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Wellness In The Workplace
May 2008
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Workplace Wellness Challenges
Selling Wellness

Marketing Wellness

Consider that when you decide to implement a wellness program, you will need to "market" that program to your entire organization, management and employees alike.

In marketing, to be effective an ad should actually sell. The same is true for wellness: To be effective, your workplace wellness program should actually work, which means you need participation. And as in marketing, to obtain optimum returns on your program, there are tried-and-true variables that must be in place to make it all come together.

With the LoneStart Wellness Initiative, we recognize what it takes to motivate management and employees to make wellness a priority, and we've organized these variables into four major categories to help ensure a successful outcome: The Offer, Audience Empathy, Tone and Manner, and Structure.

The Offer: What will motivate - or move your employees to accept and commit to a wellness program?

  • Financial Incentives (discounts on insurance premiums, gift cards or cash awards)
  • Non-monetary Incentives (perks, time-off, a major prize such as a cruise or plasma TV)
  • Because you say so (not recommended)

Audience Empathy: How will you get your employees to "connect" with the wellness program?

  • Exclusivity (be the first team to sign up and blaze the way; don't be left behind; be a part of the new culture of wellness)
  • Problem-solver (We've found a way to address rising health care costs and want you to be a part of the solution - and share in the rewards)
  • Emotion (For your family, your children, your own health and wellness, because you care about this organization)

Tone and Manner: How will you present the "offering" of a wellness program?

  • Timbre (A warm personal approach or a clinical presentation of cold, hard facts)
  • Persuasion (Program attributes, rewards, benefits, reasons to participate)

Structure: How will your employees "perceive" the proposed wellness program?

  • Personal (You're implementing a wellness program because you care about your employees vs. you're doing it to make the organization more profitable)
  • Public (Other organizations are offering wellness programs, so you have to as well)
  • A Solution (Let's all be part of the solution rather than contribute to the problem - and we'll all be better off)

These are powerful guidelines, lessons applied from successful program implementations over the last several years. They address what you expect from a wellness program: Participation, sustainable results and yes, over time a demonstrable ROI. For more, CLICK HERE for Why Workplace Wellness

Teamwork
8 reasons why teamwork makes wellness work

In a growing number of workplaces, teamwork is an important part of the organizational structure. In a team-oriented environment each member contributes to the overall success of a shared goal - for our purposes, that goal is wellness. And even while on separate teams within the organization, members are unified with other teams to accomplish the overall wellness objectives. So, how can teamwork help your wellness program succeed?
  • Team members share a concept / vision of where they want to go. Team members look to the future and to achieving their goals rather than focusing only on immediate demands.
  • Team members believe they are making a contribution toward a value or result.
  • Team thinking lets members enjoy belonging to a group. They are motivated by knowing others depend on them to help the team reach its goals.
  • Team members are able to set priorities because they agree on the function of the team.
  • Team members feel a sense of responsibility to their team and are more committed to the goals they have been a part of establishing.
  • Team members benefit from each other. They are able to set examples and at the same time learn from the other members.
  • Team members feel free to discuss challenges facing the team, and ways to overcome them. They feel all team members have an equal part to play.
  • Teams set goals, and team members work together to reach those goals. They do not want to let their teammates down, and recognizing what they are able to accomplish makes the achievement even more satisfying.

Through teamwork and friendly team competition, workplace wellness programs take on an added dimension - with added benefits, such as optimizing performance, promoting relationships among team members and the teams themselves, boosting 'worklife' and sustaining a high level of performance in reaching goals (such as creating a culture of wellness).

No matter what you call your team-based workplace wellness effort - continuous improvement, total quality or self-directed teams - your bottom line is still reducing health care costs and improving the long-term health and wellness of your employees. MORE on the LoneStart Team Esteem Challenge
Health Care Workers
And something you may not know about LoneStart

First, the "something old." During the past two years as a corporate member of the Texas Organization of Rural and Community Hospitals (TORCH), we have worked to develop and execute what we call our "Caring for the Caregivers" employee wellness strategy. This turnkey, low-cost and easy-to-implement model responds to the reality that while many rural health care providers and their communities have a high incidence of risk factors leading to preventable chronic disease, they have been underserved by traditional wellness programs. In addition to implementing the LoneStart Wellness Initiative with our corporate workplace clients, we are proud of the role we are able to play with these dedicated health care providers.

Now for the "something new." On April 1 Rebecca J. Davis, Ph.D., Executive Director of the National Cooperative of Health Networks Association (NCHN), announced that LoneStart will partner with NCHN to provide employee and community wellness initiatives to their member networks.

NCHN is a nationally recognized professional association for health network executives and strategic health partners. "Our mission is to support and strengthen health alliances through collaboration, networking leadership development and education. We believe LoneStart's understanding of and commitment to the wellness needs of the communities our network members serve strengthens our ability to meet that mission," says Davis.

As an NCHN Business Partner, LoneStart will continue its commitment to ensure that a realistic and achievable wellness strategy is available to every organization - including NCHN health care providers, their employees and their families, and their communities.

"A recent survey of our members indicates that effective, affordable employee wellness is a need," says Davis. "We liked the fact that LoneStart appreciates that our networks and their members are uniquely suited and motivated to realize multiple benefits from a positive, open-ended approach to employee and community wellness."

On April 16, LoneStart co-founder Jay Seifert along with TORCH CEO David Pearson and Pioneer Health Network Executive Director Jason Friesen, presented a program outlining the critical need for a workable workplace wellness strategy at the 14th Annual NCHN Conference in San Diego.

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If your organization is ready to take responsibility for promoting healthy lifestyles and a healthy work environment, LoneStart is an effective, low-cost and easy-to-administer employee wellness program, which functions equally well as a stand-alone initiative or as a high-impact jump-start to existing or proposed employee wellness strategies.

Contact us today to find out how the LoneStart Wellness Initiative will change your workplace.

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A Challenge. An Opportunity. A Solution.
The LoneStart Wellness Initiative
phone: 512.894.3440