Build flexibility into your Workplace Wellness Program.

Think ahead: what unexpected challenges might come up as you begin your Workplace Wellness Program? How could you adapt and change the Workplace Wellness Program to meet those challenges? 

• Look at the “what if’s?”

      • What if your classroom space is suddenly no longer available?

      • What if you can’t hold the Health Fair in the usual place?

      • Have a ‘Plan B’ (or even Plan C or Plan D) in mind for when the “what if’s” happen. 

• Build a team that can help with the Workplace Wellness Program

      • Who else could teach the health education class if the regular instructor cancels at the last minute?

      • Know what areas of expertise your staff has besides their ‘main’ job. For example, find out who has fitness instructor credentials besides just the physical therapist.

      • Don’t wait for a crisis before you build a network of people that you can call on. 

• Be ready to roll your sleeves up

      • Jump in to fill a gap if you need to.

      • YOU may have to help restock the milk case in the dining center when the Dairy Month ‘Milk Mustache’ contest results in increased sales during lunch. 

• Be willing (and ready) to respond to feedback about the Workplace Wellness Program

      • Get participant feedback while the Workplace Wellness Program is ongoing. Then be ready to adapt to those suggestions.

      • For example, if kids in a pediatric obesity Workplace Wellness Program fight the idea of completing physical fitness logs, then get a verbal summary of their activity for the week instead. 

• Simplify Workplace Wellness Program

      • If part of your Workplace Wellness Program is not working, try making that part less complicated.

      • For example, if getting follow-up information is not going the way you planned, then make the process to get information easier OR decrease the number of pieces of information that you collect. 

• Use lemons to make lemonade

      • What do you do when the Workplace Wellness Program doesn’t turn out exactly as you planned? Look for what did turn out. Often, the ‘unexpected outcomes’ produce positive results.

      • For example, one company’s database to collect sick call data was made obsolete by a regional system. However, the company database was able to be used in a different way to track vaccination information that enhanced delivery of care to Employees.