Create a Holistic Employee Wellbeing Program
Move beyond perks to an approach that targets employee needs and systemic barriers.
- 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 stakeholders.
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Our Advice
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.
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
- Review current wellbeing initiatives.
- Analyze existing data to identify insights and collect additional data on employee needs.
- Prepare wellbeing focus groups questions.
Key Benefits Achieved
- Current wellbeing initiatives reviewed
- Existing data to identify insights analyzed and additional data on employee needs collected
- Wellbeing focus groups questions prepared
Activities
Outputs
Evaluate current wellbeing initiatives.
Identify insights from current state of wellbeing.
- Wellbeing insights
Determine wellbeing themes.
Customize focus group questions.
- Plan for focus groups
Module 2: Conduct Focus Groups
The Purpose
- Conduct four one-hour focus groups (9am, 11am, 1pm, 3pm) with the employee group(s) identified in the pre-workshop activities.
Key Benefits Achieved
- Wellbeing focus groups conducted
Activities
Outputs
Conduct focus groups with a cross-section of no more than ten employees and managers.
- Focus group feedback themes
Module 3: Identify Wellbeing Priorities and Program Goals
The Purpose
- Identify systemic barriers and wellbeing priorities.
- Select wellbeing program goals and metrics.
Key Benefits Achieved
- Systemic barriers and wellbeing priorities identified
- Wellbeing program goals and metrics selected
Activities
Outputs
Identify systemic barriers to wellbeing.
- Systemic barriers identified
Determine wellbeing priorities.
- 5-7 wellbeing priorities
Define program goals and select metrics.
- List of goals and metrics
Module 4: Select Wellbeing Initiatives
The Purpose
- Plan to address systemic barriers.
- Identify wellbeing initiatives.
Key Benefits Achieved
- Address systemic barriers planned
- Wellbeing initiatives identify
Activities
Outputs
Plan to address systemic barriers.
Identify whether to keep, modify, or remove wellbeing initiatives.
- List of existing initiatives to keep, modify, or remove
Select additional wellbeing initiatives.
- Shortlist of additional initiatives
Module 5: Next Steps and Wrap-Up
The Purpose
- Create a shortlist based on feasibility.
- Draft a wellbeing initiative roadmap.
- Create a communications strategy.
Key Benefits Achieved
- Shortlist based on feasibility created
- Wellbeing initiative roadmap drafted
- Communications strategy created
Activities
Outputs
Determine feasibility of shortlisted initiatives.
Draft a program roadmap.
- Program roadmap
Create a communications plan.
- Communications plan
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.
What Is a Blueprint?
A blueprint is designed to be a roadmap, containing a methodology and the tools and templates you need to solve your HR problems.
Each blueprint can be accompanied by a Guided Implementation that provides you access to our world-class analysts to help you get through the project.
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Get the help you need in this 3-phase advisory process. You'll receive 7 touchpoints with our researchers, all included in your membership.
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 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
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