10 Steps for a Successful Corporate Wellness Program
Launching a new corporate wellness program for your team doesn’t need to be complicated or time-consuming. Follow our simple step-by-step process and you can have a program in place within a few weeks and begin to see the benefits from providing regular classes either in person or virtually.
The benefits of a corporate wellness program for employee retention and hiring are well documented. Employers who provide a program see increased productivity, more engagement and connection, better motivation, collaboration, teamwork and creativity and an increase in job satisfaction.
So, if the mechanics of setting up a program is holding you back, read on…
Steps for a Implementing a Corporate Wellness Program
A corporate wellness program can be made up of a menu of different elements, including providing healthy snacks, a fitness room, group outings, paid time off, flexible working, etc. For the purposes of this blog post, we look at how a yoga and mindfulness meditation program is best planned for success.
Step 1: Conduct a survey
Put together an online and printed leaflet with your initial ideas about your proposed wellness program and include a survey to gather your colleagues thoughts. You can either use a paper-based questionnaire or, preferably, an online version using Google Forms or SurveyMonkey, both of which are free. Involving your team from the outset is the best recipe for success.
Step 2: Select your instructors
Involve your instructors early on in the process. Vibrant Yoga is able to help you to design a program which meets your particular requirements. Our team is highly experienced in delivering corporate classes and therefore we are able to answer your questions and offer advice.
Step 3: Decide on a location
For multi-site companies you may wish to offer a virtual class as well as in-person classes for your largest workplace. You will also need to consider the best room or outside space suitable for a large number of yoga mats for group classes. The advantage of yoga is that there is no need for expensive equipment or need for a great deal of space.
In good weather, there is nothing better than taking classes outdoors.
Step 4: Choose a time
One of the questions you should ask your workforce is their preferred time for a class. If there is no clear winner, then it is worth running several classes at different times on different days. For those employees who work remotely, the virtual class will be ideal and can be watched at any time, if the session is recorded.
Step 5: Promote your program
There are so many ways to promote your wellness program. Here are some ideas:
Send a calendar invite
Post on the company intranet
Share on the internal Slack, Teams or Discord group
Set up information table in reception areas
Post leaflets on notice boards
Announce at team meetings
Host a taster session
Step 6: Recruit your members
Encourage interest in the wellness sessions by making your sign up simple. Send out regular reminders in advance right up until the day of the first one.
Step 7: Provide guidance
People like to know what to expect in advance so communicate clearly what members need to bring and wear, a biography of the teacher and any other information about the location and start and finish time of the class.
Step 8: Get feedback
Once your corporate wellness program is launched, ask your members for feedback - both positive and negative. Hold a debrief with your instructor so that they can adapt the class based on this feedback.
Step 9: Give the program time
A program may take time to be adopted by members. Don’t get disheartened as take up may increase as employees get used to the classes and tell their colleagues about how much they have benefited from them. There will be some people who try a class a few times and find it's not for them - that’s natural.
Step 10: Maintain momentum
Continue to communicate the details of the classes to everyone in the organization regularly. Send out testimonials from employees who are benefiting from the program to their colleagues and celebrate their successes.
In conclusion, if you are looking for help with the planning, design and implementation of a corporate wellness program, we would be delighted to have a no-obligation chat with you to talk through your options.
Find out more about our programs and contact us here: Contact
Vibrant Yoga is based in Chicago and serves the Chicagoland area as well as virtually anywhere with practical tools and guidance to individual wellness for a healthier lifestyle. We offer on-site & virtual yoga, meditation & wellness workshops to individuals and companies. We envision a world where every individual, employee, and business owner has the freedom and resources to maintain vibrant health that positively impacts their mental and physical well-being.
