Developing A Sustainable Wellbeing Strategy to Support Your People

 In a survey conducted by Corporate Wellness Magazine, nearly a third of the 1,000 participants said that their mental health has declined over the past year. A staggering 84% have also experienced at least one mental health challenge during the same timeframe. 

With such stark figures highlighting the pressing need for strong wellbeing strategies, and with the current cost of living crunch continuing to bite, isn’t it time your organisation developed a sustainable wellbeing strategy to support your staff?  

What is a Wellbeing Strategy?  

A wellbeing strategy is a plan of action built to improve the health and happiness of a workforce. This strategy should not only have clearly defined goals, but should also be entwined with a wider employee benefit offering to support the mental, physical, and financial wellness of your people.   

To ensure this strategy is built for the long term, there are a few things you need to consider. Read on to learn more about our tips for implementing a solid, sustainable wellbeing solution that not only supports your people in the here and now, but also in the future.  

Assess Your Staff’s Wants and Needs  

It’s no secret that the Covid-19 pandemic has prompted a seismic shift in what employees deem most important. Gone are the days when free parking and foosball tables are seen as attractive ‘employee benefits’. In fact, research tells us that workers are now looking for better work/life balance, more flexibility, and an increased focus on employee wellbeing.   

But knowing that your people want more wellbeing support is just the start. To get the most out of your wellbeing solution, it’s vital to drill down and discover the unique wants and needs of your workforce. You could do this by sending out an anonymous survey, hosting an informal talk session where employees are encouraged to share their thoughts, or creating drop boxes for staff to leave feedback and suggestions.  

By doing this, you can learn what’s really important to your people and create a wellbeing strategy that addresses these issues and appeals to the diverse nature of your workforce.  

Budget for Better Wellbeing  

While it’s clear that business leaders should be actively investing in the wellbeing of their workforces, we understand that this might be a fairly daunting task to undertake – especially when it comes to covering the costs. That’s why it’s important to seek advice, guidance, and implementation from an expert wellbeing benefit provider who can offer a holistic range of support in the most cost-effective way.  

A trustworthy provider should:  

• Consider and cover all aspects of employee wellbeing, not just mental wellbeing  
• Support you to set up and maintain your wellbeing provision  

• Provide branded collateral to spread awareness and encourage engagement  
• Provide regular insights and reports around uptake, engagement, and tangible results  

Training and Education  

While many suppliers may claim that their wellbeing solution is market-leading, boasts better clinical or digital provisions than their competitors, and offers the best value or cheapest service, the true value is lost if your employees don’t know it exists.  

That’s why it’s so important to empower your people with the tools to drive engagement and uptake right from the start. From hosting education sessions to training your management to spread the word, committing time, effort, and resources to communicate your strategy will help to ensure its success.  

Maintain Excitement and Interest  

While it might be tempting to unveil your new wellbeing strategy in all its glory, it’s far more beneficial to drip feed your content in order to build excitement and maintain engagement. Plus, it could be overwhelming for your workforce if too much information is presented early on, which may lead to them not utilising the support available to them.   

Instead, why not try building a wellbeing calendar that corresponds with the various awareness days and weeks happening throughout the year? Whether it’s Dry January, Blue Monday, or Stress Awareness Month, you can link these events with your own support resources to help employees understand the breadth of your mental health solution without the risk of them not knowing where to start.  

Ready to Get Started? 

If you’re in need of wellbeing support for your workforce, contact the Vivup team today. From day-to-day challenges at home to mounting pressures in the workplace, our Wellbeing and Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) offers differing levels of support to employees, including a 24/7 telephone helpline, face to face counselling, and additional support and training services for your management teams.