This post is the second in the series outlining the first of Larry Chapman's 3 Wellness Models, the Feel Good Model, and how to discuss it with the c-suite to get buy-in and take action. [4 minute read]
The first of this blog series titled 3 Tips to Selling Corporate Wellness to C-Suite – Know Your Strategy provided an overview of three wellness models identified by thought leader Larry Chapman. These models are covered in the Wellness Certification program available via the Chapman Institute. This, and the next two blog posts, will delve deeper into each model to help you better understand, articulate and promote the program to the C-Suite to get buy-in and determine what/how to measure.
WELLNESS MODEL 1: Feel Good Wellness Model
Regardless if you are a seasoned workplace wellness professional or a Human Resources professional suddenly tasked to deliver wellness, the Feel Good Wellness (FGW) strategy is the starting point and foundation for most wellness programs.
Sometimes this model evolves from a grassroots interest simply because employees are asking for it vs. leadership driving the charge. Other times, leadership IS driving the charge and you, as the wellness professional, develop and implement the programs and activities to increase health awareness and take the first step in helping employees change behaviors.
Wellness works best when you are realistic and don’t try to boil the ocean from the start.
Feel Good Wellness Model Characteristics
Focus on Fun & Interactive
- This model is all about health awareness, education and promoting well-being.
- It’s an opportunity to encourage people to move more and eat better often accomplished through one or many of these:
- Individual or Group Wellness Activities (e.g. step challenges, walking/running clubs, smoking or weight loss)
- Lunch and Learns (e.g. dietician, health practitioner, etc.)
- Newsletters / Health Tips / Content
- Providing healthy snack options in the lunch room
- In-Office Chair Massage
- In-Office Fitness or Yoga Classes
- Other Options – For those organizations that want to provide a benchmark for employees to determine their starting point, you could offer voluntary assessments or screenings. While they more frequently appear in Traditional or Results-Driven Wellness Models, they do sometimes happen within the FGW strategy.
- Health assessments – often known as health risk assessments, HRAs, lifestyle questionnaires, these assessments are an invaluable tool to helping employees understand their current state of lifestyle and health.
- Biometric Screening – commonly measures height, weight, body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, cholesterol, blood glucose, triglyceride levels and so on.
Cost
- Typically minimal/low cost - Budget $50-100 per employee per year.
Return on Investment
- Less than 100% - doesn’t pay for itself
Your "Talk Track" to C-Suite
When explaining this model to c-suite focus on:
- Activities and programs will be fun to engage and inspire
- It’s the starting point into wellness
- There is no ongoing commitment
- It’s an opportunity to experiment to see what works
- Boosting employee morale and health awareness
- Encouraging leadership to get involved and discuss/promote/support in meetings
- Success is not measured by dollars.
Plus, check out our post on how to sell wellness to c-suite.
What to Expect
- 15-35% of employees will participate
- You will identify your intrinsically motivated ‘champions’ (which will be very helpful as your programs evolve)
- Requires minimal effort
- Proving ROI is not important – it’s about motivating and educating
- If you provide voluntary health assessments, those employees truly motivated to make a change will be revealed – great opportunity to tap into their enthusiasm and motivation.
How to Measure
Remember, it’s important to ask what the leadership team wants to see improve and then choose 1-3 areas to measure. Here are some examples:
- Employee Satisfaction - Survey employee satisfaction or activity levels before wellness initiatives start (as your benchmark).
- Eligible vs Participation - Total Eligible Employees vs. Total Employees that Participate
- Activity - % of active vs. inactive employees (self-evaluated)
- Participation - Survey participants to ask if they will participate again
- Benchmarks - If assessments or screenings are not provided, invite employees to track their personal benchmark/measurements (e.g. BMI, weight, etc.) on their own (they don’t need to disclose it to anyone – it’s simply for their reference) so they can share their successes post-challenge (e.g. lost 15 pounds)
- Success stories – share with leadership and promote throughout your organization
- Program participation comparison – (e.g. in first challenge, 35% of eligible employees participated. In second challenge, 42% of eligible employees participated. Therefore, you saw a 7% increase in participation from challenge 1 to 2).
Powering and Measuring Wellness Programs
Using the right wellness technology (like CoreHealth's corporate wellness platform) will help you design, deliver and administer wellness programs and make it easy to pull and present results with ease.
About CoreHealth Technologies
CoreHealth Technologies Inc. is the leading corporate wellness platform trusted by more than 1000 organizations, ranging from medium-sized businesses to Fortune 500 enterprises. At CoreHealth, we believe that developing the best employee wellness programs is all about giving wellness companies the right code, design and access to the latest innovations. With the most customization, integrations and reliability of any software in its class, CoreHealth’s powerful platform lets users focus on growing great companies. For more information, explore the CoreHealth website.