Best Wellness Plan Examples that Emphasize Employee Wellbeing

Maintaining good health is of utmost importance now more than ever. Do not worry if you do not have the slightest idea about developing an employee wellness plan. We are here to give you wellness plans examples that will help you take care of your employees, along with tips for preparation and smooth implementation.

On a personal level, taking care of one’s body and mind is vital for long-term happiness and success. This applies to the world of business too. If you are running a company with a sizable number of employees, keeping your workforce healthy must continue to be a priority in these uncertain times.

Wellness Plan Examples For HR Reps Starting From Scratch

This is why robust, consistent, and well-thought-out wellness plans matter. If your company or organization does not have a corporate wellness program yet, you should consider implementing one as soon as possible. This will be to the benefit of your employees and your overall business outlook.

Let’s get to it!

What Is a Wellness Plan?

A wellness plan refers to any plan of action formulated to achieve sound health and well-being.

If you want this simple definition broken down further, “health” can refer to both physical and mental health. At the same time, “well-being” involves a person’s overall mental and emotional state, especially in terms of how happy or satisfied they are on top of being physically healthy.

In a corporate setting, a personal wellness plan becomes an employee wellness plan. Not only for each person (individual) but also for the whole team (collective).

In a corporate setting, a personal wellness plan becomes an employee wellness plan. Its various components are geared towards achieving optimal health and well-being, not only for each person (individual) but also for the whole team (collective).

What Should Be Covered in a Wellness Plan?

For a corporate wellness plan to be truly effective, it needs to be holistic. This means that it must address issues beyond just physical and mental health. Each aspect of the wellness plan should be interconnected to produce results that are greater than the sum of its parts.

The scope of a holistic wellness plan typically includes the following components:

Physical Health

This takes into account the employee’s fitness level, exercise habits, and existing medical conditions. The physical health aspect of your wellness plan should also be proactive in detecting and preventing serious health risks such as heart disease and diabetes.

Mental Health and Emotional Wellness

This covers all emotional, mental, and social well-being, especially how the employees handle stress or burnout. In recent years, this component has been expanded to include”

financial wellness (mental issues brought on by worries about finances)
spiritual wellness (values, contentment in one’s purpose in life)
intellectual wellness (creativity, freedom of choice)

Healthy Diet or Nutritional Health

This element of your wellness plan must focus on your employees’ diet choices and nutritional habits. On a deeper level, it should explore how food:

nourishes people’s lives
affects a person’s emotional state
affects mental health
contributes to social interactions
helps professional performance
increases productivity

Work-Life Balance

This encompasses all the factors affecting the healthy balance between the employee’s job and personal life. Achieving work-life balance is important for individual employees and the company as a whole. It can prevent absenteeism, tardiness, inconsistent productivity, and high employee turnover rates.

Corporate Culture

This includes all the values, beliefs, goals, and behaviors of the company as a whole, including its workforce and management. Corporate culture affects an employee’s overall well-being because an open, welcoming, and motivating culture creates pride and cultivates feelings of fulfillment among the members of the organization. Anything less can lead to dissatisfaction and burnout.

An open, welcoming, and motivating culture creates pride and cultivates feelings of fulfillment among the members of the organization.

Workplace Safety

This focuses on providing safe working conditions for every employee in the company. Valuing safety not only prevents the occurrence of accidents and injuries, it also helps foster an environment that is conducive to optimal productivity. Workplace safety also helps build a sense of trust and loyalty in employees because they know that the company is looking out for their safety.

Now that we have covered the most important components, let us move on to examining templates and examples of wellness plans.

Sample Wellness Plan Templates

Some characteristics of a good wellness plan include the following.

It should be clear, specific, and complete. Your company wellness plan should clearly state the scope, desired results, and courses of action to achieve your goals.

It should be easy to read. The wellness plan should be easy to understand. Whether the reader is a manager, HR personnel, or a brand new intern, they should be able to comprehend all of your goals and plans.

It should be supported by facts. It should include statistics and credible sources of information to support why you chose its different elements.

