What You Have Said

• 1. Individuals and companies are doing more to prioritise health and wellbeing in a multitude of different ways.

• 2. There has been a change in personal behaviour as people recognise the need keep themselves healthy.

• 3. Employee wellbeing is not being viewed holistically

• 4. Wellbeing support is often (with the best intentions) ‘hit and miss’, and is mostly reactive

• 5. Leaders say they are not confident they have the skills or knowledge to identify situations or provide solutions to support their team

• 6. Businesses are unaware of what they need or what is available to support wellbeing – in the short term, or on an ongoing basis

• 7. There is a genuine desire to provide an environment where people can thrive

• 8. Wellbeing needs to be strategic and coordinated, but 'we don’t know how'

• 9. Wellbeing often enthusiast lead rather than organisationally lead or a strategic priority

• Step 1

  ⟡ Tell your story and share your vision

  ⟡ Creating clarity of purpose and a clear vision for your wellbeing programme lends to high levels of engagement and a willingness of people to partner with your programme initiatives. Connect the purpose of your programme to your organisation's unique history, and tie it to your vision for the future.

  ⟡ We believe that the purpose of any wellbeing programme is to provide a work environment where people can feel supported to thrive, so that your business is more agile, resilient, and better positioned to succeed.

• Step 2

  ⟡ Decide on a model

  ⟡ Decide on a wellbeing model that suits your organisation. *We recommend a person‑centered, biopsychosocial model, combined with a solution‑focused, strength‑based, relationship‑focused, and outcomes‑driven approach.

• Step 3

  ⟡ Set strategic goals

  ⟡ Set clear strategic goals. You will not be able to immediately address everything, with some things needing more immediate attention than others. When deciding what is important as a strategic goal you will need to consider a) the purpose of your programme, b) any HR related data you may have and c) the individual beliefs, sentiments, emotions, and intentions of your people.

  ⟡ Examples of strategic wellbeing goals

  ⟡ Metabolic Health

  ⟡ Rebalance and Re Energise

  ⟡ Nutrient Density

• Step 4

  ⟡ Align cultural touch points

  ⟡ Cultural touch points are formal and informal means for establishing and maintaining behavior. For your programme to be successful you need to understand these touch points and how you can adjust them to create and sustain the desired change.

• Step 5

  ⟡ ‘Sell’ the concept

  ⟡ Sell the concept of wellbeing in a way that means something to the organisation as a whole. There are individual benefits, but also be clear about the value to the organisation (change readiness, outstanding leadership, sustainability).

• Step 6

  ⟡ Communicate strategically

  ⟡ Wellbeing should be understood on a behavioural level and defined in process. Define what a ‘well' leader/employee looks like and what they will do.

• Step 7

  ⟡ Start with me

  ⟡ Give people permission to participate. Develop a broad base of leadership support who lead by example and show it is ‘ok’ to engage in wellbeing practices. Identify senior champions who live those practices, and who will inspire action. And then champions at every level. Ensure you train and develop the skills sets that enable them to help others to help themselves make positive, lasting behaviour change.

• Step 8

  ⟡ Start where people are 'at'

  ⟡ Be mindful of the different wants and needs of various demographics, and of readiness and openness to change. Appreciate that you may require different approaches and solutions for differing needs.

• Step 9

  ⟡ Demystify it

  ⟡ Make it scientific and relate it to performance, engagement, purpose and business results. Represent it as a field of science with practical tools and methodologies available for people to try.

• Step 10

  ⟡ Measure outcomes

  ⟡ ROI ‑ Return on Investment/Lagging Measure

  ⟡ VOI ‑ Value of Investment/Leading Measure

A Final Thought

Enlist expert advice to help you put your programme in place. Be discerning when choosing a provider. Ensure they can develop a holistic programme that meets the needs of everyone in your organisation, and tie initiatives back to business performance.