Keys to Effective Corporate Wellness Programs

Collaboration and Effective Corporate Wellness Programs

Why should you collaborate?

Active, ongoing partnerships and cooperative efforts multiply Corporate Health Promotion Plan resources in order to better serve Employees and their families.

How can you build collaboration into a Corporate Wellness Program?

Get Ready…
• Brainstorm a list of every potential Wellness partner you can think of. Be innovative!
• Be a politician: introduce yourself to everyone BEFORE you need their help.
• Develop a plan to get Upper Management support from as high up the chain as possible. Make sure to include specific ways that your Corporate Health Promotion Plan will impact force readiness.
• Determine how YOU can help your partners (not just what they can do for you).

Be Steady…
• Get input from everyone that your Corporate Health Promotion Plan will affect. Make a special effort to talk to the staff members closest to Corporate Health Promotion Plan implementation (those with “boots on the ground”).
• The most frequently asked questions should be: “What would you suggest?” and “How do you think this would work best?”
• Find someone who has done the same type of Corporate Health Promotion Plan before and ask their advice. (Hint: the Corporate Health Promotion Plan has a list of many Wellness POCs.)
• Plan NOW to show Corporate Health Promotion Plan effectiveness. Establish who may ALREADY BE COLLECTING information that will show the Corporate Health Promotion Plan is working.

Get Set…
• Step back and review your Corporate Health Promotion Plan from a potential partner’s point of view.
• Brainstorm questions your collaborators might have, and have the answers ready.
• Be ready to frame your “selling points” in terms that are important to each specific partner.
• Put the Corporate Health Promotion Plan benefits in language your collaborators will understand.
• Emphasize to potential partners how this Corporate Health Promotion Plan will provide benefit to them.

And Go…
• Build as many partnerships as you can BEFORE you implement a Corporate Wellness Program.
• Make your partnerships a two-way street: always let your collaborators know what you can do for them – then follow-up and do what you say you would do.
• Maintain Upper Management support by providing a regular flow of information. Invite Upper Management participation in the Corporate Health Promotion Plan and special events whenever possible. (Hint: they make great judges if you have a contest.)
• Provide regular feedback to your collaborators.
• Don’t hog the spotlight: let your collaborators share in the visibility of the Corporate Wellness Program.