Training is an essential component of any wellness program. “The education part is big,” says Peggy Cretella, an instructional design manager with Business & Legal Resources. “If you educate people, you empower them to be in charge of their own health” and to make healthier choices.
Cretella, who developed the content for the online Wellness Library, available as part of the BLR’s TrainingToday, says that topics typically covered in wellness training include:
- Back safety,
- Balancing work and family responsibilities,
- Financial wellness,
- Healthy aging,
- Heart health,
- Nutrition,
- Physical fitness,
- Sleeping habits, and
- Stress management
“These are topics that are going to apply to most people,” explains Cretella.
She says trainers can help ensure the success of wellness training by getting senior management’s buy-in for it. “Get senior management on board,” Cretella says. Once management backs the wellness program —and associated training—the rest “falls into place.”
Have you noticed that some of your employees have the potential to be effective leaders? Get them the training they need with BLR’s TrainingToday Leadership for Employees Library. Get the details here.
She says trainers can help ensure the success of wellness training by getting senior management’s buy-in for it. “Get senior management on board,” Cretella says. Once management backs the wellness program —and associated training—the rest “falls into place.”
In addition to training, Cretella recommends providing wellness information to employees via company newsletters and e-mail. Ongoing communication helps reinforce what was covered in training and provides additional opportunities to educate employees about the importance of leading a healthy lifestyle.
Trying to get your employees trained to show leadership? It isn’t easy to fit it in—schedulewise or budgetwise—but now there’s BLR’s Leadership for Employees Library. Train all your people, at their convenience, 24/7, for one standard fee. Get More Information.
Employers that offer an effective wellness program—and related training—enjoy a significant return on investment (ROI). “Employer-sponsored wellness programs can decrease health insurance costs, increase productivity, and boost employee morale and retention,” says BLR CEO and founder Robert L. Brady. “Offering wellness training for employees has a tremendous ROI value for employers. An organization sponsoring a wellness program will see an increase in productivity as the result of a decline in employee absenteeism and an improvement in employee morale as they demonstrate that their organization values the well-being of their employees—both on and off the job.”
For every $1 that employers spend on a wellness program, they will see a $3 ROI over the long term, Cretella says.