Wellness Program Blog

Collaboration and Effective Employee Health and Wellness Programs

 

Why should you collaborate?

 

Active, ongoing partnerships and cooperative efforts multiply Employee Health and Wellness Program resources in order to better serve Employees and their families.

 

How can you build collaboration into a Employee Health and Wellness Program?

 

Get Ready…

• Brainstorm a list of every potential Wellness partner you can think of. Be creative!

• Be a politician: introduce yourself to everyone BEFORE you need their help.

• Develop a plan to get Senior Management support from as high up the chain as possible. Ensure that to include specific ways that your Employee Health and Wellness Program will impact force readiness.

• Determine how YOU can help your partners (not just what they can do for you).

           

Be Steady…

• Solicit input from everyone that your Employee Health and Wellness Program will affect. Make a special effort to talk to the individuals closest to Employee Health and Wellness Program 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?”

• Identify someone who has done the same type of Employee Health and Wellness Program before and ask their advice. (Hint: the Employee Health and Wellness Program has a list of many Wellness POCs.)

• Plan NOW to show Employee Health and Wellness Program effectiveness. Identify who may ALREADY BE COLLECTING information that will show the Employee Health and Wellness Program is working.

           

Get Set…

• Step back and look at your Employee Health and Wellness Program 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 Employee Health and Wellness Program benefits in language your collaborators will understand.

• Emphasize to potential partners how this Employee Health and Wellness Program will provide benefit to them.

           

And Go…

• Build as many partnerships as you can BEFORE you implement a Employee Health and 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 Senior Management support by providing a regular flow of information. Invite Senior Management participation in the Employee Health and Wellness Program and special events whenever possible. (Hint: they make great judges if you have a contest.)

• Offer regular feedback to your collaborators.

• Don’t hog the spotlight: let your collaborators share in the visibility of the Employee Health and Wellness Program.