Basic Wellness Plan Template

PART	DESCRIPTION
INTRODUCTION	Use this section to talk about the importance of employee wellness to the company. Sample text: Our company’s mission and vision states that [_________________]. To achieve that mission, we need our people to be at their best. To be at their best, they need to be healthy. That is why we designed this wellness plan: To give our employees a program that consists of resources, tools, and activities that will help them remain healthy, happy, and productive members of our organization.
OBJECTIVES	Identify and state your primary objective(s). If you deem it necessary, support your primary objective(s) with sub-component goals. State a targeted time frame to accomplish your objective(s). For example: We aim to accomplish these objectives by January 2023.Further quality your objectives by including a measurable component. For example: We aim to reduce absenteeism by 30 percent by January 2023. Provide a quick summary of your action plan.
ACTION PLAN	Sample course of action text below.
I. Biometric Screenings	Conduct biometric screenings to provide baseline data for all employees: – Blood cholesterol – Blood pressure (BP) – Blood sugar – Body mass index (BMI) – Height – Weight Generate risk scores for each employee. Offer coaching and professional medical assistance to those with elevated health risks based on baseline data and risk scores.
II. Physical Health	Set up an in-office fitness center. Hire fitness instructors on-site. Offer discounts on gym memberships. Create a weekend or after-hours fitness accountability group. Conduct weekly physical fitness challenges.
III. Mental Health & Emotional Wellness	Organize mindfulness or meditation sessions. Hold a mental health awareness day every week. Conduct stress management or burnout prevention workshops. Conduct financial wellness seminars. Send mental health awareness email blasts every week. Offer counseling in your employee health benefit plans. You can also provide resources for employees if they want to look for alternate sources of counseling services in your community or city.
IV. Healthy Diet & Nutritional Health	Organize healthy cooking classes every week. Provide healthy food options in the pantry. Invite nutrition experts to hold seminars every month. Set up an online library for healthy recipes that anyone can easily make at home. Conduct nutritional health challenges.
V. Work-Life Balance	Provide flexible working arrangements. Allow work from home arrangements. Introduce policies for flexible leaves. Provide childcare vouchers for employees with kids. Set up employee assistance programs that include work-life balance coaching or counseling.
VI. Corporate Culture	Organize volunteering activities for the local community. Create a workplace milestone tracking/recognition policy for employees. Regularly recognize employees who have done exemplary work. Organize team sports activities during weekends. Encourage team-building activities that are fun, such as: – Karaoke nights – Trivia nights – Potluck brunches or bakes
VII. Workplace Safety	Organize CPR training workshops. Host office ergonomics awareness seminars. Invite experts to talk about workplace safety and emergency best practices. Organize cleanliness drives. Host noise pollution awareness seminars.
ELIGIBILITY	Explain the complete rules and criteria in determining which employees may be eligible for the wellness program. Provide eligibility rules for non-fulltime employees: – Part-time employees – Newly hired employees – Freelancers – Contractors – Interns If applicable, include regulations for the immediate family of employees.
COSTS	Explain how much it will cost to implement the wellness plan. Include an explanation of costs to employees should they participate in the wellness program. Provide monthly or yearly cost projections if applicable.
TIMELINE	List all components of the action plan and then provide a timeline for each. Be as specific as possible regarding target completion or implementation dates.
MONITORING & MAINTENANCE	Same monitoring and maintenance plan text below.
I. Tracking of Results	Develop specific metrics for evaluating improvements. Formulate your tracking methodology: – Surveys done monthly or quarterly – Devices used for tracking purposes, such as wearables – Assure your employees that you will respect their privacy when it comes to tracking their health-related data
II. Analysis and Reporting	Release reports to individual employees. Provide counseling or coaching if necessary.
III. Maintenance	Formulate communication plans to encourage maximum participation. Frequently use active channels (via email, office bulletin board, other internal communication channels) to improve the wellness plan based on data and employee feedback.
CONTACT PERSONS	List all personnel who will be involved in the planning, implementation, and maintenance of the wellness plan. Include contact information like email addresses, phone numbers, Skype info, or messaging service handle.

Alternative Outline

You can also refer to this wellness plan outline provided by the Department of State Health Services (DSHS) of Texas.

As you will soon see, there are slight differences from the Basic Wellness Plan Template presented earlier. But overall, the components are quite similar.

