Create a Holistic Employee Wellbeing Program

Wellbeing initiatives often do not align with employee needs, as they are regarded as perks offered to individuals (e.g. healthcare allowance) rather than components of a holistic program that addresses employee needs across multiple wellbeing dimensions.
If systemic barriers are not adequately addressed before a wellbeing program is implemented, its impact will be negligible.
The development of a wellbeing program is often relegated to a side-of-desk task that lacks adequate resources and involvement of key players.

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Critical Insight

Organizations must embed a focus on employee wellbeing into their day-to-day operations, culture, and leadership to thrive in today’s environment. This requires a shift from viewing a wellbeing program as a couple of stand-alone initiatives to understanding it takes an integrated and holistic approach to meet employee needs and address systemic barriers.

Impact and Result

Gather data and employee feedback to identify gaps in existing initiatives and uncover employee wellbeing needs.
Select the organization’s wellbeing priorities and build a program composed of initiatives that meet employee needs and address systemic barriers.
Create a customized and targeted communications plan to ensure employees are fully aware of the wellbeing initiatives being offered.

Create a Holistic Employee Wellbeing Program Research & Tools

1. Assess the current state and set program goals

Inventory current wellbeing initiatives, conduct an environmental scan, analyze data on employee needs, and identify systemic barriers and program constraints.

2. Review and select wellbeing initiatives

Plan to address systemic barriers, review current and identify additional wellbeing initiatives, create a shortlist based on feasibility and key player input, and draft a business case to present to senior leaders.

3. Prepare to launch

Draft a wellbeing initiative roadmap, create a communications strategy, identify training opportunities for managers, and plan an evaluation and iteration process for the wellbeing program.

Workshop: Create a Holistic Employee Wellbeing Program

Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

Module 1: Assess Current State

The Purpose

Assess the current state of wellbeing and identify program strengths and gaps.

Key Benefits Achieved

Current-state assessment
Program strengths and gaps

Activities

Outputs

1.1

Review wellbeing concepts.

1.2

Explore available wellbeing data to evaluate the current state (focus group responses, data collection, initiative inventory).

Insights from current-state analysis

1.3

Identify program strengths and gaps.

Program strengths and gaps identified

Module 2: Finalize Wellbeing Themes

The Purpose

Explore systemic barriers to wellbeing and wellbeing themes to inform program goals.

Key Benefits Achieved

Identification of systemic barriers and wellbeing themes
A wellbeing philosophy statement

Activities

Outputs

2.1

Explore systemic barriers to wellbeing.

Systemic barriers and wellbeing themes identified

2.2

Identify wellbeing themes.

2.3

Create a wellbeing philosophy statement.

Wellbeing philosophy statement created

Module 3: Define Program Goals

The Purpose

Define and identify the specifics of the wellbeing program, including wellbeing priorities, goals, metrics, and plans to address systemic barriers.

Key Benefits Achieved

A list of wellbeing priorities
Goals and metrics to measure wellbeing program efforts

Activities

Outputs

3.1

Determine employee needs and select wellbeing priorities based on current-state analysis.

List of five to seven wellbeing priorities drafted

3.2

Define program goals and select metrics.

List of goals and metrics identified

3.3

Plan to address systemic barriers.

Module 4: Select Wellbeing Initiatives

The Purpose

Create and finalize a list of wellbeing initiatives and identify internal accountabilities.

Key Benefits Achieved

Evaluation of current wellbeing initiatives
A wellbeing program with a list of feasible initiatives

Activities

Outputs

4.1

Identify wellbeing initiatives to keep and new ones to add.

List of existing initiatives to keep, modify, remove, or add drafted

4.2

Determine the feasibility of selected wellbeing initiatives to determine shortlist.

Shortlist of additional initiatives created

4.3

Outline internal accountabilities.

Module 5: Next Steps and Wrap-Up

The Purpose

Create a plan to integrate and communicate the wellbeing program.

Key Benefits Achieved

A plan to integrate the wellbeing program throughout the organization.

Activities

Outputs

5.1

Draft a program roadmap.

High-level program roadmap drafted

5.2

Create a communications plan.

High-level communications plan created

About McLean & Company

McLean & Company is an HR research and advisory firm providing practical solutions to human resources challenges via executable research, tools, diagnostics, and advisory services that have a clear and measurable impact on your business.

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Guided Implementation 1: Assess the current state and set program goals

Call 1: Discuss creating a wellbeing project team and review wellbeing data sources.
Call 2: Review inventory of current wellbeing initiatives, environmental scan, and existing data to identify insights. Plan to collect additional data on employee needs.
Call 3: Identify systemic barriers and wellbeing priorities, select program goals and metrics, and review program constraints.

Guided Implementation 2: Review and select wellbeing initiatives

Call 1: Discuss a plan to address systemic barriers, review current wellbeing initiatives to determine alignment, and identify additional wellbeing initiatives to create a shortlist.
Call 2: Review the finalized shortlist of wellbeing initiatives and business case to present to senior leaders.

Guided Implementation 3: Prepare to launch

Call 1: Outline a wellbeing initiative roadmap and communication strategy.
Call 2: Identify wellbeing training opportunities and discuss a plan to evaluate and iterate the wellbeing program.

Contributors

Jessica Assaf – Corporate Communications Expert and Wellness Advocate
Dr. Viswanath Baba – Professor, Human Resources and Management, DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University
Dr. Andrew A. Bennett – Assistant Professor, Department of Management, Old Dominion University
Professor Sir Cary Cooper – Professor of Organizational Psychology & Health, Manchester Business School, University of Manchester
Christine Devine – Wellness Specialist, Michael Garron Hospital
Lisa Dodwell-Greaves – Manager, Organizational Wellbeing, WestJet
Dr. Gloria González-Morales – Associate Professor of Psychology, Claremont Graduate University
Grace Lee – Manager, Wellbeing, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan
Bronwyn Ott – Wellbeing, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Leader, Unilever
Zofia Sharman – Well-Being Ambassador, Harneys
Nicole Stibbe – Coach, Wellbeing and DEI Consultant, Affirm You