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Workplace wellness programs go beyond an office meditation room or a workplace running group; these programs help cultivate a supportive and healthy environment where employees can thrive.
U.S. Labor statistics show that benefits cost employers nearly $8 an hour for every employee. Those numbers can add up fast, costing employers thousands of dollars a year if they don’t take strides when it comes to their employee’s wellbeing. The goal of an employee wellness program is to do just that.
Setting appropriate wellness program goals and objectives is the first step to ensuring that your efforts are making a real, tangible impact on employees. In this blog, we’ll dive into how to set wellness program goals, and explore some examples of SMART goals for wellness programs.
But first—later on, we’ll touch on the role of mentorship in workplace wellbeing programs. If you already have a mentorship program in place, or are planning on running one in the future, we recommend downloading our Mentorship Superpack, chalk-full of reports, templates, and resources to supercharge your mentorship program. Download the full bundle here.
What is the goal of an employee wellness program?
Workplace well-being goes beyond physical health—it encompasses the overall physical, mental, emotional health of employees. Factors like work environment, company culture, and workplace support systems can all contribute to employee wellness.
Ultimately, a workplace well being program aims to reduce employee stress and create a work environment that leads to flourishing for both the employee and the employer.
Companies that offer wellness programs can cultivate engagement among workers. It can also reduce sick days and absenteeism and increase performance and productivity. Essentially, workplace wellbeing programs provide employees with the incentives, tools, support, and strategies to build a healthy lifestyle.
The difference between goals and objectives for workplace wellbeing
Wellness program goals are broad, long-term aims that define the overall purpose of a wellness program, such as improving employee health, reducing stress, or enhancing work-life balance.
Objectives, on the other hand, are specific, measurable actions taken to achieve those goals, such as offering monthly mental health workshops, implementing flexible work policies, or increasing participation in fitness programs by 20% over six months.
Setting SMART goals for wellness programs
It’s helpful to adopt the SMART goals framework to determine objectives for your workplace wellness program. The SMART goal framework is an acronym that stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely.
SMART goals for wellness programs ensure clarity, accountability, and effectiveness. They define clear objectives, track progress, and measure success, making it easier to assess impact and make necessary adjustments.
Let’s dive into some examples of SMART goals for wellness programs.
Examples of goals and objectives for a workplace wellness program
Examples of goals for a workplace wellbeing program include:
- Reducing health care costs
- Reducing absenteeism
- Increasing employee productivity and engagement
- Increasing retention rates
- Improving employee morale
- Attracting new employees
For each of the goals listed above, here are examples of objectives:
Reducing health care costs
Objectives to help an organization reach their goal of reducing healthcare costs that fit into the SMART framework could include:
- Organizing exercise challenges and prizes each month with at least 50% of employees participating
- Reducing the number of employees who smoke by X% each year quarter
- Providing healthy brain foods in the lunchroom twice a week for employees or gift cards to healthy restaurants to remote employees
- Provide vaccination clinics at your workplace
Reducing absenteeism
Objectives to help an organization reach their goal of reducing absenteeism that fit into the SMART framework could include:
- Allow employees to work remotely or in-office three days a week
- Survey employees on how to make the workplace a better place to come to
- Consider improvement to the workplace environment, such as more natural light, adding plants or artwork to make it more attractive
- Run health screening clinics to help employees identify health issues early
Increasing employee productivity and engagement
Objectives to help an organization reach its goal of increasing employee productivity and engagement that fit into the SMART framework could include:
- Organizing peer-to-peer learning groups to discuss challenges and find solutions
- Give employees a learning stipend
- Corporate mentoring programs are an example of a low-cost, high-value employee development program
Increasing retention rates
Objectives to help an organization reach its goal of increasing retention rates that fit into the SMART framework could include:
- Connect X% of employees into a mentoring program as it reduces turnover.
- Interview those employees who have decided to leave to narrow down why they weren’t happy.
Improving employee morale
Objectives to help an organization reach its goal of improving employee morale that fit into the SMART framework could include:
- Introduce mental health mentoring to expand understanding of different conditions and treatment options
- Provide access to professional counselling as part of an employee’s health and benefits package
- Organize a fitness competition between teams or departments in the organization
- Offer financial incentives for employees such as student loan repayment options, pension plans, or life insurance policies. Employees who meet certain requirements can take out loans and repay them through payroll deductions.
Attracting new employees
Objectives to help an organization reach its goal of attracting new employees that fit into the SMART framework could include:
- Create an on-site gym
- Promote the use of alternative transportation, such as providing bus passes for employees or bike-sharing programs
- Plan wellness adventures for employees to play a game a local mini-golf or laser tag together
What makes a wellness program successful?
To be successful, a workplace wellness program needs to have several factors, such as a communication plan, management support, and incentives for involvement.
Management support
For a wellness program to be successful in the workplace, it needs to be promoted by managers and company leadership. Ensure that company leaders are informed about various aspects of the wellness program, including what is offered, why it is being offered, and how they can encourage employees to participate. Encourage managers not only to tell employees about the program but to get involved themselves.
Communication strategy
A wellness program is great, but it won’t result in anything if employees don’t know about it or understand what is included. It’s important to have a promotion strategy for your wellness program to inform employees at all levels about aspects of the program, planned activities, benefits to them for getting involved, and how to participate.
Wellness committee
To oversee your wellness program, create a committee to be responsible for planning activities, promoting activities, educating employees and managers about the program, and evaluating the program. As the program runs, the committee should evaluate it periodically to see if any changes need to be made. It can help you know what works and what doesn’t, and also when to shift gears.
Incentives
A healthy lifestyle should be its own reward, but changing habits is hard. Consider offering some incentives to employees to encourage them to get involved. These don’t need to be monetary, but rather something tangible that they can receive. Some examples include a special parking space, extra time off, massage or beauty gift certificates, awards, certificates, etc.
Health costs, absenteeism, and high turnover rates can cost your business a significant amount of money. With the right wellness program goals and objectives in place, your organization can make strides to improve the wellness of your employees while positively impacting overall business growth.
Workplace wellness is closely tied to mentoring relationships
The topic of mentorship has come up a few times throughout some of the examples listed in this article. That's because the two are closely related.
Employees’ wellbeing is closely tied to the relationships they have with their colleagues and superiors. Employees with mentors are reported to be less likely to leave their current position and be more likely to say they’re well paid and valued for their work.
For that reason, a workplace wellbeing program that incorporates a workplace mentoring program is an effective way to build healthy employees and thriving workplace cultures.
To get started integrating mentoring into your employee wellness program, talk with one of our mentoring software experts today.