PART	DESCRIPTION
PURPOSE	State the overall purpose of the wellness plan. See sample text below: The primary purpose of this wellness plan is to improve the health and well-being of all employees. The secondary purpose is to minimize or completely remove personal health-related issues that might impact employee productivity, attendance, and behavior.
OBJECTIVES	State the primary goal. See sample text below: This wellness plan will enhance the health and well-being of all employees. It will also increase health awareness, as well as motivate employees to develop healthier habits. Include targeted measurable results. See sample text below: By January 2023, 90 percent of all employees will provide feedback that they are aware of the wellness plan. By December 2023, 75 percent of all employees who have participated in physical fitness challenges will provide feedback that they intend to continue to develop better exercise habits. By December 2023, 80 percent of all employees who have participated in mental wellness activities will be more proactive in developing better stress management habits moving forward. By December 2023, 70 percent of all employees who have participated in nutritional health activities will be more conscious about choosing healthier options when it comes to diet.
SURVEY RESULTS	State that a survey was conducted to gauge the level of interest among employees. See sample text below: Employees were asked to participate in a survey to collect information about which activities, health-related topics, preferred schedules, and costs work for them. Show the survey results. Incorporate charts and graphs if needed.
ELIGIBILITY	State the eligibility requirements. See sample text below: All full-time employees are eligible to participate in the wellness program voluntarily. Family members of eligible employees may also join the wellness program, but certain requirements may apply.
FACILITIES	See sample text below: Conference rooms, as well as other available indoor or outdoor areas, might be used as venues for wellness activities. Announcements will be made in advance to inform employees about the venues for upcoming wellness activities.
INSTRUCTORS & COACHES	See sample text below: The company will be hiring fitness instructors, mental health experts, nutritionists, licensed massage therapists, yoga instructors, life coaches, counselors, and other health professionals to facilitate wellness activities. Employees who are qualified to serve as instructors or coaches in wellness activities are welcome to volunteer under approval by management and subject to the requirements of company operations.
WELLNESS PLAN COMPONENTS	List all components of the wellness plan. Include details for each component.
COSTS	State all potential cost factors: – Modifying existing office facilities – Procuring equipment and supplies for wellness activities – Hiring instructors and coaches – Incentives and awards – Costs related to running an employee assistance program – Costs to employees who will participate
SCHEDULES	State expected schedules for wellness activities: – Prior to work hours – During work hours – During break times – After work hours – Mention special scheduling arrangements, if applicable – Flexible schedules for employees with non-regular work hours – Scheduling for night-shift employees
COMMITTEES	State if a Wellness Committee will be formed. Explain the mechanics for assembling the committee members: – As appointed by management – According to who volunteers
METHODS FOR MONITORING	See sample text below: The company will make full use of the following monitoring methods: – Surveys to gauge awareness – Participation logs for wellness activities – Monthly summaries of wellness activities conducted – Suggestion boxes – Online feedback forms – Evaluation forms after every wellness activity – Periodic health risk appraisals (quarterly or semi-annually)

Example of a Chart Template for a Mental Wellness Plan

If you are looking for an example of a mental health-specific wellness plan, check out this chart template suggested by the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) of Ontario, Canada.

mental wellness plan template — *Image Source:* *CMHA*

As you can see, the chart template incorporates everything that needs to be stated in a wellness plan. This example’s focus is on mental health:

It states the goal of the wellness plan
It lists the different program components, as well as the specific activities that will be implemented
It classifies each component according to which health promotion approach it utilizes
It displays the timeline, including information for activities that are already ongoing
It displays transparency by listing the mental health professional partners who will be helping in facilitating each activity
It shows targeted results that are measurable for both the activity (Process Indicators) and the desired outcome (Outcome Indicators)

Best Practices for the Wellness of Your Employees

We hope these wellness plan examples will help you formulate one for your own organization. Remember that what works for one company may not work for another. You can use these templates and examples presented as a general guide or as inspiration. Still, the best wellness plan examples for your company will be those that fit your specific budget, company size, and current employee wellness levels.

You will need to study your needs carefully before developing your own wellness plan examples. It’s best to conduct a company-wide survey and ask your employees about what they want from a wellness plan, which elements they want to focus on, what would urge them to participate, and other important details.

Getting early feedback from your employees will make or break the effectiveness of your wellness plan. By asking about their health and well-being needs, you are showing them that you value their active involvement during the planning phase. That involvement should pay dividends later on when you implement your wellness plan.

Getting early feedback from your employees will make or break the effectiveness of your wellness plan.

You will encourage active participation because you let your employees in on the plan from the very beginning. So ask away; your employees know what they want and need, and you cannot create effective wellness plan examples without their input.

Try to think outside the box, too. Some of the best wellness plans incorporate unique activities suited to their company culture. As long as you do not stray from your employee wellness goals, you should still be on the right track. So do not be afraid of exploring new ideas.

Here at WellSteps, we are committed to helping companies discover the many benefits of employee wellness programs. You can book a free demo right here with our team and see what the possibilities exist for you.

Wellness Plan Examples For HR Reps Starting From Scratch