The Role of Wellness in Today’s Nonprofit Culture
The workplace has changed dramatically over the past few years. Work/life balance, mental health support and wellness have all become an integral best practice when it comes to employee benefits and resources.
August is National Wellness Month so there’s no better time for a nonprofit or human service organization to reassess their wellness program. Like any good organization, they want to recruit and retain the best talent; however, they often have a more limited budget when it comes to salaries.
A strong wellness program can help nonprofits and human service organizations enhance their recruitment strategy in today’s competitive environment. It may also reduce the organization’s overall healthcare insurance costs over several years. But perhaps most importantly, holistic wellness offerings help employees better manage many aspects of their lives. The result? A healthier, more productive workforce.
What advice can you offer to your nonprofit and human service clients when it comes to building a wellness program?
- Plan and strategize. To launch an effective wellness initiative, you need to plan ahead. Assemble various levels across your organization to determine goals for the program.
- Collect feedback. Find out what your team wants out of a wellness program first. Conduct a survey, interview your staff and ask for feedback at the onset and throughout the program. Are they most interested in fitness memberships, nutrition education, health screenings, financial wellness or stress reduction?
- Engage everyone. A strong wellness program should address varied interests among all employees, while making the resources scalable, accessible and convenient as possible.
Fostering an environment where culture and wellness are prioritized can greatly contribute to the longevity and success of that nonprofit or human service organization and the happiness of its employees, along with the individuals it serves.
Interested in learning more? Check out the “Designing and Managing Wellness Programs” toolkit from the Society of Human Resource Management.