According to the Kaiser Foundation, 81 percent of large employers (more than 200 employees) offer well-being programs. However, many of those companies don’t consider major factors before launching their programs — and there are many things to consider when preparing an implementation.

Analyzing and proactively planning will set an organization on a positive path to success.

In order to drive results for both employers and employees, there are five critical steps that every organization should consider in any well-being strategy: proactively evaluating current culture around health, analyzing the current company environment, studying the employee population’s current status, knowing engagement tactics that already work for your population, and clearly defining success and how it will be measured.

For a strong starting point, it is vital to understand that fostering total well-being, or high life satisfaction, is critical to an employer’s success. Employees that are resilient and highly satisfied in and out of the workplace will deliver better results for the bottom line. Leading a well-being strategy requires thinking about employees holistically. 

Considering wellness alone is not enough. The key factors to consider include health, psycho-social, financial, work-life, and resiliency. Tie the success of your program to your current and future vision around the culture of health.

Performing an assessment will provide strong insights into management’s well-being philosophy and their belief systems around value drivers. Top down support is critical and allows the benefit manager to begin alignment with the leadership team. 

Ask questions like, “Would employees say that their supervisor really cares about their well-being?” and “In what ways do employees ‘live well-being’ day to day?” Knowing your company’s and employees’ belief systems will help benefit managers create a strategy that supports the company’s business objectives.

The current company environment is also a strong factor in the success of any well-being program launch. While companies evolve rapidly, being honest about where the organization is now and how that may affect a well-being program (or how a well-being program launch may affect the company) will be a large factor in determining success.

Benefit managers should know if there are plans to IPO, merge, acquire, right size, adjust compensation and/or merit, or make large senior leadership changes that will require employees to readjust. With the right approach, change is sometimes an opportunity to improve company morale and satisfaction.

For example, a rapidly growing health care technology company chose to launch a well-being challenge to unify employees after several acquisitions. Launched by the CEO, the program enabled employees to challenge each other in a fun and engaging manner, ultimately uniting the company.   

Next, understand the current health status of the employee population as well as what they value to ensure that the well-being program components will be relevant and tailored to their needs.

To understand this, important, easy-to-obtain information like average age overall, average age by worksite or department, participation in savings programs like the 401(k) and HSA plan, percent who are healthy, percent at-risk for chronic illnesses, and percent that have ongoing conditions, and responses to Health Risk Assessment around stress and resiliency provide insights into who employees are and will lead you to create a well thought out design that delivers positive results.

As an example, when looking at age, if there is a large millennial population, digital programs with a large social connectedness component are very effective. Millennials also respond well to a compelling email invitation.

To increase receptivity with baby boomers, on the other hand, employers may want to introduce the program through an in-person or live webinar session with time for them to ask questions.

While the challenge can remain the same for the whole population, use a multi-modal launch and a tailored message to match your culture and the needs of the individual communities within will yield better engagement and outcomes.

And never forget to simply ask employees what they value and how they want to be approached. Surveying employees makes them feel heard and will greatly improve the adoption and ultimate outcomes of the well-being program.   

As you think about how best to launch, know that the foundation already present at the company for non-wellbeing initiatives is a powerful springboard for a well-being program. Well-being is a universal topic that can be easily tied to most initiatives.

Think about those training sessions where food and refreshments are offered, and ensure healthier options are provided along with a brochure on the benefits of eating healthy and an invite to participate in a healthy eating challenge.

Is there an influential employee that other staffers revere? Many employers create a formal well-being champion team to help get early buy-in. This yields informal leaders when it comes time to launch and maintain the program later on. Do employees participate actively in charitable work?

If so, incentivize well-being participation by offering to donate to a popular or preferred company charity. When well-being initiatives fit easily into employees’ daily lives, results are greatest. 

Defining success and measuring progress may seem fundamental, but many employers skip this step.  This can lead to the well-being program’s goals and strategy being ill-defined, misunderstood, and heavily scrutinized by senior leaders and employees. Companies that do this very well write the corporate well-being objectives right into the overall company strategy.

By understanding the culture of health and benchmarking where employee health status is, employers will have a strong baseline. Once this baseline is established, determine program objectives from the point of view of all constituents — employer, employees, and clients. Be specific about what you want to achieve by naming the actual number or percentages you want to see improve.

Common examples of objectives and measurement statistics are higher employee satisfaction, improved retention, reduced absenteeism, higher engagement in health programs, participation in a financial acumen seminar, and outcome improvements such as the number of people who successfully completed a health assessment, biometric screening, stress reduction, or resiliency program engagement. The HERO scorecard provides a very comprehensive set of measures.

Also have an estimate of how each improvement percentage or person who improves affects your costs in order to calculate a monetary value and prove the success of the program. For senior executives, it is critical to tie well-being programs to the bottom line.

Following these five steps will ensure an effective well-being program strategy and ensure long-term viability as employers drive a strong culture of health, have a strong baseline of current employee health status and resiliency, and seamlessly fit into employees’ daily lives as other successful program and activities are enhanced with a bias toward well-being. Clear objectives and measuring results will prove the program’s value to both employees and employers.

For real traction, well-being needs to be the fiber of your company culture. When well-being is a cornerstone of an employer’s strategy, the ideas and possibilities are endless.

This is a journey, so enjoy the small wins and unity that comes with bringing employees together toward the common goal of well-being, and celebrate the big win — optimized employee health — when the program strategy succeeds.