communicate with all levels to secure company buy-in. This can be achieved by providing one-to-one sessions between senior and junior team members as well as running group meetings, ensuring everyone is fully informed of the details and long-term goals. On top of this, employers could also try introducing ‘change champions.’ This is a group of employees who work to improve the health and culture of the workplace by socially connecting with others and helping to educate co-workers about readily available programme offerings. 2. Health comes first Businesses are learning the importance of developing a culture-first mentality, looking at the ‘total quality of life’ when it comes to employees to help boost their productivity and overall wellbeing. At Express, we have been able to experience the benefits of this approach first hand. We worked closely with our client Airwair to deliver healthy food options in support of its company-wide wellness initiative. The company’s offerings include providing employees with treadmills for use during meetings, designated wellness rooms in each office and on-site massages. The healthier approach to workplace nutrition received positive feedback from Airwair’s employees’, with staff reporting the investment in their health made them feel more valued in the workplace. 3. Food, glorious food ‘We are what we eat’ â€" a famous saying that has great meaning in the workplace! In today’s health-conscious society, employers have a responsibility to provide healthy food choices to their staff, with studies showing that employees who eat well are, on average, 25 percent more likely to perform better. However, to help create a more productive environment, employers don’t necessarily have to come up with particularly extravagant solutions. Just by updating your refreshment facilities and providing healthier food alternatives in the office, you will be supporting employee wellbeing and making a positive impact all around. 4. Be more responsible Studies suggest 79 percent of people would prefer to work for a socially responsible company and combined CSR and wellness initiatives improve collaboration, innovation and soft skill development. With employees and consumers demanding more from their local businesses, how can employers ensure practices stay up-to-date and fresh enough to gauge maximum interest? By employers creating a calendar of CSR-related events for all to participate in throughout the year, they will be encouraging maximum staff participation and dissolve the notion of it being a ‘tick box’ exercise. Incorporating these initiatives into everyday activities or small events such as cycling to work, bake sales or lift sharing schemes â€" means employers will see a large impact on workplace morale as well as using smaller projects to complement more long-term corporate objectives. About the author:  Rachel Whitford, is the Area Retail Manager â€" City of London, of  Express Vending.