If your workplace wellness program isn’t as healthy and lively as it could be, it may be suffering from a common communication condition that infects many well-intentioned health and wellness efforts. The illness has 3 common symptoms, but fortunately the ailment can be easily treated.
Before getting into the problem and solutions, you need to understand how crucial communications is to the health of your wellness program. If potential participants don’t know about, understand, and buy into the program through effective and engaging communications, these individuals likely may not get involved.
3 common wellness program sickness symptoms and how to treat them:
#1. Communication is haphazard. Without proper planning, you may focus on the “next thing” — such as the wellness event just around the corner – and not look at the whole picture. Result: You throw things together instead of think through them strategically.
Solution: Take time to map out your wellness messages for an entire year. Include project start dates and deadlines, along with mediums you plan to use. Use Hope Health’s free Ready-to-Use Planning Guide to help organize your plan.
#2. Communication is inconsistent. Organizations typically don’t develop a consistent, conversational “voice” for their wellness and benefits communication. As a result, each message sounds and looks different.
Solution: Develop a standards guide for copywriting and graphical elements. If possible, use the same writers and designers for all communications. If that’s not feasible, a standards guide will keep everyone on the same page.
#3. Communication is one-sided. Organizations know what they want to say so they create communication that speaks at employees rather than with them. It comes across as advertisements for a product employees didn’t ask for or like a lecture.
Solution: Use a chatty, conversational writing tone. Encourage dialogue. Ask for employees’ input. Make it easy for employees to provide their thoughts and ideas by creating a designated email address for wellness program comments.
EXCLUSIVE WEBINAR: This fast-paced webinar unearths the 5 secrets to breakthrough wellness and benefit communications. Presented by Hope Health’s president, Shawn Connors. Listen NOW.
