There are so many resources available today for creating a corporate wellness program. Some of them are free and some cost. But, regardless of price, how do you choose the most effective corporate wellness tools, activities and programs that will best fit your audience? Let’s face it; the key to a successful program is employee engagement. When you’re employees are engaged and getting healthy, then you know that you’ve created an effective, successful corporate wellness program.
So, how do you begin sifting through all the tools to find the ones that your employees will love? We’ve enlisted the help of our expert dietitian to share the top things that you should look for… and avoid, when creating your corporate wellness program.

• Include useful tools: Online tools are great for employees with busy schedules. Because they can access them anytime anywhere, they are easy for employees to take advantage of. i.e.: NCES Virtual Learning Series
• Incentives or giveaways: Nothing motivates like getting free stuff! NCES offers a full line of Incentive products that will work great for motivating your group.
• Create something for them to follow: Creating an 8-12 week weight loss program that your employees can stick to will help gain interest. Many times, people just don’t know where to start. So, by giving them a plan designed by a professional, you’re giving them everything they need to get started. Need help getting started? NCES has created a free 2-week workout plan that you can use to get your program up and running.
• Decorate the cafeteria: Does your workplace have an onsite cafeteria? If so, decorate it with posters, healthy meal choices and inspirational quotes that will help your employees think about making healthy choices.
• Host a Health Fair: Provide an opportunity for your employees who are interested in getting or staying healthy to come get resources. Be sure to have plenty of handouts that your employees can take home and share with their family. Also, at your health fair, be sure to provide them some value for attending. For example, do free cholesterol screenings for everyone that attends and have a blood pressure machine available for employees to be proactive in determining the state of their health.
• Create a monthly E-Newsletter: Providing helpful resources directly to your employee’s inbox is a great way to reach them. Most of the time, taking the time to create a resources like this is the toughest part. Our NCES Health Beat newsletter gives you 24 predesigned, customizable newsletters that ready for you to distribute to your audience.

Now that you know what types things to include in your newly developing corporate wellness plan, here are a few tips from the experts on what you want to avoid when you’re thinking about creating your corporate wellness program.

• Avoid useless, overdone information: The internet is a vast tool full of resources on everything, including how to ‘get healthy’. Keep your program new and exciting so that your employees will be engaged.
• Don’t answer all of their questions right off the bat: Leave them wanting more! If they want more, they’ll continue coming back. Plus, they’ll stay engaged in your program.
• Don’t create a plan with no basis: Make sure that you have a firm understanding of what your employees want to see and be sure to provide those tools and resources in your program.