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News from the UK via Insight: A recent study from the Reward and Employee Benefits Association (Reba) found that wellness programs are on the rise — “a third of companies have a wellness strategy in place, with 80 per cent having introduced one in the last three years. Of the 70 per cent that don’t yet have a strategy, a third plan to implement one this year, a third plan to implement a plan in the next few years and the final third have it firmly on their wish list.”

With the growth, Insight offers an outline of how “A well executed wellness strategy benefits staff and employers:”

• “Management buy in: Buy in from a key figure from the senior management team to support the wellness programmes and ensure their on-going investment and support is vital, which is why a steering group or wellness committee are often included.”
• “Gather and analyze data: Employers should factor in the demographics of the company, the provision and utilisation of current employee benefits and identify whether the policies and procedures supports health and wellness.”
• “Set clear aims and objectives: Short and long term objectives can explore what the organisation would like to achieve in year one, year three and year five, and must be aligned with the corporate aims and objectives. How the results are measured is also important – as is deciding on a budget and presenting the wellness case to the board.”
• “Launch the program: Organisations that review where they are prior to launching the programme have a baseline from which to show the results. Participation rates, impact on employee engagement, and impact on claims and absence are all ways in which employers can measure the success of a wellness programme as demonstrating its effectiveness to the board and to employees helps guarantee its continued support.”