Thursday, February 23, 2012

Three Ways to Promote Wellness

Are you doing enough to show your employees that you value their health? Having a quality employee health and wellness program shows employees, including prospective employees, that you value your employees. Here are a few simple things you can do to create a healthier workplace.

1. Bring the flu shot in.
Bring vaccinations to the workplace for flu season. Providing your employees with flu vaccinations is a smart investment. When your employees avoid the flu, they avoid missing days of work.

2. Put prevention into practice.
On-site health screenings give employees the opportunity to check important numbers such as cholesterol, blood pressure and glucose. Providing this service for your employees can go a long way in preventing serious medical conditions.

3. Provide a coach.
For some employees, coaching may be the way to go. Lifestyle management health coaching pairs employees with health professionals who can guide them through the steps of behavior change.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Help Your Employees Become Heart Healthy

February is American Heart Month, a time to raise awareness about heart disease and educate employees on what they can do to live heart-healthy lives. One of the first steps on the path to heart-healthy living is for employees to “know their numbers.” Key numbers for heart health include:

-Total Cholesterol
-High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) “good” cholesterol
-Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL)
-Triglycerides
-Blood Pressure
-Fasting Glucose
-Body Mass Index (BMI)
-Waist Circumference

TotalWellness can help your employees “know their numbers” through our on-site health screenings and give them the power to reduce the chances of getting heart disease.

Monday, February 06, 2012

Five Ways to Pump Up Your Wellness Communications

When we partner with companies to provide wellness solutions, we often get asked the same question: What is the best way to communicate our wellness events to employees? While each organization’s culture is a little bit different, there are a few things that seem to work best:

Survey.
Ask your employees which way they would prefer to receive information about the wellness program. Is it on the Intranet? Face-to-Face or print materials? Just ask them.

Connect the dots.
Clearly explain how the wellness program is connected to the company’s overall strategy. Messages about the wellness program are best received when they come from the organization’s leaders. The wellness program shouldn't be just an "HR program" – it must be an intrinsic part of the organization’s culture.

Keep it simple.
Medical terms can be overwhelming and scary to many people. Wellness programs need to be communicated in a way that makes sense. Use visuals and bullet points, graphics, charts, and FAQs.

Focus on confidentiality and privacy.
Continually reassure employees that their privacy will be protected and the results of any wellness program tests will be kept absolutely confidential.

Communicate frequently.
Ongoing communication with employees is key to building understanding and influencing behavior.